EDITORIAL: One would have thought that the precarious state of the economy, the struggling export market and the besieged condition of the sectors sustaining it, along with the country’s persistently volatile foreign exchange reserves would have pushed the government machinery to take every step in its power to protect key industries and bolster export growth.
It is a no-brainer, then, that safeguarding Pakistan’s GSP Plus status — allowing zero-rated tariffs on nearly 66 percent of tariff lines of its exports to the lucrative European Union (EU) market — should be a critical priority.
However, the inexplicable lack of engagement on part of some top Pakistani officials with the EU’s special envoy on Promotion of Freedom of Religion, during his fact-finding trip to the country could have repercussions for sustaining our GSP Plus status beyond 2027.
It is pertinent to note that the status of religious freedoms in the country is one of the benchmarks for retaining our access to the GSP Plus scheme, and Ambassador Frans van Daele’s trip last week was meant to explore this area through his meetings with government ministers, officials, members of civil society, as well as representatives of minority communities.
While the ambassador was able to meet the federal law minister, the Senate chairman and the National Assembly speaker, along with a few other officials, key players, including Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz skipped their meetings with him, underscoring the lack of seriousness among the upper echelons not only with respect to ensuring the preservation of our GSP Plus status, but also when it comes to protecting the rights of marginalised communities to practice their religions without fear or discrimination.
The extension of Pakistan’s GSP Plus status beyond 2027 will heavily rely on its continued commitment to uphold human rights, labour rights, environmental standards and good governance. With the next GSP Plus monitoring mission scheduled to visit the country early next year, Ambassador Daele’s trip was intended to be a crucial precursor, setting the stage for this evaluation.
In light of this, the cavalier disregard exhibited by the above-mentioned individuals is indeed a serious dereliction of duty, especially since GSP Plus has provided the one bright spot in an otherwise flagging export sector, as the country’s exports to the EU have increased by a massive 108 percent between 2014 and 2022, and have had a positive impact on the export competitiveness of numerous sectors.
While in the past the EU has acknowledged Pakistan’s progress in passing legislations that protect minority communities, it has noted that their practical applications needed much improvement. Over the last year, from Jaranwala to Sargodha and Swat, there have been multiple incidents of rabid mobs being instigated by dubious allegations of religious nature, lynching individuals and devastating entire communities, with the government apparatus either being a helpless spectator to the violence or in certain instances being complicit in the brutality.
On top of that, is the profoundly disturbing societal intolerance towards minorities, manifesting in various forms – sometimes violent, but often insidious – and frequently receiving quiet approval from those in power. The EU isn’t blind to these troubling trends, and has often expressed concern over this systemic intolerance.
The least our senior ministers and the chief executive of the province most often in the news for all the wrong reasons pertaining to minority rights could do was to engage with Ambassador Daele and allay the EU’s concerns by demonstrating a genuine commitment to addressing these issues.
Their failure to do so indicates both a troubling disregard for economic stability and a deeper indifference to the need for protecting minority rights. The government must now take urgent steps to rectify any harm caused by this lack of engagement with the EU.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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