Concerned over minority persecution, EU writes to Imran Khan; threatens to suspend all subsidies to Pakistan

The Union expressed its concern over "persecution of religious minorities" in the country, in a letter addressed to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.

By : ABP News Bureau | Updated at : 02 May 2019 10:34 AM (IST)

Concerned over minority persecution, EU writes to Imran Khan, threatens to suspend all subsidies to Pakistan Concerned over minority persecution, EU writes to Imran Khan; threatens to suspend all subsidies to Pakistan

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan/ Image courtesy: Facebook

EU has threatened to suspend all the subsidies and trade preferences to Islamabad

It has asked the country to take measures to "dismantle" its "discriminatory system” against religious minorities in Pakistan

The Commission held previous and present Pakistan governments responsible for contributing and encouraging "acts of violence against minorities by radical Islamic groups

New Delhi: The European Union has threatened to suspend all the subsidies and trade preferences to Islamabad if it does not take measures to "dismantle" its "discriminatory system” against religious minorities in Pakistan. The Union expressed its concern over "persecution of religious minorities" in the country, in a letter addressed to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. EU said in the letter "over the last seven decades, successive governments in Pakistan have contributed to implementing discriminatory systems that have resulted in political, economic and social persecution of religious minorities, which have encouraged acts of violence against them by radical Islamic groups,”EP Today reported. Fifty-one members of the European Parliament told Khan in the letter, "Over the last few years, religious extremist groups, often with the support of the Pakistani State, have grown in influence, further generating religious prejudices against minorities. Concomitantly, instances of attacks against minorities, their places of worship etc. have also increased year upon year." Expressing "grave concern" over the case of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman who had been falsely charged under the draconian blasphemy law, the EU wrote, "The existence of such religious discriminatory laws encourage citizens to engage in intolerant and violent acts against non-Muslims." The Members of the European Parliament urged Pakistan to take measures to dismantle the constitutional and institutional structures that have resulted in the purposeful targeting of religious minorities in the country. "As members of the European Parliament, we would wish to remind the Islamic Republic of Pakistan that the oppression of religious minorities violated the United Nations treaty on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which is the foundation for the International Convent on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), a binding UN human rights agreement. We would be compelled to suspend all subsidies and trade preferences until the effective implementation of the Convention could be assured by the Government of Pakistan," the letter added. The Commission held previous and present Pakistan governments responsible for contributing and encouraging "acts of violence against minorities by radical Islamic groups", the report said.

Published at : 02 May 2019 10:34 AM (IST)

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European Union Imran Khan Pakistan