Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Pakistan (1) following the statement of the Chairman of the Pakistan Senate's Standing Committee on Religious Affairs that forced conversion of girls is taking place "across the country on a daily basis", and (2) about reports of humiliation, torture and false imprisonment of girls from Christian backgrounds by police officers.

I remain concerned by reports of the persecution of religious and other minorities in Pakistan. We regularly raise our concerns about the protection of vulnerable groups, including women and girls, with the Pakistani Government at senior levels. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt. Hon Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), pressed Pakistan to guarantee the rights of all its citizens, including minority religious communities, during his visit in March. We will continue to urge Pakistan to honour in practice its human rights obligations and to uphold the rule of law.

Our concerns about minorities in Pakistan are documented in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Human Rights Reports.