Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Pakistan about the murder of an Ahmadi doctor, Mr Rashid Ahmed, on 19 February in Gutriala, Gujarat; when they last raised the topic of attacks on Ahmadis with that government; and what response they received.

The murder of Mr Rasheed Ahmad in Gujarat on 19 February is the latest incident in a worsening trend of persecution and targeting of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in Pakistan. I [Lord Ahmad] raised the treatment of Ahmadi Muslims with Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights, Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada, on 30 January. On 9 January, Minister of State for Development Andrew Mitchell raised this issue with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The British High Commission in Islamabad continues to engage at a senior level with government representatives and civil society; the UK Political Counsellor discussed the matter with Caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab, Mohsin Naqvi, on 20 February.