Well-informed sources told Business Recorder that the EU has raised a number of issues at the highest level in Brussels and Islamabad. The Commerce Minister discussed the issues relating to implementation of 27 UN Conventions in an inter-ministerial meeting in the committee room of Commerce Ministry and decided to press provincial governments to expedite realization of all Conventions.
Besides others, the officials from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Interior and Treaty Implementation Cell (TIC) headed by Attorney General of Pakistan, Ashtar Ausaf Ali attended the meeting.
Later, Commerce Minister and Secretary Commerce held a closed door meeting with Chairman National Commission for Human Rights, former Justice Ali Nawaz Chohan and Secretary Ministry of Human Rights Rabiya Javeri Agha and conveyed the concerns of Members of European Parliament and civil society. Pakistan''s embassy in Brussels is not satisfied with the performance of Ministry of Human Rights with respect to human rights situation in the country.
The biennial GSP+ report to the European Parliament and the Council is a status report on the effective implementation of GSP+ countries of the relevant GSP+ conventions and on compliance with reporting obligations. The first GSP+ report, covering the period 2014-2015, was issued in January 2016. The second one, covering the period 2016-2017 will be published by the beginning of next year.
An official on condition of anonymity told this scribe that the federal and provincial governments are taking all possible steps to eliminate or at least minimize human rights violations, adding that not a single country in the world is perfect on this front.
According to the EU serious situation remains on rights of women, death penalty, use of military courts, torture, extra judicial killings and enforced disappearances, rights of minorities, protection of journalists and human rights defenders. In 2016, Pakistan''s exports to EU increased to Euro 6.3 billion as compared to Euro 4.54 billion in 2013, showing a growth of 33 per cent.
The European Union (EU) has also conveyed serious concerns for not getting level playing field to its companies, especially EU car makers'' vis-à-vis Japanese car assemblers.
The EU''s trade concerns are as follows: (i) restriction on import of meat from EU; (ii) weak enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights; (iii) discriminatory treatment against international pharmaceutical companies vis-à-vis domestic industry; (iv) discriminatory customs valuation of European cars as compared to cars from Asian region; (v) Regulatory Duty of 25 per cent on powdered milk; and (vi) discriminatory imposition of sales tax on imported products.
Commenting on corruption, EU civil society is of the view that efforts to implement commitments in the convention have improved by strengthening the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), however, challenges are still considerable. On June 15, 2017 the EU parliament had also passed a non-binding resolution which took a serious view of human rights situation in Pakistan.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2017