The European Union’s mission in Islamabad clarified that it has not received any official communication from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party regarding the Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) special trade scheme. This statement follows accusations made by Information Minister Attaullah Tarar during a press conference, where he alleged that PTI had approached the EU and initiated online petitions urging European authorities to revoke Pakistan’s GSP+ status.
he GSP+ status offers special trade privileges to developing economies, including Pakistan, in exchange for their commitment to implement 27 international conventions on human rights, environmental protection, and governance. Despite the expiration of the current 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.
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Samar Saeed Akhtar, EU Press and Information Officer in Islamabad, stated, “We have not received any official communication from PTI regarding GSP+.” PTI also denied sending any letter to the EU concerning Pakistan’s GSP+ status, refuting the claims made by the information minister.
PTI spokesperson Raoof Hassan clarified
“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.”
Additionally, in a separate 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. This action faced criticism from Khan’s opponents, who viewed it as an assault on Pakistan’s efforts to achieve economic stability.