THE review of Pakistan’s GSP Plus status with the EU, scheduled for January, will have to run into the issue of the lifting of the moratorium on the death penalty and the resumption of executions following the implementation of the National Action Plan.

The commerce minister has made a round in Brussels to try and persuade EU officials to renew the GSP Plus scheme for Pakistan and is trying to build his case around the 27 UN conventions that Pakistan has ratified and implemented as part of its commitment to secure GSP Plus status from the EU.

Additionally, he has also spoken about the benefits of Operation Zarb-i-Azb and the return of stability to Pakistan, perhaps in an attempt to remind his hosts that there may be special circumstances in Pakistan making it necessary to resort to the death penalty as a means of dealing with terrorism.

Whether or not his hosts will be convinced by this presentation remains to be seen. But as late as July of this year, a resolution passed by the Foreign Affairs Council of the EU said that the “EU urges Pakistan to reinstate the moratorium immediately”.

It went on to add that Pakistan is a signatory to three important conventions that “affirm the right to fair trial, prohibit the death sentence for crimes committed by persons under 18 years of age and require prompt and impartial investigation where there is reasonable ground to believe that torture has been committed”.

The resolution clearly stated that implementation of these resolutions “is a requirement under the GSP Plus scheme”.

The GSP Plus scheme has been very beneficial to Pakistani exporters due to the market access it gives to the EU, and its renewal is very important.

The review currently under way and the efforts of the commerce minister are a reminder that decisions made in haste can end up having negative consequences that cascade into other domain.

The state here would do well to consider this aspect of economic interaction.

Published in Dawn, November 2nd, 2015

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