Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, has provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (HL10090):
Question by Lord Alton f Liverpool:
To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to measure and evaluate (1) the effectiveness, and (2) the impact of projects that monitor the evacuation of religious minorities from areas affected by religious persecution in Pakistan. (HL10090)
Tabled on: 12 September 2023
Answer:
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon:
The UK Government strongly condemns the violence faced by religious minorities in Pakistan. I [Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister for South Asia] condemned recent attacks against religious minorities in my meetings with Pakistan’s caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani on 13 September, and Pakistani High Commissioner Mohammed Faisal on 6 September. UK aid in Pakistan continues to support projects promoting the rights of religious minorities. Our Aawaz II programme brings together community leaders and minority representatives to promote tolerance. The British High Commission recently attended the Aawaz Interfaith dialogue in Lahore, which convened key stakeholders from across Punjab following the attacks against Christians in Jaranwala. Our Hate Speech and Disinformation programme is working to protect marginalised communities from hate speech online.
Date and time of answer: 26 Sep 2023 at 16:24.
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Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, has provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (HL10088):
Questions by Lord Alton of Liverpool:
To ask His Majesty’s Government what projects they are currently funding to improve (1) the quality of education, and (2) access to education for the Christian community, in Pakistan. (HL10088)
Tabled on: 12 September 2023
This question was grouped with the following question(s) for answer:
- To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how many Christian students in Pakistan have (1) benefited from, and (2) graduated from, university as a result of projects funded through UK foreign aid to improve the quality of, and access to, education for their local community. (HL10092)
Tabled on: 12 September 2023
Answer:
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon:
Since 2011, UK aid to Pakistan has helped over 11.6 million children attend primary school (including 5.5 million girls) and over 5.9 million children in secondary school (2.5 million girls). The UK’s programme of support for education has helped thousands of children from religious minorities attend school and gain skills. We have also commissioned studies to identify minorities’ needs in education. In July, the British High Commission participated in a civil society-led panel discussion on Minorities and Education. The UK has supported initiatives to review the National Curriculum of Pakistan, providing technical assistance to create a more inclusive curriculum and textbooks.
Date and time of answer: 26 Sep 2023 at 16:16.
