Pakistan continues to benefit from preferential access to the European Union market under the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+), even as security forces allegedly shoot protesters in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings persist in Balochistan, and civilians in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa endure prolonged military operations, according to a report by Stringer Asia published on 30 July.

What GSP+ Requires — and What Pakistan Reportedly Delivers

The GSP+ scheme is formally described by the European Commission as a 'special incentive arrangement for sustainable development and good governance.' In exchange for zero tariffs on a wide range of exports to the European market, beneficiary countries are required to implement international conventions covering human rights, labour rights, environmental protection, and good governance. The revised scheme, approved in 2026, was designed to strengthen these conditions and increase monitoring.

The Stringer Asia report argues that in Pakistan's case, these conditions have become, in its words, 'decorative' — invoked in reports, parliamentary questions, and carefully worded statements of concern, but 'rarely enforced in any manner capable of inconveniencing the Pakistani state.'

Situation in PoK, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

In Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, the report alleges that Pakistani security forces shot unarmed demonstrators, imposed communications blackouts, carried out mass arrests, and prevented journalists from entering the region — all reportedly occurring while Brussels was renewing the trade framework. Dozens of civilians are said to have been killed and injured over recent days. The report describes the timing of the EU's renewal as 'grotesque.'

In Balochistan, the report states that 'enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, secret proceedings and collective punishment' have become entrenched features of governance rather than exceptions. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, it notes that civilians are caught between militant violence and a security establishment that, according to the report, 'views entire districts through a lens of suspicion,' with military operations, arbitrary detention, and collective reprisals justified under the banner of counter-terrorism.

Europe's Awareness and the Accountability Gap

The report stresses that the European Commission publishes monitoring reports, European parliamentary delegations visit Pakistan, and human rights organisations regularly submit evidence. Baloch activists have demonstrated outside European institutions, and Pakistani journalists, opposition leaders, and lawyers have described what the report calls 'an increasingly authoritarian system in which the military controls political life, civilians are tried under security legislation, and courts are used to regularise decisions taken elsewhere.'

Despite this, the report argues, accountability has not followed awareness. It contends that Pakistan's continued GSP+ access reveals 'the difference between what European policy instruments claim to be and what they actually are,' suggesting the country remains geopolitically useful enough for its violations to be overlooked.

The Broader Pattern Identified

The Stringer Asia report identifies what it describes as a recurring formula: 'Political demands become security threats. Protesters become terrorists. Journalists become foreign agents. Missing persons become militants after their deaths. Elections remain legitimate until people vote or demonstrate in ways unacceptable to Rawalpindi.' Critics argue this pattern, if accurate, makes the EU's humanitarian obligations under GSP+ effectively unenforceable in practice.

What Happens Next

With the 2026 revision of the GSP+ scheme now in force, pressure is likely to mount on the European Commission from human rights groups and some member-state legislators to move beyond monitoring reports toward concrete conditionality. Whether Brussels translates documented concern into trade consequences for Islamabad remains the central question this report raises.