Geneva, March 28 (NationPress) A coalition of European lawmakers, activists, and political figures at the 61st session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva has advocated for more stringent oversight of Pakistan's unique trade privileges under the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP Plus), amid rising alarm over the country's deteriorating human rights situation.

According to a report from EU Today, a discussion named ‘Pakistan’s GSP+ status: human rights conditionality, treaty obligations and accountability’ revealed serious allegations concerning religious discrimination, political oppression, enforced disappearances, and the persistent failure of successive Pakistani administrations to protect fundamental rights.

Nikolaos Vrettos, a parliamentarian from Greece, emphasized the dire circumstances faced by religious minorities, particularly Christians, asserting that Pakistan's blasphemy laws serve as a tool that can incite mob violence, wrongful imprisonment, and a climate of perpetual fear, as reported.

“The situation in Pakistan is exceptional and warrants our focused attention, especially given the violence and the impunity enshrined in laws and policies that the government refuses to amend,” Vrettos was quoted as saying by EU Today.

During the session, Kasim Khan, the son of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, also voiced his concerns and described his father's imprisonment in stark detail.

“My father, Imran Khan, has been incarcerated for over 960 days in a cramped solitary confinement cell, filled with insects and under constant surveillance,” Kasim stated.

Kasim argued that his father's predicament should not be perceived as an isolated case, but rather as a prominent example of a broader trend of repression in Pakistan since 2022.

He pointed out that “arbitrary detention, lack of family contact, inadequate medical care, and the trial of civilians in military courts” contradict Pakistan's commitments under the GSP+ framework.

Geopolitical analyst Raphael Kalyviotis focused his remarks on the ongoing persecution of Christians and the implications of blasphemy laws, stating, “The systematic targeting of Christians in Pakistan is not merely a local issue; it represents a fracture in global peace, a spreading contagion of intolerance.”

The report highlights that the “most politically sensitive intervention” came from Naseem Baloch, chairman of the Baloch National Movement, who expanded the dialogue beyond religious freedom and the ongoing tensions between Imran Khan's supporters and the Pakistani government.

“For decades, those in Balochistan have endured systematic and extensive human rights violations,” he remarked.

He referenced enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detentions, and torture, presenting data that documented 1,355 enforced disappearances and 229 extrajudicial killings in 2025 alone in Balochistan, with additional cases already reported this year.

Baloch emphasized that the oppression in Balochistan has continued under various administrations, irrespective of who held power in Islamabad, adding that during Imran Khan's tenure, “the suffering of Balochistan's population did not cease.”

The weight of these statements was further accentuated by the presence of Khan's son and one of his former ministers during the discussion.

Baloch stressed that many members of Khan's political party are now facing similar abuses that Baloch activists, students, and political workers have experienced for years.

“When injustice is overlooked because the victims are marginalized or politically inconvenient, it does not disappear; it proliferates,” EU Today reported Baloch as stating.