Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office written question – answered at on 10 March 2025.
Luke Taylor
Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (London)
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his Pakistani counterpart on taking steps to help prevent the desecration of Ahmadiyya burial sites in Pakistan.
Hamish Falconer
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is aware of the desecration of Ahmadi burial sites in Pakistan and continues to monitor the situation. I raised the deteriorating situation for Ahmadi Muslims when I met Pakistan's Human Rights Minister on 19 November 2024, and discussed this issue in Parliament on 28 November 2024. The British High Commission continues to raise this issue at the highest levels, including the need for swift action in response to incidents of hate and violence. UK programmes promote the rights of religious minorities in Pakistan through facilitating interfaith dialogue and combatting online hate speech.
Yes2 people think so
No0 people think not
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Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
