House of Lords Business: Tuesday July 2nd 2019
Debates
Question for Short Debate
Lord Alton of Liverpool to ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the relationship between their aid programmes and human rights and the treatment of minorities in Pakistan, and in particular the case of Asia Bibi. (1 hour)
Article for The House magazine
David Alton
Next Tuesday the Lords will have a short debate on the plight of Pakistan’s minorities, whose shocking treatment came into sharp focus through the case of Asia Bibi – wrongly condemned to death and incarcerated for nine years under Pakistan’s Blasphemy laws. Pakistan’s Ahmadis, Christians, Hindus, and other minorities, like the last remaining 4,000 Kalash, clinging to a precarious existence in three remote valleys of Pakistan, all face shocking persecution. and discrimination.
Last autumn, during a visit to Islamabad and Lahore, with two members of the Commons, Marie Rimmer and Jim Shannon, our group saw first-hand, the appalling conditions in the apartheid-style “colonies” in which many from the minorities are forced to live.
We saw families living in hovels with dirt floors, in shacks without running water or electricity; little education or health provision; squalid and primitive conditions – all completely off the DFID radar. Thousands upon thousands of people are condemned to lives of destitution and misery.
We heard first hand testimonies – including horrific accounts of abductions, child marriages, rape and forced conversions – met politicians, religious leaders, and activists from civil society.
We were able to meet members of the Supreme Court and were given a promise that Asia Bibi’s case would finally go to appeal.
It is to the great credit of Pakistan’s most senior Judges that they defied rioters and lynch mobs and that Asia, and her children were finally allowed to travel to Canada – although, sadly, the UK refused to take her.
Don’t under-estimate the bravery of the decision of those Judges.
When the Christian Minister for Minorities, Shahbaz Bhatti, and his friend, Salman Taseer, the Muslim Governor of the Punjab, spoke up for Asia Bibi, and called for reforms to the Blasphemy Laws, both, men were murdered.
And Asia’s case is only one of many.
By some estimates, more than 70 people are currently on death-row for alleged blasphemy crimes. Asia’s cell in the prison at Multan is already occupied by another illiterate Christian woman. She, and her disabled husband – both unable to read or write – face execution for allegedly sending blasphemous texts in English.
Over several years I have raised Asia Bibi’s case and called for reforms to protect minorities – in line with the founding principles of Pakistan – set out in Mohammed Ali Jinnah’s commendable Constitution.
But those principles have proved worthless to the two children forced to watch a lynch mob of 1,200 burn alive their parents; worthless, when no one is brought to justice for the murder of Shahbaz Bhatti; worthless, when 1,000 Hindu and Christian girls are forcibly married and converted; worthless to Sadaf Masih, a 13-year old girl who was kidnapped, forcibly converted and married earlier this year in Punjab and to two Hindu girls, kidnapped, forcibly converted, and married within hours in Sindh; worthless to the children from minorities working in brick kilns, workshops,
factories or as domestic servants; worthless to Iqbal Masih, an incredibly brave 12-year-old Christian boy, shot dead for rebelling
against enslavement; worthless to girls from minorities now being sold in faith-led trafficking to Chinese gangs; and worthless to minorities who are ghettoised into squalid colonies and forced to clean latrines and sweep streets.
Over the past decade, £2.6 billion of British aid has poured into Pakistan – on average, that is £383,000 every single day. But failure to differentiate how and where we spend this money leads DFID to say that it has no idea how much of the aid reaches these destitute, desperate minorities.
Disturbingly, last week, the National Audit Office, after highlighting an example from Pakistan, says “overall government is not in a position to be confident that the portfolio in its totality is securing value for money.”
Note too, the findings of Professor Grim who examined economic growth in 173 countries and found that where minorities are shown respect and their religious freedom upheld he found that it “contributes to better economic and business outcomes” and to “successful and sustainable enterprises that benefit societies and individuals.”
The British Government must reassess the basis on which it spends UK money; why it doesn’t reach beleaguered minorities; insist on the removal of hate material from text books in schools and colleges; protest against discriminatory adverts reserving menial jobs for the minorities; ask why the provision of an affirmative action programme, endorsed by the Constitution is not implemented; and ask what we have done to help those who have fled.
And Pakistan only needs to re-examine its own foundation principles to see that they are failing their minorities who face shocking discrimination and outright persecution. How a country treats its minorities is always a crucial litmus test.
David Alton (Lord Alton of Liverpool) is co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Pakistan Minorities.
https://www.thefridaytimes.com/christians-required-only-as-sweepers/
ALSO SEE:
https://www.davidalton.net/2019/06/06/11203/Faith Targeted Human Trafficking in Pakistan
Read this important post from the Arise Foundation
https://www.arise.foundation/news/faith-targeted-human-trafficking-highlights-need-for-better-foreign-aid-policy
Where is Jinnah’s Pakistan?:
https://www.davidalton.net/2016/03/28/carnage-in-lahore-pakistan-and-uk-governments-failure-to-challenge-persecution-or-the-culture-of-impunity-links-to-previous-posts-about-pakistans-christians-shahbaz-bhatti-asia-bibbi-and-the/”>
https://www.davidalton.net/2019/04/03/three-speeches-in-parliament-this-week-war-in-the-yemen-and-the-sale-of-arms-to-saudi-arabia-corruption-and-aid-programmes-to-countries-like-pakistan-and-the-lack-of-legal-mechanisms-to-hold-to-ac/
https://www.davidalton.net/2019/01/29/pakistans-supreme-court-upholds-their-decision-to-free-asia-bibi/
https://www.davidalton.net/2018/11/05/pakistan-receives-an-average-of-383000-in-british-taxpayers-money-each-and-every-single-day-2-8-billion-over-20-years-yet-as-asia-bibis-case-demonstrates-they-trample-on-the-rights-of/
Chris Rogers’ Disturbing Report for the BBC on the conditions of Pakistani Christians held in detention centres:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35654804
For background also see:
Some of the 200 Questions David Alton has raised with the British Government about Pakistan. For full text and answers go to:
https://www.theyworkforyou.com/search/?q=pakistan+&pid=13103
1–20 of 200 for pakistan speaker:Lord Alton of Liverpool
Upcoming Business – Lords: Grand Committee (2 Jul 2019)
Relationship between aid programmes and human rights and the treatment of minorities in Pakistan – Lord Alton of Liverpool. Short debate
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Pakistan: Indigenous Peoples (27 Jun 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when representatives of the UK High Commission in Islamabad last visited members of the Kalash community in Pakistan.
