Pakistan’s duty-free access to the European Union could be in jeopardy because of a deteriorating human rights situation, the chairman of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance has warned, in a report by The Express Tribune carried by the Daily Mirror.
“We are getting signals that the GSP+ status is in the doldrums because of human rights issues,” said Syed Naveed Qamar, a former finance and commerce minister, while chairing the committee. He did not specify which concerns might lead to an adverse EU decision. The government has maintained there is no such threat.
What the EU monitoring found
The most recent monitoring report on the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) flagged numerous human and fundamental rights violations, a weakening judicial system and curbs on freedom of expression. It said Pakistan needed robust steps to reverse negative trends on enforced disappearances and freedom of expression, adding that laws on “blasphemy, cybercrime (such as PECA), defamation, counterterrorism and sedition should be amended or repealed.”
During the 2023-2025 monitoring period, the report said, Pakistan “has regressed in a number of areas while positive change was limited.”
Under revised GSP rules from 2027, the EU listed priorities including accountability for human rights violations, stronger action against torture, prison and capital punishment reform, and reversing the decline on enforced disappearances.
Timeline and stakes
The current scheme runs until December 2028, Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Bilal Kayani told the committee, and a committee led by a deputy prime minister is preparing an application to qualify for the new scheme from January 2029.
Pakistan was the top beneficiary of GSP+, recording 7.5 billion in exports to the bloc in 2024 under preferential tariffs, according to the fifth GSP report, which assesses implementation of 27 international core conventions across beneficiary countries. The source report does not state the currency for that figure.
The committee also heard that Pakistan’s border closures with Iran and Afghanistan were affecting trade with Central Asia. “There is an impact on trade with Central Asia but we closed our borders with Afghanistan because of national security priorities,” Kayani said.
Why this matters in Colombo
Sri Lanka is a separate GSP+ beneficiary under the same EU scheme, assessed against the same 27 conventions and the same monitoring cycle. The 2027 rule changes and the 2029 successor scheme therefore apply to Colombo on the same timetable. This report concerns Pakistan’s status only, and carries no finding about Sri Lanka’s.
