MPs debate the position of Hazaras in Afghanistan and Pakistan
1 September 2014
On Monday 1 September MPs took part in a debate on the position of Hazaras in Afghanistan and Pakistan, in the House of Commons Chamber. This debate was scheduled by the Backbench Business Committee.
The Member in charge for this debate was John Denham, Labour MP for Southampton, Itchen. Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Tobias Ellwood, responded to the debate on behalf of the Government.
Watch the debate and read the transcript
- Watch Parliament TV: MPs debate the position of Hazaras in Afghanistan and Pakistan: 1 September 2014
- Read Commons Hansard: MPs debate the position of Hazaras in Afghanistan and Pakistan
How the subject for debate was selected
The subject for this debate was determined by the Backbench Business Committee following representations from John Denham and Mike Thornton at the meeting on Tuesday 1 July 2014. The debate was originally scheduled for 17 July but was rescheduled to take place on 1 September.
Backbench Business Committee
The Backbench Business Committee meets weekly on Tuesdays at 3pm to consider requests for debates from any backbench Members of Parliament on any subject, including those raised in e-petitions or national campaigns.
An MP must make a representation before the Committee for an e-petition or petition to be debated; e-petitions exceeding the Government's 100,000 signature threshold are not automatically allocated backbench time.
The Committee then has to decide how to allocate the limited Parliamentary time it has at its disposal. The Committee's meetings are always conducted in public and can be watched on Parliament TV.