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Textbooks (19 Jun 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to (1) ensure that schools in Pakistan, supported by the Department for International Development, do not use textbooks with content that stigmatises religious minorities, and (2) encourage provincial governments in Pakistanto work with religious minority groups to remove such content.
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Minority Groups (19 Jun 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what training they provide to (1) Pakistani minority groups, and (2) non-governmental organisations, on how to organise, campaign, and lobby for minority groups; and what steps they are taking in response to the restrictions of civil society space in Pakistan.
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Religious Freedom (19 Jun 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …taking to ensure that modules which promote freedom of religion or belief and religious tolerance are included in all future Department for International Development capacity building programmes in Pakistan.
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Schools (19 Jun 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support they will provide to the government of Pakistan to help incentivise parents from marginalised religious minorities to send their children to school, following reports that many such parents view school as a waste of time owing to the lack of opportunities in higher education.
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Slavery (18 Jun 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the criteria used to determine which communities in Pakistan are “marginalised” and therefore vulnerable to human trafficking and modern slavery for the purposes of their foreign aid programmes.
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Islamic State: Nuclear Weapons (17 Jun 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports that ISIS is seeking to secure access to a nuclear weapons capability from Pakistan.
Pakistan: Aid for Persecuted Minorities – Question (6 Jun 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much United Kingdom aid has been given to Pakistan in the last ten years; and what assessment they have made of the extent to which this was used to support persecuted minorities in that country.
Pakistan: Aid for Persecuted Minorities – Question (6 Jun 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: I thank the Minister for that reply and welcome her to her new responsibilities. Is she able to intervene on behalf of Shagufta Kauser, an illiterate woman from one of Pakistan’s beleaguered minorities, who now occupies Asia Bibi’s cell in Multan and who, like her, has been sentenced to death for allegedly sending blasphemous texts in English? When two children are forced to watch a lynch…
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Shizam Riasat (4 Jun 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the human rights and freedom of religion or belief implications of the case of the 16 year old Pakistani Christian girl Sheeza Riasat who was abducted from her parents’ home near Gujranwala, Pakistan on 12 February and forcibly converted and married; and what representations they have made to the government of Pakistan…
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Shizam Riasat (4 Jun 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Pakistan about kidnappings and forced conversions of under-age girls who are members of a religious minority; and what were the outcomes of any such representations.
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Pakistan: Religious Freedom (4 Jun 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of Pakistani girls, who are members of a religious minority, being removed from schools by their parents as a result of the number of abductions and forced conversions on the literacy rate of girls in Pakistan; and what steps they intend to take to help resolve this problem.
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Pakistan: Religious Freedom (4 Jun 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the report by Members of the European Parliament Religious Minorities in Pakistan, published on 13 May, which states that the situation of Pakistan’s minorities is worsening; and whether they intend to raise the contents of that report with the government of Pakistan.
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Human Trafficking (29 May 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to their assessment in the Department for International Development’s Pakistan Report 2018 that there is a “significant modern slavery problem amongst the poor, minorities, women and children” in Pakistan and their policy to provide assistance to “target the poorest and most vulnerable”, what steps they are taking to provide direct support to Christian…
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Pakistan: Higher Education (28 May 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …College, Peshawar, and his family and the attempts to intervene in the administration of the College by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor on religious minorities and educational opportunities in Pakistan.
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Pakistan: Blasphemy(22 May 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: 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…
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Pakistan: Marriage (21 May 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they welcome the decision of the Pakistan Senate to pass a bill to amend the Child Marriage Restraint Bill 1929 to set the minimum marriage age at 18 years in Pakistan; and whether they will consider ways in which UK aid to Pakistancould be used to facilitate the effective enforcement of that legislation.
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Pakistan: Minority Groups (17 May 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the letter sent by 50 members of the European Parliament to the Prime Minister of Pakistan on 30 April warning that continued violation of the UN Treaty on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in respect of the treatment of Pakistan’s minorities may compel…
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Pakistan: Minority Groups (16 May 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to assist Pakistani Ahmadi and Christian refugees, fleeing persecution in Pakistan and awaiting determination of their asylum cases in Sri Lanka, who are seeking refuge in police stations and elsewhere due to fear of targeted attacks on minorities.
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Asia Bibi (16 May 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 2 May (HL15272), what was the most recent response they received from the government of Pakistan about the right of Asia Bibi to join her family in Canada; and when they anticipate that this will take place.
Sri Lanka: UNHCR Refugees – Statement (9 May 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …in helping to secure the release of Asia Bibi and her ability to travel to be reunited yesterday with her family in Canada. The persecution of that Christian woman and the Ahmadi community in Pakistan should motivate us all in promoting freedom of religion and belief, and particularly Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Can I take the Minister to Written Questions…
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Asia Bibi (2 May 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following the remarks of the Prime Minister of Pakistan on 10 April that Asia Bibi would be leaving Pakistan very soon but that there was a complication, what clarification they have sought from the government of Pakistan about (1) what is complicating her departure from Pakistan, and (2) measures to expedite her departure.
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Shanty Towns (16 Apr 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when their officials working in Pakistan last visited the shanty towns on the periphery of Islamabad to report on the conditions in which the residents live; and whether they are collecting data on the percentage of people from Pakistan’s minorities living in such areas.
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Minority Groups (16 Apr 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to reconsider their policy of disregarding the status of Pakistan’s minorities in determining and allocating development aid.
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Public Sector (25 Mar 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Pakistan Annual Statistical Bulletin of Federal Government Employees 2017–18, published by the government of Pakistan on 26 February, what assessment they have made of (1) the number of people employed from that country’s religious minorities, (2) the nature of the occupations open to them, and (3) the numbers working in either menial jobs…
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Abdul Shakoor (21 Mar 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they last raised the case of Abdul Shakoor with the government of Pakistan.
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Sadaf Khan (18 Mar 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the kidnapping of Sadaf Khan in Bahawalpur district, Pakistan, on 6 February 2018.
