Quetta, July 23 (IANS) A leading human rights organisation has submitted a petition to the European Parliament seeking the suspension of Pakistan’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP Plus) status, citing systematic violence by Pakistani authorities, judicial weaponisation, and grave violations of core EU trade and human rights conventions in Balochistan.The petition was submitted by Paank, the human rights department of the Baloch National Movement (BNM), alongside a comprehensive, well…
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New Delhi, July 15 (IANS) Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday said he met Maros Sefcovic, EU Trade and Economic Security Commissioner, and reviewed the progress on the implementation of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA).The two leaders also “explored avenues to deepen cooperation in trade, investment, critical technologies and resilient supply chains,” Goyal posted on X.Goyal and Sefcovic in March this year met on the sidelines of the 14th Ministerial Conference (M…
Islamabad, July 14 (IANS) A recent resolution adopted by the European Parliament has sparked international concerns about the protection of minority girls in Pakistan, with civil society groups calling for stronger legal protection against abduction, forced religious conversion, and child marriage. Terming it as an important expression of international concern over gender-based violence, child abuse and religion-based discrimination, civil society representatives welcomed the resolution and call…
Brussels, July 12 (IANS) The European Parliament has adopted a resolution calling on the Pakistani authorities to end the abduction and forced conversion to Islam of girls belonging to religious minority communities, according to a latest report. Citing United Nations data for 2025, the resolution stated that Christian girls account for nearly 25 per cent of cases involving forced religious conversion through marriage. In the resolution, Members of the European Parliament urged Pakistan to estab…
Brussels, July 10 (IANS) The European Parliament has adopted a resolution condemning the abduction, forced conversion, and child marriage of underage girls from religious minorities in Pakistan, while expressing concerns over the broader pattern of such abuses.According to the European Parliament, the resolution particularly highlighted the case of Maria Shahbaz, a 13-year-old Pakistani Christian girl who was abducted, converted to Islam, and forcibly married to her abductor in March 2026.The Me…
Brussels, July 9 (IANS) The European Parliament has approved an amendment that slammed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s decision to change the name of an elite Ukrainian military unit after the second World War era Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), a move that has sparked a diplomatic dispute between Warsaw and Kyiv, a report has said. Most of the members of the European Parliament voted in favour of the amendment, which expressed regret over Zelensky’s “recent unnecessary and unprovoked e…
Brussels, June 19 (IANS) Several members of the Kashmiri diaspora in Belgium staged a protest outside the European Parliament in Brussels, condemning the killings of innocent civilians in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), while calling for international attention to the alleged abuses in the region by Pakistani authorities. Demonstrators held banners reading “Stop human rights violations in PoJK”; “Return the bodies to their families”; “Release detainees, families deserve answers”; and, “Europe m…
New Delhi, June 12 (IANS) Pakistan was granted access to the EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) on January 1, 2014, and the country was able to double its exports to the EU, with around 66 per cent exempt from European import duties.However, Islamabad has failed to meet the essential condition on human rights progress that it was expected to fulfil in return for enjoying this huge economic benefit, according to an article published by 9DASHLINE.com platform.Despite persistent h…
Dhaka, June 9 (IANS) As the crackdown on Awami League leaders continues to intensify across Bangladesh, a delegation of the party’s former lawmakers and leaders met Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Billy Kelleher to seek global cooperation for lifting sanctions imposed on the party, local media reported.During a meeting held on Monday in Ireland, the delegation urged the restoration of a “fair political and democratic atmosphere and the improvement of the human rights situation” in Ba…
Budapest, May 9 (IANS) Peter Magyar was sworn in as Hungary’s Prime Minister on Saturday after winning a parliamentary vote at the inaugural session of the new National Assembly, pledging to “change the system.”A total of 195 out of the 199 members of parliament cast votes, with 140 in favour, 54 against and 1 abstention. Magyar, leader of Hungary’s Tisza Party, secured the required majority to be elected prime minister, marking the start of his four-year term.Magyar said in his inaugural speech…