At a UN conference in Geneva on human rights in Pakistan, speakers examined the country’s growing militarisation, religious persecution, and alleged involvement in Sudan’s civil war. The discussion highlighted the contradiction between Islamabad’s public support for Sudanese sovereignty and reports of Pakistani military equipment reaching the Sudanese Armed Forces, while former MEP Paulo Casaca criticised the EU’s GSP+ policy for failing to translate trade preferences into meaningful human-rights progress. Participants also drew attention to the persecution of Ahmadis and other religious minorities, arguing that Pakistan’s civil-military imbalance and regional military diplomacy deserve much closer European scrutiny.