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Sadaf Khan (18 Mar 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they intend to make to the government of Pakistan about the case of Sadaf Khan, in particular about ensuring that (1) the due process of law is followed, (2) her forced conversion and marriage is declared null and void, and (3) she is returned to her family.
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Overseas Aid (11 Mar 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much aid they provided to Pakistan over the past year; and what proportion of this aid was used to support efforts to end child abduction, forced conversion and illegal marriages.
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Overseas Aid (11 Mar 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to divert aid given to Pakistan to training law enforcement officers in the emotional needs of the parents of kidnapped children, and in providing families with practical assistance.
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Pakistan: Human Rights (7 Mar 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Pakistan on the importance of preventing the provincial government of Sindh from establishing operational control of the Sindh Human Rights Commission; and what assessment they have made of whether this would compromise its independence.
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Asia Bibi (5 Mar 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have requested from the government of Pakistan about the health and well-being of Asia Bibi.
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Pakistan: Human Rights (5 Mar 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …rights, including the provisions which require such institutions to maintain their independence from the national governments; and if so, what representations they have made to the government of Pakistan about the National Commission for Human Rights of Pakistan maintaining its independence from the Federal Ministry of Human Rights of Pakistan.
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Pakistan: Human Rights (5 Mar 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of Pakistan about ensuring that the Federal Ministry of Human Rights of Pakistan does not curtail the independence of the National Commission for Human Rights of Pakistan by controlling its financial resources.
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Pakistan: Human Rights (5 Mar 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made any assessment of whether (1) the National Commission for Human Rights of Pakistan is free to submit independent reports to UN bodies, as required by the UN Paris Principles; and (2) the Chairman and members of the National Commission for Human Rights of Pakistan are free to travel to participate in committees of the UN.
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Asia Bibi (28 Feb 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they last made representations to the government of Pakistan to secure the safe passage of Asia Bibi from that country.
Written Answers — Home Office: Asia Bibi (13 Feb 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …have made, if any, of the comments of Hafiz Entisha Ahmed published in the Guardian on 30 January that Asia Bibi “deserves to be murdered”; and, following the decision of the Supreme Court of Pakistan to uphold her acquittal following nine years’ incarceration on death row, why she has not immediately been offered asylum in the UK.
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Religious Freedom (12 Feb 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of Pakistan about employment discrimination, with particular regard to advertisements published by that government which reserve low level jobs, such as street sweeping, for religious minorities; whether UK aid supports employment opportunities in the public sector closed to religious minorities; and whether…
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Pervaiz Masih (7 Feb 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case of Pervais Masih, accused of blasphemy in Pakistan, the treatment of his family and the death of his daughter; and whether they have discussed this case with the government of Pakistan.
Overseas Aid – Private Notice Question (30 Jan 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …he agree that people expect their money to be spent well? I draw his attention to a Question that I asked him on the Order Paper today concerning discrimination and persecution in countries such as Pakistan, which is the biggest recipient of British aid—£383,000 each and every single day. Will he ensure that where British money is being spent, it will tackle the plight of minorities,…
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Pakistan: Ahmadiyya(23 Jan 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Pakistan about the exclusion of Ahmadi Muslims from the right to vote in Pakistan’s elections.
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Christianity (21 Jan 2019)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what financial assistance they have provided to Christian groups in Pakistan in each year since 2009.
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Religious Freedom (17 Dec 2018)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 27 November (HL11515), what the AAWAZ Voice and Accountability Programme has achieved in Pakistan; how much that programme has cost; what assessment they have made of whether discrimination against religious minorities in Pakistan is decreasing.
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Minority Groups (17 Dec 2018)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 27 November (HL11514), whether they intend to collect disaggregated population data on minority groups in Pakistan to establish whether UK aid reaches those groups; when they last raised the issue of inclusion of minorities with the government of Pakistan; and what response, if any, they received.
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Overseas Aid (17 Dec 2018)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 27 November (HL11513), how they (1) monitor, and (2) evaluate the success of programmes they fund in Pakistan; and what methods they use to check that aid provided is used for its intended purpose.
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Pakistan: Chevening Scholarships Programme (10 Dec 2018)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Chevening Scholarships have been awarded to citizens of Pakistan in each of the last five years; and of those recipients, how many came from minority groups.
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Education (27 Nov 2018)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the reply by Lord Bates on 14 November (HL Deb, col 1882), how much of the development funding spent in Pakistan has been spent each year on education of young girls in the last 20 years; which agencies have been supported to further the education of young girls in Pakistan; and in which (1) states, and (2) schools in Pakistan the money has been spent.
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Education (27 Nov 2018)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the reply of Lord Bates on 14 November (HL Deb, col 1882), how much of the development funding to support the education of young girls in Pakistan has been spent on girls from minority communities in the last 20 years.
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Religious Freedom (27 Nov 2018)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the reply of Lord Bates on 14 November (HL Deb, col 1882), what assessment they have made of the (1) discrimination against religious minorities in Pakistan, and (2) case for prioritising development funding for such religious minorities.
Kindertransport Commemoration – Question for Short Debate (26 Nov 2018)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …are places of torture and abuse of children. Perhaps when the Minister comes to reply he can respond to what Safe Passage says about that. Elsewhere, children of Christians and Ahmadis fleeing from Pakistan are kept like caged animals in detention centres. In 2015, I visited one of those detention centres, and in 2016, I wrote a report about it. Recently, many of your Lordships have raised…
Asia Bibi – Question (20 Nov 2018)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …was the Minister for Minorities, and Salmaan Taseer, who was the Muslim governor of Punjab, were murdered for insisting on the innocence of Asia Bibi, does the Minister share my huge admiration for Pakistan’s Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar and Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, both of whom I met recently in Islamabad, who courageously and with great integrity acquitted and exonerated Asia…
Development Co-operation: European Union – Question (14 Nov 2018)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …Brian Grim says that those countries which respect those things become the most prosperous. How, therefore, do we justify spending £2.8 billion over the past 20 years in a country such as Pakistan which, as the case of Asia Bibi has shown, has no regard for minorities or the rule of law?
