Blasphemy law abuse: EU parliament adopts resolution calling for review of Pakistan’s GSP+ status

The European Parliament has adopted a resolution calling for a review of the GSP+ status granted to Pakistan in view of an "alarming" increase in blasphemy accusations against religious minorities.

The resolution was adopted unanimously with 681 Member of European Parliaments (MEPs) voting in favor of this resolution while 3 against it.

“The EU Parliament calls on the Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS) to immediately review Pakistan’s eligibility for GSP+ status in the light of current events and whether there is sufficient reason to initiate a procedure for the temporary withdrawal of this status and the benefits that come with it, and to report to the European Parliament on this matter as soon as possible,” the resolution said.

Co-authored by Member of European Parliament (MEP) Charlie Weimers of Sweden, the resolution expressed ‘deep concern’ at the prevailing anti-French sentiment in the country, and called on the Government of Pakistan to ‘unequivocally condemn’ incitement to violence and discrimination against religious minorities.

During his address in the EU parliament, Charlie Weimers cited various incidents where members of religious minorities, especially Christians, were killed or imprisoned in Pakistan over accusations of blasphemy.

He also criticized Prime Minister Imran Khan for relativizing the denial of the Holocaust and genocide to criticism of Islam's Prophet.

“Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan, rather than defend his citizens' human rights against false accusers, [...] equated denial of the Holocaust and genocide to criticism of Islam's Prophet (PBUH).”

He went on to tweet about the success of this resolution with this tweet: “Should Europe reward Pakistan’s mob justice targeting Christians and its Prime Minister relativizing the Holocaust? My answer is no.”

The resolution particularly mentioned the case of a Christian couple, Shagufta Kausar and Shafqat Emmanuel, who was sentenced to death on blasphemy charges in 2014.

The duo was charged with blasphemy on the basis of controversial text messages sent from a phone number that was registered to Kausar. However, the resolution doubted the authenticity of the evidence against them.

“The evidence on which the couple was convicted can be considered deeply flawed,” it states, adding that the couple had an argument with the accuser not long before the accusations were made.

The couple has since been in jail pending a court ruling on their appeal against the death sentence. A hearing on their appeal has been postponed multiple times, most recently on February 15, 2021, according to the resolution.

Presenting this case as an example, the resolution maintained that there has been a significant surge in the use of blasphemy accusations online and offline in Pakistan, with the highest number of accusations since 1987 taking place in 2020.

Many of these allegations were targeted at human rights defenders, journalists, artists, and the most marginalized segments. “Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are increasingly used for personal or political vendetta in violation of the rights to freedom of religion and belief and of opinion and expression,” it states.

Reasons and implications

The resolution is a cause of concern for Pakistan which has a struggling economy. What's even more alarming is the number of votes the resolution received in the European parliament. Foreign policy experts believe that the surge of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan's (TLP) violent protest, the growing anti-France sentiment, growing violence against religious minorities, and the Quetta blast may have sent out a message that Pakistan is still struggling to deal with radical elements.

Pakistan has enjoyed trade preferences under the GSP+ program since 2014. The economic benefits from this unilateral trade agreement help Pakistan compete with Turkey which is a member of the customs Union, Vietnam which enjoys an FTA status, and Sri Lanka which also has a GSP+ status, among other countries with similar access and those which are competitive even without any unilateral or bilateral arrangement with the EU.

As Pakistan struggles to get off FATF, any decision in compliance with this resolution will jeopardize Pakistan's gains on the economic front, as 35% of our exports go to Europe. The share was 22% before Pakistan got GSP+ status in 2014.