Pakistan Challenges EU GSP+ Assessment as Unbalanced

Overview

• Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said Pakistan is disappointed with the European Commission’s latest GSP+ assessment while acknowledging the report praised legislative progress and continued compliance with the scheme’s rules.
• Islamabad argues the assessment understates reforms carried out since it joined GSP+ in 2014 and places disproportionate emphasis on a few slower areas of progress.
• Andrabi defended GSP+ as a cornerstone of Pakistan’s economy that supports exports, jobs and poverty reduction and said the country will engage constructively with EU institutions to safeguard those benefits.
• The Foreign Office rejected an Amnesty International allegation that Pakistani airstrikes in Kabul in March hit a rehabilitation facility and caused civilian casualties, saying operations targeted terrorist infrastructure in self-defence and calling on the Taliban to meet UN and Doha Agreement obligations to prevent cross-border militant activity.
• Pakistan confirmed Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will lead its delegation to the SCO council meeting in Kyrgyzstan, showing simultaneous diplomatic efforts to press security concerns in regional forums while pursuing trade talks with the EU.