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Ministerial Visit

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the Minister for Europe next plans to visit Spain. [117869]

Mr. MacShane: I visited Madrid on 6 June 2003 when I had a useful discussion on a number of European issues with my opposite number, Ramon de Miguel.

Montserrat

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Governor of Montserrat; and when he next plans to visit Montserrat. [117858]

Mr. MacShane: My noble Friend Baroness Amos, then Minister for the Overseas Territories, met the Governor of Montserrat on 1 May 2003 at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Baroness Amos last visited Montserrat in December 2001, when she had the chance to meet the Governor and Members of the Government of Montserrat. There are no plans for a further visit at present.

Opium Poppy Eradication Programme

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will assess the extent to which the Opium-poppy Eradication Programme has (a) deferred Afghan farmers from opium-poppy production and (b) decreased the supply of heroin to the UK. [117185]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Afghan Transitional Administration estimate that around 25 per cent. of the crop was destroyed as a result of their eradication programme for the 2002 harvest. A potential 79 tonnes of heroin, two to three times the UK's annual consumption, was taken out of the supply chain. A proportion of this was bound to be destined for the UK but it is not possible to gauge exactly how much.

The Afghan National Drug Strategy, which was adopted on 19 May, recognises that eradication will not eliminate drugs from Afghanistan on its own and must be balanced with other measures to interdict drugs and to encourage development of rural communities to promote sustainable alternatives for poppy farmers.

Pakistan

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on (a) the impact of the invasion of Iraq, on public opinion in Pakistan and (b) support for fundamentalist Islamist views. [117361]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: During the military action in Iraq there were several relatively small, and mostly peaceful, demonstrations in Pakistan. There was, understandably, wide media coverage and public debate, mostly critical of coalition action. The religious alliance the MMA, secured 12 per cent. of the vote in the October 2002 elections. It is an alliance of six parties

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reflecting many shades of conservative Muslim opinion in Pakistan. Thereare no clear indications to suggest their support base has strengthened further in recent months.

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether British citizens have been ordered in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan to veil themselves in public. [117360]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: We are not aware of any British citizens who have been ordered to veil themselves in the north west frontier province or elsewhere in Pakistan. We are aware that the North West Frontier Province Assembly has passed the Shariat Bill which envisages an Islamic way of life in the Province. However, the law is not yet in force and its constitutionality has reportedly been challenged in the Supreme Court. We will continue to monitor the situation.

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what rules Fedex imposes on its acceptance of visa applications for visits to the UK from Pakistan; what arrangements there are where such an application is outside those restrictions; and if he will make a statement. [117765]

Mr. Rammell: This information is available on the UKvisas website, the address of which is www.ukvisas.gov.uk.

The Visa Section in Islamabad remains unable to accept personal callers and all applications for entry clearance must be made through the courier service, Gerry's Fedex. The High Commission is currently only able to resolve certain categories of application and advises Gerry's Fedex which types of application they are able to accept.

The types of visitor application which can currently be considered are:

Those who have travelled to the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand or the USA within the last five years as a visitor.


Business visitors with a letter of invitation from a company in the UK who have travelled to the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand or the USA within the last five years and has evidence of this travel.


Persons aged 60 and over going to visit close relatives in the UK.


Visitors with urgent and compassionate reasons to travel, who have prior agreement from the British High Commission that the application will be accepted.


Someone wishing to undertake urgent medical treatment, with evidence of the referral from a doctor in Pakistan and an appointment letter from a doctor in the UK.

Upon receipt of the correct fee, Gerry's Fedex will forward the application to the Visa Section in Islamabad for consideration.

Those persons who wish to visit the UK but do not meet the criteria outlined, may apply for a visit visa in a third country. This should be done with the prior agreement of the visa issuing office of the British Mission(s) in that country. Those applications where there are exceptional and compassionate circumstances involved are considered on their own merits. The procedure allows the applicant to fax the visa section, detailing the kind of application they wish to make and why it should be treated as an urgent/compassionate

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case. If the Visa Section agrees that it can be considered, the applicant is sent a letter to take with their application to Gerry's Fedex where it will be accepted.

Sharia Law

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of Nigeria concerning the sentence imposed on Amina Lawal; and if he will make a statement. [117383]

Mr. Rammell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Leyton and Wanstead (Harry Cohen) on 4 June 2003, Official Report, column 440W.

Sri Lanka

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what his Department's policy is on the return of internally displaced Tamil people to their villages and towns; [117510]

(2) how many internally displaced Tamil people live in Sri Lanka; and if he will make a statement; [117512]

(3) if he will make a statement on the internal displacement of Tamils in Sri Lanka. [117513]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The UNHCR estimates that the Sri Lankan conflict has displaced over 800,000 people. (Of the 600,000 surveyed, some 80 per cent. are Tamil, and 14 Muslim and 5 per cent. Sinhalese.)

Since the ceasefire in February 2002, some 270,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) have returned home spontaneously. However, the British Government cannot endorse organised returns for IDPs while the UNHCR recommends against it (given the lack of infrastructure to support returnees, and the large amount of unexploded ordinance in the north and east).

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the meetings his Department has held with representatives of (a) the Sri Lankan government and (b) the Tamil people to discuss development in each of the past five years. [117511]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: FCO staff in Sri Lanka meet regularly with representatives of the Government, all political parties, the LTTE, as well as ordinary Sri Lankans of all ethnic communities, throughout the island. They discuss many issues, including development. The most recent high-level meeting on development took place in Sri Lanka on 4 June when the High Commissioner met senior LTTE representatives.

Mr. Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the peace-process in Sri Lanka. [117514]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The peace process has made remarkable progress since February 2002, particularly the agreement to pursue a political solution through a federal structure within a united Sri Lanka. However, at present it is in a critical state. The LTTE has suspended its participation in the peace talks and did not attend the Donors Conference in Tokyo on 9/10 June.

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We are working with all concerned to encourage both sides to continue dialogue and for the LTTE to return to the negotiating table.

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the human rights record of the Sri Lankan government. [117515]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Sri Lanka is a signatory to all six core human rights instruments, and established a Human Rights Commission in August 1997. We are encouraged that the Government of Sri Lanka has taken measures to improve its human rights record. However there are still significant human rights issues that need to be addressed by both the Government and the LTTE. During the peace talks both sides have made commitments to address these issues, including the needs of women and children, particularly those affected by armed conflict. We hope these commitments will be taken forward once peace talks are resumed.

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