India: Scavenging – Question (6 Nov 2018)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …Lords, notwithstanding the 2013 legislation, the caste system and untouchability predate partition. Scavenging and degrading labour have persisted right across the Indian subcontinent, including in Pakistan. Is the Minister aware that, only last week, a 13 year-old was excluded from a classroom because he had touched the water supply in that classroom? He was beaten and his mother was told…
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Pakistan: Minority Groups (5 Nov 2018)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how British (1) foreign policy, and (2) aid programmes support persecuted minorities in Pakistan
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Overseas Aid (5 Nov 2018)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 22 October (HL10527), whether they take into account the persecution of religious minorities in Pakistanwhen deciding on the prioritisation of UK overseas development aid; and whether they intend to instruct Department for International Development and Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials to visit minority…
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Children (5 Nov 2018)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made, if any, of (1) the level of child labour in Pakistan; (2) the number of children of school age believed to work in brick kilns, workshops, factories or as domestic servants; and (3) the percentage of children from religious minorities falling into these categories.
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Education (5 Nov 2018)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of (1) the number of children believed to be illiterate in Pakistan, (2) the number of children not in formal education, and (3) the proportion of children from religious minorities in Pakistan who are illiterate or not in formal education compared with the population as a whole.
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Schools (5 Nov 2018)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports of the case of a Christian school boy in Pakistan who was excluded from class and beaten for being accused of tainting the school’s water by touching the tap; and whether they will establish whether UK aid is used to support schools such as this.
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Pakistan: Religious Freedom (29 Oct 2018)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the government of Pakistan to ensure that Pakistan’s quota system for jobs is not used to place workers from religious minorities in menial occupations.
Written Answers — Home Office: Asylum: Pakistan (29 Oct 2018)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …Government, further to the reply by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 15 October (HL Deb, cols 282–3), whether the Home Office will now reclassify the systematic attacks on religious minorities in Pakistan as persecution rather than discrimination.
Written Answers — Home Office: Asylum: Pakistan (29 Oct 2018)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many claims for asylum in the UK were successful in respect of religious minorities from Pakistan over the past five years.
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Overseas Aid (26 Oct 2018)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much UK aid has been received by Pakistan in the past 12 months and in total over the past 20 years; whether any other country receives more bilateral aid than Pakistan; and what indicators are used to establish the effectiveness of this aid in reaching the country’s religious minorities.
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Minority Groups (26 Oct 2018)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what training programmes in Pakistan they support to help illiterate and impoverished members of minority communities to qualify for jobs.
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Pakistan: Refugees (24 Oct 2018)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports that (1) Pakistani refugees have recently been rounded up by Thai police and taken to detention centres, and (2) Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan has issued an instruction to the Immigration Bureau to detain all foreigners without visas, stating that they will be deported within a month; and whether they have…
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Overseas Aid (22 Oct 2018)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of the UK’s bilateral aid programme is directed towards the rebuilding of Pakistan’s colony shanty towns in which families from the country’s minorities live; what assessment they have made of the number of people, in total, living in those colonies and their access to running water, electricity or education; and when officials from the…
Asylum Applications – Question (15 Oct 2018)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: My Lords, having visited Pakistan earlier this month and seen first-hand the abject, festering conditions in which many of the country’s religious minorities live, and having heard accounts of abduction, rape, the forced marriage of a nine year-old, forced conversion, death sentences for so-called blasphemy—the Minister may have heard the interview on the “Today” programme on Saturday…
Written Answers — Home Office: Deportation: Pakistan (18 Jul 2018)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether it is safe to deport families, including children, to Pakistan when there is evidence that they have received death threats due to their religious beliefs; when they last considered whether there is persecution of particular minorities in Pakistan; and what conclusions they reached.
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Religious Freedom (4 Jul 2018)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 18 June (HL8400), whether, in the course of working with marginalised communities in Pakistan, they conduct any monitoring of madrassas known to promote hatred of minorities.
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Overseas Aid (4 Jul 2018)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 18 June (HL8402), how they have monitored the use of UK aid given to Pakistan in the last ten years; and what plans, if any, they have to link the provision of aid more closely to the protection of minority rights in the recipient country.
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Pakistan: Religious Freedom (20 Jun 2018)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the report Forced Conversions & Forced Marriages in Sindh, Pakistan, published by the Commonwealth Institute for Freedom of Religion and Belief and the University of Birmingham.
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Pakistan: Religious Freedom (20 Jun 2018)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to reflect the recommendations and conclusions from the report Forced Conversions & Forced Marriages in Sindh, Pakistan, published by the Commonwealth Institute for Freedom of Religion and Belief and the University of Birmingham in their development and foreign affairs policies; and if so, how.
Forced Marriage – Question (24 May 2018)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …, Lady Berridge, that there was not compelling evidence, will he undertake at least to look at the Aurat Foundation’s evidence of 1,000 forced conversions every year and other evidence from Pakistan that suggests that between 20 and 30 women from Hindu backgrounds are forcibly converted every single month? In citing, as he has done, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, will he…
Commonwealth: Discriminatory Legislation – Question (21 May 2018)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …looking at outdated laws in the Commonwealth, will he reflect on the meeting that he kindly attended last week that considered blasphemy laws, particularly those that operate in countries such as Pakistan, and also the Pakistan penal code, which specifically requires the country’s significant Ahmadi minority, some 5 million people, to register as non-Muslims in order to be able to…
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2018 – Motion to Take Note (22 Mar 2018)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …I am also conscious of the great progress we have made in respecting the dignity of difference and in learning to live together. Elsewhere the challenge remains—for instance, the assassination of Pakistan’s brave Minister for Minorities, Shahbaz Bhatti, the death sentence imposed on Asia Bibbi, the use of section 295(A) of India’s penal code to attack minorities, and the hunting…
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Textbooks (22 Mar 2018)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they have made in work with the provincial governments in Pakistan to eliminate bias and discrimination against religious minorities from school textbooks; and what plans they have for continuing those efforts.
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Pakistan: Blasphemy(14 Nov 2017)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: 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…
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Pakistan: Religious Freedom (27 Sep 2017)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they last raised with the government of Pakistan (1) the anti-Ahmadiyya laws set out in Penal Code Article 298, and (2) that government’s obligations to protect freedom of religion or belief; and whether they intend to encourage the government of Pakistan to invite the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief to make a country…
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Taimoor Raza (25 Sep 2017)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what information they have about the case of Taimoor Raza who has been sentenced to death in Pakistan for allegedly breaking the blasphemy laws on social media; and what representations, if any, they have made on his behalf.
