Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to publicly condemn the killing of the two women Afghan Supreme Court judges in Kabul.

The Government made strong public condemnations of the killings of the two female Afghan judges, Qadria Yasini and Zakia Herawi, in Kabul. On 17 January, the day of the killings, the Foreign Secretary, our Ambassador in Kabul and I released statements on social media condemning the attack and pressed for an urgent, transparent investigation. I spoke to Afghanistan's Foreign Minister Hanif Atmar the following day, during which I expressed my condolences to the people of Afghanistan and reiterated the UK's support for peace. The Government is extremely concerned about the increase in violence and targeted attacks in Afghanistan, particularly against human rights defenders. Joint statements were also released from European Human Rights Ambassadors on 21 January and from our Embassy in Kabul with other international partners' missions on 31 January calling for justice and the immediate end of these attacks.