Written question asked by Andy King (Labour) on Thursday, 2 December 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 14 December 2004. It was answered by Douglas Alexander (Labour) on Tuesday, 14 December 2004 on behalf of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office;Dept of Trade and Industry

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Government of Pakistan concerning rapes and assaults committed upon minority women and girls in Pakistan, with particular reference to the Christian girls named Neha and Sharee Komal assaulted in April and May respectively.

Answer: Andy King: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Pakistan concerning rapes and assaults committed upon minority women and girls in Pakistan, with particular reference to the Christian girls named Neha and Sharee Komal assaulted in April and May respectively. [203220] Mr. Alexander: Although we have not so far made specific representations to the Pakistani Government on the deeply concerning cases of Neha and Sharee Komal, the Pakistani authorities are aware that we closely monitor all cases of violent incidents which involve the persecution of Christians and other religious minorities in Pakistan. We have raised our concerns on these issues with the Pakistani authorities, along with EU colleagues, on a number of occasions, most recently in May this year.

Secondary information