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Pakistan: Minority Groups (21 Sep 2017)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what information they have about proposals in Pakistan to establish (1) a National Council for Minorities’ Rights, and (2) a dedicated police unit to protect religious minorities; and whether they have encouraged such developments.
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Pakistan: Marriage (21 Sep 2017)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have encouraged the government of Pakistan to enact laws recognising the legality of Christian marriages.
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Schools (21 Sep 2017)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …and Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne with the Minister of State at the Department for International Development, Rory Stewart MP, about the role of school textbooks and the school curriculum in Pakistan in describing non-Muslims, what progress has been made in promoting inclusive educational approaches in that country.
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Overseas Aid (21 Sep 2017)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much overseas aid they have given to Pakistan in each of the past five years; and of that, how much has specifically been committed to the promotion of (1) the protection of minorities, and (2) freedom of religion or belief.
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: *No heading* (11 Jul 2017)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: Her Majesty’s Government whether they will seek to place the persecution of religious minorities in countries like Pakistan and Nigeria onto the agenda for the next meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government; and whether they will prioritise in discussions the promotion of freedom of religion and belief.
Queen’s Speech – Debate (2nd Day) (Continued) (22 Jun 2017)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …in suffering. Ahmadis themselves have experienced hateful persecution: recall Mr Shah, the Ahmadi shopkeeper murdered in Glasgow; recall the Ahmadis and Christians fleeing appalling persecution in Pakistan, who make up more than half of the 7,500 refugees and asylum seekers in Bangkok. Many are incarcerated in detention centres, which I and my noble friend Lady Cox have visited, and where…
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Pakistan: Religious Freedom (6 Feb 2017)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the forthcoming periodic review of human rights in Pakistan, whether they intend to ask the government of Pakistan to affirm its commitment to Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including the freedom to change one’s belief or not have any kind of religious belief.
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Overseas Aid (24 Jan 2017)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much UK aid was given to Pakistan over the past decade; and how much has been earmarked for the Benazir Income Support Programme between 2012 and 2020.
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Education (23 Jan 2017)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …; what meetings taken place between DfID officers and officials from the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; and whether DfID is planning to extend similar support to other provincial governments in Pakistan.
Written Answers — Home Office: Syed Muzaffar Shah Qadri (12 Jan 2017)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why Syed Muzaffar Shah Qadri has been given permission to enter the United Kingdom; and what assessment they have made of the reported decision by the government of Pakistan to ban him from preaching in Pakistan.
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Pakistan: Religious Freedom (23 Dec 2016)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Pakistan following reports of a raid on the Ahmadi community headquarters in Rabwah.
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Pakistan: Religious Freedom (23 Dec 2016)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the attack on 12 December on the Ahmadiyya Mosque in Dolmial, in the district of Chakwai, Pakistan; and what representations they have made to the government of Pakistan about the treatment of Ahmadiyyas.
Prevent Strategy – Question (20 Dec 2016)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …Prevent strategy, while at the weekend it was reported that Syed Qadri is to be allowed to come into the United Kingdom? He is a radical Islamist hate preacher who has been banned from preaching in Pakistan. He spoke out in favour of those who assassinated Salmaan Taseer and is said to have been one of the influences on the murderer of the Ahmadi shopkeeper in Glasgow. Why is he being…
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Religious Freedom (5 Dec 2016)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Bates on 17 November (HL2963, 2965, 2966, 3010 and 3077) concerning religious freedom and education in Pakistan, what assessment they have made of the policies implemented in the Khyber Province in this regard.
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Minority Groups (21 Nov 2016)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have discussed with the government of Pakistan the incidence of children from minority backgrounds failing to complete their education and leaving without qualifications as a consequence of discrimination and negative attitudes towards minorities and its impact on poverty in Pakistan.
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Religious Freedom (17 Nov 2016)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have raised with the government of Pakistan their duties under Articles 22 (1) and 25 (1) of the Constitution of Pakistan concerning freedom of religion in schools and equality, and whether British aid to Pakistan is being used to strengthen these legal protections for minorities.
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Religious Freedom (17 Nov 2016)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether Pakistan is a signatory to the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights; whether they consider that the government of Pakistan is fulfilling its duties under Article 18 of that Declaration; what role British aid to Pakistan plays in promoting respect for diversity and difference; and whether they will reconsider their policy of making none of the…
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Religious Freedom (17 Nov 2016)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what Department for International Development funds are currently being provided to improve educational standards in Pakistan, including the Punjab Education Support Programme; and whether the support given to the Punjab Curriculum Text Board to ensure positive gender portrayal can be expanded to include positive portrayal of Pakistan’s minorities.
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Religious Freedom (17 Nov 2016)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they last discussed with the government of Pakistan the inclusion of religious hate material in Pakistani text books.
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Religious Freedom (17 Nov 2016)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …’s Government what assessment they have made of the decision of the Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board of Lahore to include positive affirmations of the role of minorities in the creation of Pakistan and the 1947 speech of the founder of Pakistan, and of the extent to which affirmation of the rights and equality of minorities is being replicated in other provinces across Pakistan.
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Religious Freedom (17 Nov 2016)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what mechanisms and safeguards the Department for International Development has in place to ensure that British aid distributed in Pakistanis not used by provinces or schools to purchase textbooks which contain material indoctrinating against minorities.
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Religious Freedom (17 Nov 2016)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 16 September (HL1729), whether the Department for International Development is planning to fund any programmes that directly promote freedom of religion or belief in Pakistan.
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Pakistan: Radicalism(16 Nov 2016)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have discussed with the government of Pakistan point 5 of Pakistan’s National Action Plan of 24 December 2014, and the steps taken to implement this provision.
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Overseas Aid (16 Sep 2016)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the comments of Baroness Goldie on 8 September (HL Deb, col GC173), how much UK aid has been given in total to Pakistan over the past five years, and what percentage of that has been used (1) to assist and protect minorities, and (2) to promote Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Pakistan: Human Rights (1 Aug 2016)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they last raised with the government of Pakistan the issues of (1) the honour killing of women, (2) the exclusion of minority communities from full citizenship, and (3) the imprisonment of citizens under the blasphemy laws; and what response they received.
