Geneva, March 28 — Speaking at a side event during the 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Dr. Sumran Razak Sabreena of the Pakistan World Alliance urged the European Union to reconsider Pakistan’s preferential trade status under the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+), citing serious human rights failures.
Sabreena told attendees that Pakistan has not met the human rights commitments tied to GSP+, which grants tariff-free access to EU markets for qualifying goods. She called on the European Parliament to press for suspension of Pakistan’s GSP+ until “meaningful reforms” are enacted.
She also demanded the release of the European Union’s assessment of Pakistan’s February 2024 general elections, saying concerns over electoral integrity intensified after a leaked Commonwealth observer report allegedly pointed to rigging. Sabreena said the Commonwealth only began reviewing Pakistan’s compliance with democratic and human rights standards after that leak.
Highlighting a wider erosion of civil liberties, Sabreena described increasing restrictions on freedom of expression, movement and assembly in Pakistan. She alleged that former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been held in solitary confinement for more than two years without adequate medical care, and that his health has deteriorated significantly, including major vision loss in one eye.
Relating a personal case, Sabreena said her father — a human rights defender and expert on enforced disappearances acknowledged by Amnesty International — was abducted in November 2019 and remained missing for over a year before authorities admitted he was in custody. She accused security forces of torturing him, denying medical treatment, trying him in a secret military court and sentencing him to 14 years. She said he continues to suffer serious health problems in detention and is often denied medication, hospital visits and contact with family, missing birthdays, funerals and graduations.
Sabreena urged EU decision-makers to factor in migration flows from Pakistan to Europe via Turkey when reviewing GSP+ status. She also accused Pakistan of failing to protect minority rights and making no progress on contentious blasphemy laws, and called for stronger international pressure to address these issues.
Stressing that the aim is not punitive but transformational, Sabreena asked the EU to use the leverage of GSP+ to push for systemic reforms that restore political freedoms and uphold human rights.
Report via ANI.
