EU in Pakistan to review GSP+ amid concerns over polls, minority rights

New Delhi: An EU team is currently in Pakistan to review Islamabad's Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) status amid concerns over rising electoral malpractices and human rights violations against the Pashtun community.

As the review is underway, multiple reports and videos have surfaced alleging rigging and manipulation in two recent by-elections. Former prime minister and PPP Central Punjab president Raja Pervaiz Ashraf has called for an impartial probe into allegations raised by Dost Muhammad Khosa, the defeated party candidate in National Assembly seat 185.

Following the recent terror attack in Peshawar, security forces have also launched lethal operations against Pashtun minority groups in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Sources told ET that the combination of electoral malpractice and minority rights violations presents a serious setback for Pakistan's GSP+ review - issues the EU "cannot overlook" during the assessment.