Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the treatment of the Principal of the Edwardes College, Peshawar, and his family and the attempts to intervene in the administration of the College by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor on religious minorities and educational opportunities in Pakistan.

We are aware of this case. The British Government regularly raises its concerns about discrimination against minority communities with the Pakistani Government at a senior level. I raised our concerns about Freedom of Religion or Belief and the protection of minority religious communities with Pakistan's Human Rights Minister, Dr Shireen Mazari, during my visit to Islamabad in February.

At the UN Periodic Review of Pakistan's human rights record in November 2017, the UK called on Pakistan to strengthen protection of minorities and establish an independent National Commission for Minorities. The Government will continue to urge Pakistan to honour in practice its human rights obligations, including those related to religious minorities, and to uphold the rule of law.