GSP plus monitoring team meets Punjab officials

The European Union's monitoring mission which is in Pakistan currently to assess the country's eligibility for the Generalised System of Preference (GSP) plus extension, reviewed steps taken by the Punjab government on Friday in nine priority areas including human rights, child labour, labour rights and environment protection.

During the meeting, Chief Secretary Punjab Kamran Ali Afzal briefed the mission about the initiatives taken in the priority areas.

He said Pakistan attaches great importance to its partnership with the EU, adding that the GSP Plus status is very beneficial for the economy of Pakistan as Pakistani products won easy access to European markets after achieving the status in 2014.

The chief secretary told the mission that the federal and provincial governments were ensuring the enforcement of relevant laws for implementation of international conventions whereas reforms are underway in the areas of human rights, labour rights, environment and others.

Afzal highlighted that a modern system had been devised for labour inspections with the help of information technology.

He said that concrete steps were being taken to eradicate child labour, and a survey had been completed in Punjab in that regard

On the occasion, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Punjab Rao Sardar Ali Khan said there was a zero-tolerance policy regarding the torture of accused persons in police custody.

He added that help was sought from the Punjab Forensic Science Agency for the investigation of cases on scientific lines.

The chief secretary also apprised the mission of the special initiatives, being taken for human and minorities' rights, empowerment of women, and social welfare.

The efforts of the Punjab government in implementing the international conventions were lauded by the visiting mission comprising officials from the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the European Commission's Directorate-General for Trade and for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion.