The European Union has expressed dissatisfaction with Pakistan’s informal suspension of executions and is pressing for a formal legal ban on capital punishment if Islamabad wishes to retain trade concessions under the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP Plus) that grant preferential access to the bloc’s markets.
The matter was discussed by lawmakers after MNA Dr Mirza Ikhtiar Baig raised it at a session of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on the Economic Affairs Division. He said the EU also has concerns about human rights conditions in Pakistan, and underscored that securing continued GSP Plus access is a “do or die” situation for the country’s exports to the 27-member bloc.
Baig warned that without favourable concessions, Pakistan risks losing market advantage to India, which is on track to obtain tariff-free access to the EU under a separate trade deal, potentially hitting Pakistan’s export earnings.
Representatives from the Ministry of Economic Affairs told the committee that government bodies — including the Ministry of Commerce and private sector stakeholders — are actively engaging with the EU to secure an extension of the GSP Plus scheme for another two years. Plans are underway to dispatch delegations of lawmakers to several European capitals to advocate for Pakistan’s trade interests.
Committee members stressed that Pakistan should be placed on equal footing with India regarding concessions in EU markets, arguing that anything less could undermine export performance.
The push for legal reforms comes amid Pakistan’s efforts to broaden economic ties with the EU, especially following a landmark trade agreement between India and the bloc. At a meeting held on Monday, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar reiterated Islamabad’s commitment to meet all obligations required to expand trade under the GSP Plus framework.
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