Nusrat Ghani – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nusrat Ghani on 2015-10-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support people in Pakistan who are creating safe spaces for the discussion of liberal Islam

Mr Desmond Swayne

DFID supports the rights of all groups to follow their religious faith and to live safe lives. Wherever possible, our programmes in Pakistan promote diversity and tolerance. For example, our work with civil society groups focus on strengthening the political voice of excluded groups and providing them with better access to justice. Our education programmes in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces support the implementation of Pakistan’s 2006 reformed curriculum which teaches religious tolerance and respect for diversity.

The Government of Pakistan has publicly recognised the problems facing minorities and the need to bring an end to religious persecution. We remain fully committed to working in partnership with them to achieve this and raise these issues regularly with the Government of Pakistan. Most recently the Head of DFID Pakistan raised this issue in October as part of the bilateral assistance talks.