§ Mr. GalbraithTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on the persecution of the Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydWe have on several occasions expressed to the Pakistani Government our concerns about discrimination against Ahmadis. In 1984 a presidential ordinance made it a criminal offence for an Ahmadi to call himself a Muslim or to preach and propagate his faith. Members of the Ahmadi community have individually suffered from discrimination, although many in the community have prospered in business arid the professions. We believe that a recent decision by the Pakistani Government that a citizen's identity card should indicate his religion could make discrimination against Ahmadis and other minority religious groups easier. We have expressed our concern to the Pakistani Government.