MR MASUD AHMAD AND THE PERSECUTION OF THE AHMADIYYA MUSLIM COMMUNITY IN PAKISTAN

Early day motion 982, tabled 22 January 2014 by Siobhain McDonagh (Labour). Signed by 24 members.

That this House notes the case of the British national, Mr Masud Ahmad, a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, who is imprisoned in Pakistan under the country's draconian anti-Ahmadi laws after being secretly filmed reading the Holy Qur'an; condemns Pakistan's continued persecution of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community; further condemns the anti-Ahmadi laws that are used to target Ahmadi Muslims and the blasphemy laws that are used to target religious groups to deny them their right to freedom of religion; acknowledges the risk that ongoing detention poses to Mr Ahmad's life; and therefore calls on the Government to make representations to the Pakistani authorities, urging them to withdraw charges against Mr Ahmad and release him with immediate effect in line with the country's stated commitment to religious freedom and tolerance under the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Signatures by party: Labour 15, Liberal Democrat 6, DUP 1, Independent 1, Social Democratic and Labour Party 1.