Islamabad, Sep 27 (IANS) Pakistan continues to be the largest beneficiary of the European Union’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+), securing an estimated 732 million euros in tariff savings in 2024 alone, despite its failure to meet the human rights obligations attached to these privileges, according to a report.
Pakistan benefits from generous tariff preferences, mostly zero tariffs on two-thirds of all product categories, under the GSP+ arrangement. Under the scheme, preferential trade access is linked to the implementation of international conventions on human rights, labour rights, environmental protection, climate change, and good governance.
“Pakistan has enjoyed duty-free trade access to the European market under the GSP+ status since January 1, 2014. However, over the past twelve years, the country has consistently failed to meet the human rights obligations attached to these privileges,” Turkey-born journalist Uzay Bulut wrote in a report in PJ Media.
“How can the European Union justify granting aid and trade privileges to a regime that imprisons people for blasphemy and treats its non-Muslim communities as second-class citizens?” Bulut asked.
Recently, the EU Ambassador to Pakistan, Raimundas Karoblis, warned that Pakistan’s continued access to the EU’s GSP+ scheme could be jeopardised if it does not showcase meaningful progress in protecting human rights, including the rights of religious minorities, according to a PJ Media report.
Karoblis’ remarks come as human rights activities have repeatedly voiced concern over Pakistan’s treatment of Christians and other religious minorities, especially in cases related to forced conversions, child marriage, attacks on places of worship, blasphemy allegations and discrimination in law and practice.
Karoblis said that the blasphemy cases in Pakistan are a major concern for the EU. The blasphemy laws in Pakistan carry severe punishments, including the death penalty and life imprisonment, under the Pakistan Penal Code. These laws in Pakistan are being used to intimidate Christians and people from other religious minorities, resulting in minority communities living in constant fear of blasphemy accusations and violent threats, as per the report.
Recently, a 21-year-old Christian woman was killed in her home in Pakistan’s Rawalpindi by a Muslim neighbour whose advances were rejected by her, as per a report.
The victim, identified as Saba Mehboob, who had separated from her husband a year ago, was shot dead inside her home by the alleged suspect, Adnan Butt, according to her brother Joshua Mehmood. After killing her, the suspect kidnapped her teenage stepbrother and pressured him to falsely confess to having committed the murder, according to a report in Christian Daily International-Morning Star News.
In August, a leading minority rights organisation expressed grave concern over a disturbing pattern of forced conversions and child marriage targeting minority girls in Pakistan, revealing that over 83 per cent of the victims are minors.
According to the Voice of Pakistan Minority (VOPM), the persistent failure of state institutions — including the police, judiciary, and administrative authorities — to respond effectively has fostered an environment of near impunity for perpetrators. The organisation said that affected families are often left to navigate a system stacked against them, while victims are denied both protection and a meaningful voice.
Citing a recent report titled “Stolen Girls”, presented at the European Parliament by US-based advocacy group Jubilee Campaign, it said that at least 210 cases of abduction, forced conversion, and child marriage involving Christian girls in Pakistan were documented between 2019 and 2025.
Emphasising that these are not isolated incidents but form a part of a broader pattern, the VOPM said the findings reveal “deep institutional failures and a cycle of abuse” that continues largely unchecked.
“The numbers alone are alarming. More than 83 per cent of the victims are minors. The average age is just 12.8 years. These are children who should be in school, playing with friends, and dreaming about their future. Instead, they are forced into marriages with men nearly three times their age. The report shows that the average perpetrator is around 35 years old, with age gaps often exceeding 20 or even 30 years,” the rights body noted.
–IANS
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