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Following accusations by Information Minister Attaullah Tarar during a recent press conference, claiming that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party had approached the European Union (EU) and initiated online petitions urging for the revocation of Pakistan’s Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) status, the EU mission in Islamabad has clarified its stance.
The EU’s statement, reported by Daily Pakistan, asserts that there has been no official communication from PTI regarding the GSP+ status. Samar Saeed Akhtar, EU Press and Information Officer in Islamabad, reiterated this, stating that no such communication had been received.
PTI also denied sending any letter to the EU regarding Pakistan’s GSP+ status, refuting the claims made by the information minister. According to PTI spokesperson Raoof Hassan, during a recent visit, both EU and Commonwealth delegations met with various political parties, including PTI, and no further engagement with the EU occurred beyond this.
This development arises amidst the expiration of the previous GSP framework in December 2023. Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) voted in October to extend the scheme for another four years for developing countries, including Pakistan. The GSP+ status is contingent upon a country’s commitment to implementing 27 international conventions on human rights, environmental protection, and governance.
In a separate but related development, last month, PTI wrote a letter to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), urging for an audit of the disputed February 8 elections before engaging in further bailout talks with Islamabad. However, this action faced criticism from Khan’s opponents, who viewed it as undermining Pakistan’s efforts to achieve economic stability.
