The Lord Alton of Liverpool House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
From: Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon Minister of State (Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and The UN)
Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict
King Charles Street London
SW1A 2AH
Tel: 0207 008 5000
www.gov.uk/fcdo
20 February 2023
Dear Lord Alton,
Thank you for your correspondence of 9 January about the recent treatment of the AhmadiyyaMuslimcommunityinPakistan. I am replying as the Minister of State for South Asia and the Minister responsible for Human Rights.
The UK government remains deeply concerned by the levels of discrimination and violence faced by minority religious communities in Pakistan. I am appalled by the growing persecution of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, and continue to engage with the Government of Pakistan on this serious issue.
Most recently, I raised my concerns around the treatment of Ahmadi Muslims with Pakistan’s Minister for Human Rights, Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada, on 30 January. I also discussed the matter with Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on 14 December and with Muhammad Ayub Chaudhry, Additional Secretary at Pakistan’s Ministry of Interior on 8 December. Mr Mitchell, Minister of State for Development, underlined the need for Pakistan to protect the Ahmadiyya Muslim community against unfounded blasphemy allegations when he met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on 9 January.
The British High Commission in Islamabad continues to engage regularly at a senior level with government representatives and civil society on the need to ensure the safety and religious freedom of Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan.
Yours sincerely,
LORD (TARIQ) AHMAD OF WIMBLEDON
Minister of State
Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing S