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Pakistan: Religious Freedom (12 Jul 2016)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: 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…
Modern Slavery (Transparency in Supply Chains) Bill [HL] – Second Reading (8 Jul 2016)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …in Mauritania, and Syrian children used as child labour in Lebanon. In addition, 90% of North Korean escapees are trafficked in China, women and children are exploited in bonded labour in India and Pakistan, and all over the world women and girls are trafficked into brothels. Your Lordships could recall, too, the fatal consequences of the collapsed garment factory in Rana Plaza in…
Written Answers — Department for International Development: Pakistan: Overseas Aid (20 Jun 2016)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much UK aid has been given to Pakistanover the last five years; and how much of that has been used to promote human rights, the rule of law and the protection of minorities.
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Khurram Zaki (16 Jun 2016)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have raised the recent murder of Khurram Zaki, and his campaign work, with the government of Pakistan.
Immigration Bill — Committee (3rd Day) (Continued) (1 Feb 2016)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …consequences. He will know that his noble friend Lord Bates was good enough to meet me to discuss the situation of detainees held in detention centres in the Far East—people who had escaped from Pakistan. These included people from the Ahmadiyya community, Shia Muslims, Hindus, Christians—they came from many backgrounds but all had faced what seemed to be absolute examples of…
International Development Policies — Question for Short Debate (19 Nov 2015)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …, barbaric executions, and attempts to destroy history and culture that is not its own. I ask your Lordships to think of some of the countries that receive UK aid. The biggest recipient is Pakistan. This year it will receive £405 million, making £1.17 billion since 2011. How do we ensure that funding for education is spent on the right things? Here the noble Baroness, Lady Flather, and I…
Written Answers — Home Office: Pakistan: Christianity (5 Oct 2015)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the findings of the report commissioned by the British Pakistan Christian Association, entitled Education, Human Rights Violations in Pakistan and the Scandal Involving UNHRC and Asylum Seekers in Thailand; and whether, in the light of this report, they plan to review the risk of the persecution of Christians in Pakistan and…
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: *No heading* (29 Sep 2015)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assistance they have been able to provide for refugees fleeing persecution in Pakistan in resolving their applications for asylum; and what is their estimate of the average time likely to elapse between an applicant lodging a claim for asylum in Bangkok and being resettled.
Written Answers — Home Office: Immigration Controls: Pakistan (22 Sep 2015)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State for International Development, Desmond Swayne, on 11 September (HC8462), which states that the government of Pakistan has publicly recognised “the problems facing minorities, and the need to bring an end to religious persecutions”, why the current Home Office guidance Pakistan: Christians and Christian…
Written Answers — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Pakistan: Religious Freedom (24 Jul 2015)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support they are providing to the authorities in Pakistan to ensure the protection of religious minorities across Pakistan; whether they plan to make representations to the government of Pakistan urging them to reform the blasphemy laws and to provide effective safeguards against their abuse; and whether they plan to call for the immediate and…
Freedom of Religion and Belief — Motion to Take Note (16 Jul 2015)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …do no better than look at the noble Lord, Lord Avebury. Fifty years later there are other role models. I was very struck by the remarks of Malala Yousafzai, whom the Taliban tried to murder in Pakistan because she insisted on a girl’s right to an education, rightly insisting: “One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world”. Malala’s challenge and the fate of the…
Freedom of Religion and Belief — Motion to Take Note (16 Jul 2015)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …to reflect on the suffering of those denied this foundational freedom. Although Christians are persecuted in every country where there are violations of Article 18—from Syria and Iraq, to Sudan, Pakistan, Eritrea, Nigeria, Egypt, Iran, North Korea and many other countries—Muslims, and others, suffer too, especially in the religious wars raging between Sunnis and Shias, so reminiscent…
Queen’s Speech — Debate (2nd Day) (Continued) (28 May 2015)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …led to the deaths of 147 students and staff in Kenya’s Garissa University College, with Christian students specifically singled out; to the burning alive in a kiln of a Christian couple in Pakistan by a mob of 1,300 people while their young children were forced to watch; to the abduction of young girls in Nigeria by Boko Haram; to the beheading in Libya of 21 Egyptian Copts who were…
Soft Power and the UK’s Influence (Select Committee Report) — Motion to Take Note (10 Mar 2015)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …and Blue Nile, where the Sudanese regime has dropped more than 2,500 bombs on its civilian population; to Boko Haram’s abduction of girls in Nigeria; to the burning alive of Christians in Pakistan; to the recent beheading of 21 Egyptian Copts in Libya; and to the continuing incarceration of 200,000 people in the prison camps of North Korea. The need to deploy smart power is self-evident….
Modern Slavery Bill: Report (1st Day) (Continued) (23 Feb 2015)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …in forced labour in Uzbekistan’s cotton mills, hundreds of women and girls trafficked into Thailand’s brothels and thousands of men, women and children exploited in bonded labour in India and Pakistan. The scope and scale have been rehearsed often enough during debates on the Bill and I will not repeat them all again here. Suffice it to say that far more people are affected today than…
Modern Slavery Bill — Committee (4th Day) (10 Dec 2014)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …gap between industry codes and the real situation on the ground. My noble friend Lord Hylton reminded your Lordships of other examples, such as kiln workers making bricks in inhuman conditions in Pakistan and children manufacturing matches in India. There is a growing public expectation that businesses should act ethically and take action to ensure that forced labour does not occur in…
Modern Slavery Bill — Second Reading (Continued) (17 Nov 2014)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …by the abuses and exploitation of workers in cotton mills in places such as Tamil Nadu in India or, for that matter, the situation of children of brick kiln workers in places such as India and Pakistan. The report, Flawed Fabrics, published in October, detailed forced labour abuses, including shocking “prison-like conditions”. The report makes several recommendations on brands,…
Written Answers — House of Lords: Pakistan (17 Nov 2014)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the President of Pakistan and the Pakistan High Commissioner in London about the burning to death in Kot Radha Kishan of a Christian couple following allegations of blasphemy.
