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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

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

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

781190

registered interest
date	31/10/2017
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 whether they have made representations to the government of Pakistan following the lynching in April of Mashal Khan, a student of Abdul Wali Khan University in Mardan, for allegedly publishing blasphemous content online and expressing liberal and secular views; if so, what response they have received; and whether they have made other representations to the government of Pakistan on cases involving deaths or imprisonment following breaches of the country’s blasphemy laws in the past 12 months.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL2763
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/11/2017 answer text <p>We were deeply concerned by the case of Mashal Khan. We understand that a Supreme Court mandated investigation found no evidence of Mr Khan committing blasphemy. We also understand that 57 individuals were indicted in September and are currently facing trial in Pakistan’s Anti-Terror Courts in connection to this case.</p><p><br>The Government regularly applies diplomatic pressure on countries which implement blasphemy laws. These laws generally limit freedom of expression and are only compatible with international human rights law in narrow circumstances when they are used to prevent or punish incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence. The UK regularly raises our concerns about the blasphemy laws and their misuse with the Pakistani Government. The Foreign Secretary raised the blasphemy laws and their misuse during his visit to Pakistan in November 2016. The Minister for Asia and the Pacific, (Mr Field), discussed Pakistan’s blasphemy laws on 8 November on his visit to Pakistan. ​We will discuss Pakistan’s human rights record, including concerns about the blasphemy laws in more detail at its Universal Periodic Review.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 14/11/2017 16:23:10 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool