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1126297

	registered interest
	date	13/05/2019
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	Pakistan: Blasphemy
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case of the Pakistani Christian woman, Shagufta Kauser, who, with her disabled husband, Shafqat Emmanuel, was sentenced to death in 2014, for allegedly sending blasphemous text messages, including reports that the couple are illiterate and that the messages were in English; and what representations they have made to the government of Pakistan about this case.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL15657
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>​We are aware and are monitoring the case of Shagufta Kausar and her husband Shafqat Emmanuel. We remain deeply concerned about reports of discrimination against the Christian community and other religious minorities in Pakistan. We regularly raise our concerns about the misuse of the blasphemy laws with the government of Pakistan at a senior level.</p><p>I raised our concerns about Freedom of Religion or Belief and the protection of minority religious communities with Pakistan's Federal Minister for Human Rights, Dr Shireen Mazari, during my visit to Islamabad in February. The UK raised concerns about Freedom of Religion or Belief at Pakistan's UN Universal Periodic Review of human rights in November 2017. We urged Pakistan to strengthen the protection of minorities, including by establishing an independent National Commission for Minorities from all faith communities.</p><p>The UK remains firmly opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances. We have repeatedly called upon the Government of Pakistan to end capital punishment and, at a minimum, commit to publicly renewing the previously imposed moratorium on the death penalty.</p><p>We will continue to urge the Government of Pakistan to guarantee fully the rights of all Pakistani citizens, including religious minorities, and to honour its international obligations.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 22/05/2019 13:27:26 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1135091

	registered interest
	date	26/06/2019
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	Pakistan: Blasphemy
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Pakistan about the abuse of Pakistan's blasphemy laws and ways in which to prevent such abuse.
	tabling member printed	Lord Shinkwin
	uin	HL16718
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/07/2019 answer text <p>​We regularly raise our concerns about the misuse of the blasphemy laws 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 Federal Minister for Human Rights, Dr Shireen Mazari, during my visit to Islamabad in February 2019. At the UN Universal Periodic Review of Pakistan in November 2017, the UK pressed Pakistan to strengthen the protection of minorities and to explain the steps being taken to tackle the abuse of the blasphemy laws.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 08/07/2019 15:20:12 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
	tabling member	4557 label Biography information for Lord Shinkwin

1135689

	registered interest
	date	01/07/2019
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	Pakistan: Blasphemy
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the sentencing of Shagufta Kauser and her husband to death in Pakistan for alleged blasphemy; what assessment they have made of whether Shagufta Kauser is (1) from a Christian minority, and (2) illiterate; what representations they have made to the government of Pakistan on her behalf; what response they have received to these representations; and what estimate they have made of the number of people currently facing the death sentence in Pakistan for alleged blasphemy.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL16782
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>We continue to monitor the case of Shagufta Kauser and her husband Shafqat Emmanuel who were sentenced to death in April 2014. We understand that Shagufta Kauser is of the Christian faith and we are aware of media reports stating that she and her husband are both illiterate.</p><p>We regularly raise our concerns about the misuse of the blasphemy laws with the government of Pakistan at a senior level. The harsh penalties for blasphemy, including the death penalty, add to these concerns. We remain firmly opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances. We have repeatedly called upon the Government of Pakistan to end capital punishment and, as a minimum, commit to publicly renewing the previously imposed moratorium on the death penalty. Concerns about Freedom of Religion or Belief and the protection of minority religious communities were raised with Pakistan's Federal Minister for Human Rights, Dr Shireen Mazari, during a ministerial visit to Islamabad in February.</p><p>We do not hold figures for individuals on specific charges overseas. According to the US State Department 2018 Report on Freedom of Religion or Belief, at the time of publication, 77 individuals were imprisoned in Pakistan on blasphemy charges, 28 of whom had received death sentences.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 15/07/2019 14:41:26 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1193975

	registered interest
	date	06/05/2020
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	Pakistan: Blasphemy
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) what assessment they have made of the statement by the government of Pakistan's Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs on 29 April that “the only punishment for blasphemers is beheading”, and (2) what assessment they have made of the Coalition for Religious Equality and Inclusive Development’s statement that such comments have contributed to an anti-Ahmadi campaign in Pakistan.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Cox
	uin	HL4167
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2020 answer text <p>We engage at a senior level with the Pakistani Government on our concerns about the mistreatment of religious and ethnic groups, including Pakistanis from the Ahmadiyya Muslim community. We are concerned by language that may incite violence against any religious or ethnic groups. As the Minister of State for South Asia with responsibility for human rights, I raised the UK's concerns about freedom of religion or belief and the protection of the Ahmadiyya community with Pakistan's Human Rights Minister, Dr Shireen Mazari, on 27 February and with the Pakistan High Commissioner to the UK, Nafees Zakaria, on 12 May. We will continue to urge the Government of Pakistan to guarantee the fundamental rights of all its citizens, as laid down in the constitution of Pakistan and in accordance with international standards.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon grouped question UIN HL4165 HL4166 question first answered 21/05/2020 14:25:10 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
	tabling member	3364 label Biography information for Baroness Cox