Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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231. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the details of his engagements with the government of Pakistan and its embassy regarding the arbitrary detention of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15397/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I am aware of a number of arrests that were made by authorities in the province of Balochistan, in south-west Pakistan, in recent days and of the ongoing unrest in this region which has witnessed violent insurgencies and political and ethnic conflict in recent years.

Ireland, through our Embassy in Islamabad, continues to monitor closely developments in the region and has engaged with both the EU Delegation and like-minded partners in Pakistan regarding the most appropriate response and representations to authorities.

Our commitment to the promotion and protection of universal human rights, including freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and association, and freedom to participate in the political process, remains clear. Ireland engages regularly with Pakistan on political and human rights issues in the country, at both bilateral and multilateral level.

Human rights is also an important part of the EU-Pakistan dialogue. Various concerns were raised at the EU-Pakistan Sub-Group on Democracy, Governance, Rule of Law and Human Rights during the 14th EU-Pakistan Joint Commission in November 2024. Human rights also feature prominently in trade discussions, most notably ensuring the implementation of international human rights conventions linked to the trade preferences afforded to Pakistan under the GSP+ scheme.

My Department, through our Embassy in Islamabad, will continue to monitor the evolving situation, along with our like-minded Partners and the EU Delegation in Islamabad.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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232. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the details of his engagements with the government of Turkey and its embassy regarding the arbitrary detention of persons (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15398/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I am very concerned by recent events in Türkiye, including the arrest and detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, along with many members of the press and civil society representatives. Officials in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade have in recent days raised these concerns directly at senior levels in Türkiye. We have emphasised the need for the Government of Türkiye to respect fundamental, democratic values.

As a member of the Council of Europe, and an EU candidate country, it is incumbent upon the Turkish authorities to respect the fundamental principles of democracy and rule of law. Restrictions on access to social media, and reported arrests of journalists covering the protests are very worrying, and contrary to the European values to which the Government of Türkiye has committed.

Officials in my Department are monitoring the situation in Türkiye closely, and keeping travel advice for Irish citizens under review.