Written Answers — House of Lords: Pakistan (3 Nov 2014)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the authorities in Pakistan arising from the decision of the Lahore High Court to reject the appeal of Asia Bibi, and to order her execution, following charges of alleged blasphemy.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights — Motion to Take Note (24 Jul 2014)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …its work. I have focused extensively on the Middle East and Africa, but across Asia, Article 18 faces serious threats as well. We will hear from the noble Lord, Lord Avebury, about the situation in Pakistan. Think of the bombing last September of the Anglican church in Peshawar, killing 127 and injuring 250, of the attacks on Shias and Ahmadis or of the imprisonment of and death sentences…
BBC World Service and British Council — Motion to Take Note (10 Jul 2014)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …fragile peace and seedling democracies, from the China Sea to the Ukraine, are at daily risk. That is to say nothing of global violation of human rights, from North Korea to Sudan, from Nigeria to Pakistan. More than 30 years ago as a young Member of the House of Commons travelling behind the iron curtain, and in 1981 to India, Nepal and China, I first began to fully understand the…
Queen’s Speech — Debate (5th Day) (Continued) (11 Jun 2014)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …impunity. How very different the situation is in Sudan, which incarcerates a woman and sentences her to death on trumped-up charges of adultery and apostasy. How very different the situation is in Pakistan, where a brave and courageous schoolgirl, Malala Yousafzai, was shot for defying the Taliban’s opposition to education for girls; a country disfigured by honour killings, blasphemy…
Written Answers — House of Lords: Pakistan (13 May 2014)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage the government of Pakistan to ensure a fair and just trial in the cases of Savan Masih, Shafqat Emmanuel and Shagufta Kausar, sentenced to death for blasphemy in Lahore in early April.
Written Answers — House of Lords: Pakistan (28 Jan 2014)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the implications of the decision on 4 December 2013 of the Federal Sharia Court in Pakistan to require the death sentence for anyone convicted under that country’s blasphemy laws; and what representations they have made to the government of Pakistan about the matter.
Written Answers — House of Lords: Pakistan (28 Jan 2014)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations the United Kingdom High Commissioner in Pakistan has made to the government of Pakistan about the imprisonment of the British national Mr Masud Ahmad; and what response they have received.
Human Rights — Motion to Take Note (21 Nov 2013)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …on the treatment of minorities and tolerance towards other faiths. She said that in large parts of the world Christians “face extinction” and that senior politicians in countries like Pakistan have a “duty” to denounce persecution and to set a standard for tolerance. The noble Baroness is right and she is to be commended for leading by her own formidable example. There are growing…
Written Answers — House of Lords: Pakistan (10 Jul 2013)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government (1) what information they have, and (2) what representations they will make to the government of Pakistan, about a reported attack on 3 June in a village near Pattoki in which three Christian women were publicly beaten and humiliated.
Written Answers — House of Lords: Pakistan (4 Jun 2013)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will hold discussions with the incoming Government of Pakistan about the action being taken to investigate the murder of Pakistan’s Minister for Minorities, Shahbaz Bhatti.
Written Answers — House of Lords: Pakistan (21 May 2013)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will hold discussions with the incoming Government of Pakistan about that country’s blasphemy law.
Written Answers — House of Lords: Pakistan (20 May 2013)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will hold discussions with the incoming Government of Pakistan regarding that country’s stance on religious freedom.
Written Answers — House of Lords: Overseas Aid (11 Jun 2012)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much British aid has been allocated to Pakistan in each of the past five years, and which countries received more British aid than Pakistan in this period.
Written Answers — House of Lords: Pakistan (11 Jun 2012)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what information they have received about the killing in Pakistan on the night of 22 May of Shugufta Baber, a teacher at the Convent High School in Okara, her two sons and her sister Samina Bibi.
Written Answers — House of Lords: Pakistan (11 Jun 2012)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have held with the Government of Pakistan about violence directed at the Christian minority in Pakistan.
Written Answers — House of Lords: Pakistan (11 Jun 2012)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of British aid to Pakistan is directed towards minorities; what proportion is used to combat sectarian violence against the country’s minorities; and upon what considerations does the provision of British aid depend.
Written Answers — House of Lords: Pakistan: Women (11 Jun 2012)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what information they have received concerning abuses of the rights of women from religious minorities in Pakistan.
Written Answers — House of Lords: Pakistan: Women (11 Jun 2012)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to help protect the rights of women from religious minorities in Pakistan.
Written Answers — House of Lords: Pakistan: Women (11 Jun 2012)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made an assessment of the extent of discrimination and violence directed against Christian women in Pakistan on account of their gender and their religion; when they last raised this issue with the Government of Pakistan; and what relationship this issue has to the provision of British aid to Pakistan.
Written Answers — House of Lords: India and Pakistan (12 Mar 2012)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to mark the tenth anniversary of the Gujarat violence in India, and the first anniversary of the assassination of Shahbaz Bhatti in Pakistan; if so, how; and whether they will press the Governments of India and Pakistan to ensure that all people responsible for those crimes are brought to justice.
Pakistan — Question (19 Jan 2012)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: My Lords, I particularly welcome the way in which the Minister reached out during her visit to Pakistan to people from minorities, especially religious minorities. Has she noted that this month is the first anniversary of the assassination of Salman Taseer, the former governor of the Punjab, who was murdered along with Shahbaz Bhatti, the former Minister for Minorities in Pakistan? Can she…
Written Answers — House of Lords: Pakistan (5 Dec 2011)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they are taking to monitor the use of aid given to Pakistan to enhance education, to ensure that it is not diverted to the teaching of radical fundamentalism or intolerance, and that such aid assists in the promotion of mutual respect, freedom of speech and religion, and tolerance of minorities.
Written Answers — House of Lords: Pakistan (5 Dec 2011)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assurances they have had from partners in Pakistan, and what independent monitoring ensures, that aid provided for educational purposes is being used cost-effectively and for educational goals and not to fund any madrassas promoting intolerance or fanaticism.
Written Answers — House of Lords: Overseas Aid (19 Jul 2011)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what financial support they provided to (a) Population Health Services India for each year since 1999, (b) Marie Stopes International Pakistan for each year since 1990, and (c) Marie Stopes International India since 2008.
