Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of recent killings of Hazaras in the Baluchistan province of Pakistan; and what discussions they have had with the government of Pakistan about these deaths.

The UK condemns the 3 January attack claimed by Islamic State Khorasan Province targeting and killing 11 Hazara Shia miners in Balochistan. I issued a tweet to condemn the attack and sending my condolences to families grieving their loved ones. The UK and Pakistan have a shared interest in the battle against terrorism. We are committed to working together to combat the terrorist threat and the extremism that sustains it, in a human rights compliant manner. We remain deeply concerned by reports of discrimination and violence against religious minorities in Pakistan. We regularly raise our concerns about Freedom of Religion or Belief with the Government of Pakistan. Most recently, I raised concerns on 16 November with Pakistan's Human Rights Minister and on 7 December with Pakistan's Special Advisor to the Prime Minister for the Interior, Shahzad Akbar.