EU paying attention to ‘crackdown on PTI’ in Pakistan: envoy

• EU envoy explains status of Pakistan's GSP Plus status.
• Pakistan's case for extension in preferential trade under review.
• PTI says human rights issue is important for EU.

KARACHI: European Union Ambassador to Pakistan Dr Riina Kionka has said that the organisation — comprising 27 European countries — is paying a lot of attention to the "crackdown on the PTI and [its] supporters in the aftermath of May 9" in the country.

The EU ambassador's comment came in a video statement regarding the extension of Pakistan’s GSP (Generalised Scheme of Preferences) Plus status.

Ambassador Dr Kionka detailed Pakistan’s current GSP Plus status, saying that "the proposed extension of the current regulation for GSP Plus in effect means no change for Pakistan at the moment, and the country enjoys the same trade preferences and access to the European market [as before]."

However, she added that Pakistan also "has the same obligations as before in terms of implementing the 27 international human rights conventions" and that the EU will "continue to monitor progress and report to the European Parliament".

She emphasised that "there are certain areas where the EU would like to see more improvement [by Pakistan] -- for instance on freedom of expression, freedom of the media, freedom of religion and belief, situation of minorities, rights of women and gender equality and also labour rights," as well as the situation regarding the "crackdown on the PTI".

The ambassador's statement did not go unnoticed in political quarters.

PTI's Punjab secretary-general Hammad Azhar shared her video and said that the GSP Plus status is "important for [Pakistan’s] exports" and places "human rights and governance responsibilities on Pakistan", adding that the EU ambassador had discussed "freedom of [the] press, crackdown on Tehreek-e-Insaf, military courts".

The PTI leader's tweet was quickly responded to by Bilal Azhar Kayani, coordinator to PM Shehbaz Sharif on economy and energy, who accused Hammad Azhar of initiating a "conspiracy" against Pakistan's GSP Plus Status.

In a quote tweet, Kayani said that: "After the conspiracy against the IMF programme", and [after the PTI] "setting fire" to installations in remembrance of the nation's martyrs, "begins animosity against the GPS Plus status, in a bid to not let go of any opportunity for hostility towards the country".

He added that "every conspiracy has been thwarted," and any conspiracy against the GPS Plus status would also be unsuccessful.

In her statement, Ambassador Dr Kionka had also clarified that the proposed continuation of the extension of the current regulation is not only for Pakistan but applies to all eight beneficiary countries of GSP Plus and that nobody wants a stop to the trade preferences "which would affect Pakistani exporters, factory workers and their families, European businesses that rely on Pakistani suppliers, as well as European consumers".

When speaking about the human rights monitoring by the EU, the ambassador also talked about "international NGOs looking specifically at the issue of the use of military courts and anti-terrorism courts to try those accused in the May 9 events", adding that Pakistan is a "state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which means that Pakistan has agreed that every person has the right to a fair and public trial in a court that is independent, impartial and competent, and also has the right to adequate legal representation".

Originally published in The News