Written Answers — House of Lords: Overseas Aid (19 Jul 2011)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which of the 90 family planning clinics run by Marie Stopes International Pakistan and of the 12 clinics run by Population Health Services India, including mobile services, are beneficiaries of United Kingdom aid.
Written Answers — House of Lords: Pakistan (7 Jul 2011)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what recent reports they have received regarding the freedom of each religious community in Pakistan to (a) exercise their faith, (b) observe their holidays and weekly day of rest, and (c) administer their internal affairs; what recent representations they have made to the Government of Pakistan on these issues; and with what results.
Written Answers — House of Lords: Pakistan (5 Jul 2011)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the Government of Pakistan about the 2002 executive order which denied 4 million Ahmadiyya Muslims the right to vote, unless they are willing to sign a declaration denouncing their own community.
Written Answers — House of Lords: Pakistan (5 Jul 2011)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the Government of Pakistan about violence against the Ahmadiyya Muslims; and what assessment they have made of the threats and intimidation against that community in the United Kingdom.
Written Answers — House of Lords: Pakistan (5 Jul 2011)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the likelihood of the Government of Pakistan ratifying the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and signing both the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention against Torture.
Written Answers — House of Lords: Pakistan (28 Jun 2011)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what safeguards are in place to ensure that British aid to minority groups in Pakistan reaches the intended recipients, and that those channelling British aid within Pakistan are not responsible for discriminatory practices against those groups.
Pakistan: Religious Minorities — Question (22 Jun 2011)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what advocacy the Foreign Office is undertaking on behalf of persecuted religious minorities in Pakistan.
Pakistan: Religious Minorities — Question (22 Jun 2011)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: My Lords, I thank the Minister for that reply. However, what does the abject failure of the authorities in Pakistan to bring to justice those who were responsible for the brutal murder of Salman Taseer, the Governor of Punjab, and of Shahbaz Bhatti, the courageous Minister for Minorities, say about their commitment to uphold the rule of law and to protect minorities? Is not impunity for…
Written Answers — House of Lords: Pakistan (16 Jun 2011)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment was made of the position of Pakistan’s minorities by the Foreign Office Minister, Mr Alistair Burt, during his recent visit to Pakistan.
Written Answers — House of Lords: Pakistan (15 Mar 2011)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the Government of Pakistan about the assassination of Mr Shahbaz Bhatti, Minister for Minority Affairs and Human Rights.
Re-Export Controls Bill [HL]: Second Reading (3 Dec 2010)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …exports. In the last period for which licensing decisions have been published-April to June 2010-the UK refused licences for exports to, for example, Bangladesh, Chad, Indonesia, Israel, Nepal and Pakistan, none of which is under embargo. Indeed, licences were refused for exports to 41 different countries, of which only five are subject to either EU or UN embargo. Surely if we accept the…
Human Rights — Debate (2 Dec 2010)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …more than 200 million Christians in over 60 countries face some degree of restriction, discrimination or persecution while Baha’is in Iran, Rohingya Muslims in Burma, the Ahmadi Muslim community in Pakistan, Sufi Muslims from the Sunni tradition in Somalia and Tibetan Buddhists, among many others, all face serious violations of human rights. The commission recommends, and I endorse this…
Written Answers — House of Lords: Pakistan (22 Mar 2010)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the human rights situation in Balochistan; and what discussions they have had with the Government of Pakistan about holding a plebiscite in Balochistan on the issue of self-determination.
India — Debate (18 Dec 2008)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …. It can be seen in their hatred of all things Indian, the “idea of India”, that led to the indiscriminate and wholesale massacre of innocent Indian lives. Some have pointed the finger of blame at Pakistan, for persisting, perhaps, with its battles over the status of Kashmir, or secretly aiding and abetting extremists schooled by al-Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Taliban and their affiliates…
Slavery (19 Dec 2006)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …who are subjected to forced labour are frequently from minority or marginalised groups. For example, slavery in Sudan affects different ethnic or religious groups. Bonded labour in India, Nepal and Pakistan disproportionately affects dalits and those who are considered to be of “low” caste, adivasis, indigenous people, or other minority groups, including religious minorities. Clearly, many…
Racial and Religious Hatred Bill (11 Oct 2005)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …of tolerance and respect towards those of other origins and other beliefs. I learnt that you do not have to hate one country because you love another, be it Britain or Ireland, Britain or Pakistan. I also had to learn to negotiate and how to defend my beliefs, and not to be intimidated into disowning them simply for expedient reasons. Men and women are diminished when they are forced to…
North Korea: Nuclear Weapons (21 Mar 2005)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …the threat posed to North Korea’s neighbours is probably equal only to the threat posed to the rest of the world when North Korea acts as quartermaster? North Korea sold uranium hexafluoride to Pakistan that, in turn, was sold on to Libya, and, by such deeds, it endangers the security of the rest of the world by sourcing material to failed states and to terrorist organisations. Does the…
Religion and Global Terrorism (9 Apr 2003)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …largely Christian minorities include those in East Timor, southern Sudan—to which the noble Baroness just referred and which I visited last September—where close on 2 million people have died, Pakistan and northern Nigeria, among others. If there is state oppression, individuals often strike back in the name of their religion. The discontent motivating fundamentalist Islamic militarism…
Pakistan (5 Nov 2002)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …does the Minister agree that a good test of the democratic credentials of any government is the way they treat their minorities and uphold human rights? Is she aware that over the past 12 months in Pakistan there have been 39 deaths, 100 injuries and nine attacks on churches, church buildings, hospitals and schools? Does she recognise that one of the continuing sources of persecution…
Indonesia (26 Mar 2002)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: …in Indonesia. The Laskar Jihad is comprised of Islamic extremists from different parts of Indonesia. Some come from outside that country, from some other Muslim states such as Afghanistan and Pakistan. In May 2000, just as sectarian violence in the Moluccas appeared to be starting to wane—many of us hoped that it might be abating at last—the Laskar Jihad invaded the islands with about…
Pakistan (19 Jan 2000)
Lord Alton of Liverpool: My Lords, from debates in your Lordships’ House and in another place, it is strikingly obvious just how many friends Pakistan has right across the political spectrum. For many years, one of the most consistent and reliable of those friends has been my noble friend Lord Weatherill. Anyone who has an interest in the affairs of Pakistan would do well to read his speech and attach proper weight…
