| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
25 Oct 2006 : Column 485WH—continued
Numerous representations have been made by Her Majesty’s Government on behalf of Mr. Hussain at the highest level. The Prime Minister raised the case with President Musharraf during their meeting on 28 September, having previously written to him on 9 August, requesting that he look favourably on Mr. Hussain’s case. The Foreign Secretary discussed the matter with the Pakistani Foreign Minister at the United Nations general assembly in New York on 19 September, having previously written to President
Musharraf on 18 May asking him to commute Mr. Hussain’s sentence to an appropriate term of imprisonment.
Other Ministerial representations have been made on Mr. Hussain’s behalf. I have been engaged on the case for some time, and raised it with Shaukat Aziz, the Pakistani Prime Minister during my visit to Pakistan in September; with Kamal Shah, the Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior; with Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar, the Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and with Lieutenant-General Aurakzai, the governor of the north-west frontier province, who described to me in some detail his attempts to get the family to agree to some form of financial settlement.
In the same month, the Home Secretary raised Mr. Hussain’s case with the Pakistani Interior Minister during a meeting in London. I also raised the case with the Pakistani High Commissioner, Dr. Maleeha Lodhi, on 25 July. The Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Leeds, Central (Hilary Benn), in his role as a Leeds constituency MP for some of Mr. Hussain’s family, has been personally involved in the case; he, too, wrote to President Musharraf in May. The Under-Secretary of State for International Development, my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow, West (Mr. Thomas), and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Ham (Mr. Timms), raised the case with the Pakistani Prime Minister earlier this month. Those are just some of the most recent ministerial level representations. There have been many more.
Numerous representations on Mr. Hussain’s behalf have also been made at senior official level. Mr. Hussain’s case is a priority for FCO officials in Pakistan and in London, and I thank them for their sustained efforts. I thank especially our High Commissioner to Islamabad, Mark Lyall Grant, who has been closely involved in Mr. Hussain’s case. He and his team have made frequent representations at senior official level, some made while I was there, and they have had intensive contacts with the President’s office and others. They will continue their efforts with the Pakistani authorities, as we all will, in order to achieve our goal of securing Mr. Hussain’s reprieve.
Mr. Hussain’s welfare is of paramount concern to us, and consular staff continue to visit him weekly at the prison. On that note, it is worth spending a moment focusing on Mr. Hussain’s family. No one can imagine how difficult and distressing the past 17 years must have been for them. Tahir's brother, Amjad, has been campaigning tirelessly on his brother's behalf, and I join the hon. Member for Leeds, North-West in admiring his courage and determination. Our staff, both in London and at the British High Commission in Pakistan, have maintained frequent contact with Mr. Hussain’s family, and will continue to liaise closely with them and to offer them all the support that we can.
As I said, our strong wish is to see Mr. Hussain’s sentence commuted. However, I stress, as did the hon. Gentleman, that the British Government cannot interfere in the judicial systems of other countries, just as we would not expect others to interfere in the British judicial system. The decision whether or not to
commute Mr. Hussain’s sentence is therefore a sovereign decision for Pakistan. We know that the Pakistani authorities are considering the many representations that they have received about the case. We are grateful for the extensions that have been granted, and we sincerely hope that Pakistan will consider a merciful commutation—not because Tahir Hussain has British nationality, but because it would be a just and merciful decision. We all sincerely hope for a decision that is favourable to Tahir. However, I stress that we have not and will not seek to threaten the Government of Pakistan over the issue in any way. As I have said, it is a decision that must be made by the sovereign state of Pakistan, following the rules of its judicial system. We would not expect the British Government to be the subject of threats from abroad
for a decision taken in accordance with our judicial system, and we will not begin the practice of threatening other Governments, no matter how passionately we may wish for an outcome that will spare the life of a British national or a dual national.
Although it has to be a sovereign decision for Pakistan, I hope that I have been able to reassure the hon. Gentleman and Tahir’s family that we have been doing all that we properly can for Mr. Hussain and his family. We will continue to do so and I hope fervently that Mr. Hussain will not be executed.
Adjourned accordingly at ten minutes past Five o'clock.
| Index | Home Page |