The UK Government strongly condemns the forced marriage and forced conversion of women and girls from religious minorities in Pakistan. We regularly raise our concerns on these issues with the Government of Pakistan. Most recently, I raised our human rights concerns, including Freedom of Religion or Belief, with Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights on 16 November. In addition, I raised our concerns about child, early and forced marriage and forced conversion of women and girls from minority religious communities, with Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights on 19 October.<\/p>
Through the UK's development support, we are working with the Government of Pakistan to strengthen and improve Pakistan's police and judicial systems. The UK's Strengthening Rule of Law in Pakistan programme aims to increase public confidence and trust in the Rule of Law. It focuses on delivering outputs that improve the justice system for victims, witnesses and offenders, including vulnerable women and girls.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4210", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-12-24", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-12-24T10:18:28.097Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "208"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2020-12-09", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Pakistan: Forced Marriage and Religious Freedom"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government what assistance they have given to the government of Pakistan (1) to expedite prosecutions of those responsible for, and (2) to secure redress for those affected by, forced marriages and conversions.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/738", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Alton of Liverpool"} ], "uin" : "HL11267"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1002246", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1002246/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
\u200bThe British Government is committed to an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process. Civilian casualties are a tragic result of the ongoing insurgency and of terrorist attacks, including by ISKP. We continue to urge all sides to take all measures possible to avoid civilian casualties. It is vital that the lives of civilians must be protected. A political solution is the only way to achieve lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan and the region. The Afghan Government has shown an impressive commitment to peace. It is time for the Taleban's leaders to show true courage and true leadership and work for peace.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4210", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2018-11-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2018-11-15T14:49:20.85Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "16"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2018-11-05", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Afghanistan: Armed Conflict"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are taking part in the US\u2019s strategic review of the situation in Afghanistan; and whether any progress has been made in ending Afghanistan\u2019s war since the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan report in July that civilian deaths in Afghanistan for the first six months of 2018 were at a record high.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/259", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "The Marquess of Lothian"} ], "uin" : "HL11267"} ], "itemsPerPage" : 10, "page" : 0, "startIndex" : 1, "totalResults" : 2, "type" : ["http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#ListEndpoint", "http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#Page"]} }