§ Lord Jenkins of PutneyMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in pursuance of their declared concern for human rights, they will request the Government of Pakistan to state what substance there is in the allegations that there are some 40,000 political prisoners in Pakistan and whether it is true that the Pakistan Government countenances the torture of these prisoners.
§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Belstead)No, my Lords. Pakistan's Interior Minister has publicly denied allegations that such large numbers of political detainees are held and that the Pakistan Government countenance torture.
§ Lord Jenkins of PutneyMy Lords, is the noble Lord aware that the figure in my Question appeared in an Amnesty International Report? Is he further aware that, even if the figure is denied, I think he will agree that it is incontrovertible that the dictatorship in Pakistan has become increasingly cruel and barbaric in recent years? Why is it that the Government appear to find this extremely repressive régime more acceptable than the relatively mild military régime in Poland?
§ Lord BelsteadMy Lords, so far as the Amnesty International Report is concerned, it acknowledges that it is difficult to give precise figures for the numbers of political detainees at present and accepts that those detained in recent years have mostly been released after a short period. However, having said that, I give the noble Lord an assurance that the Government will continue to use appropriate ways of making it clear that we deplore violations of human rights wherever they occur.