PAKISTAN: The EU should suspend the GSP+ privileges. Why? No major human rights progress in December
The bad deal EU-Pakistan “Trade privileges in exchange of human rights progress” called the GSP+ should be suspended as long as there is no substantial human rights progress.
HRWF (30.12.2025) – For a decade, Pakistan has been benefiting from a privileged access (reduced or zero duties) to the about 450 million consumers of the EU market. In this framework, Pakistan’s products enter the EU market with 0% duties across approximately 2/3 of all EU tariff lines. From 2014 to 2022, Pakistan’s exports to the EU almost doubled, from 8.3 billion EUR to almost 15 billion EUR.
In exchange, Pakistan pledged to sign and implement 27 international treaties regarding labour rights, good governance and human rights. This EU scheme is known as the GSP+.
Since the inception of this agreement, Pakistan has failed to demonstrate tangible progress on the implementation of international human rights standards.
This is in addition to our monthly reports about the violations of religious freedom in March, April, May, June, July, August, September-October and November 2025.
Panorama of religious freedom issues in December
Pastor’s wife, Muslim arrested in clergyman’s killing in Pakistan
Christian Daily (29.12.2025) – Police in Pakistan have arrested the wife of a Presbyterian pastor and her alleged Muslim accomplice in connection with the killing of the church leader earlier this month, sources said.
In a case that initially raised fears of a religiously motivated killing, the Rev. Kamran Salamat, 45, was shot dead on Dec. 5 outside his home in Gujranwala, Punjab Province, as he was about to take his 16-year-old daughter to college. Two men on a motorcycle opened fire, striking him in the wrist, ear and lower abdomen, according to police. He was rushed to hospital but died three hours later.
Abuse of Christian woman in Lahore: beaten, burned, falsely accused – mother of four needs justice
Facebook (23.12.2025) – Shama, a mother of four children, started working six months ago in a private house in Bahria Town, Lahore, to help support her family. Her husband works in a brick kiln, and together they are trying to feed their children.
The owner of the house, seeing that Shama is a Christian, thought she would be an easy target, someone who would silently accept abuse. He harassed her and attempted to assault her, but Shama refused to give in.
In retaliation, the owner brutally abused her. She was beaten severely with rods, burned with a hot rod, and falsely accused of stealing 450,000 PKR (approximately $1,600 USD). When she refused to accept the false accusation, he kept her in the cold for two days and two nights, as punishment, without food or water.
The physical and psychological scars are clear—her body bears visible signs of extreme torture. Despite this, Shama bravely refuses to remain silent and demands justice.
Pakistan criminalises Quar’anic memorisation: Ahmadi Muslim sentenced to life imprisonment
IHRC (27.12.2025) – The International Human Rights Committee (IHRC) strongly condemns the judgment of an Additional Sessions Court in Lalian (Punjab), which sentenced Mubarak Ahmad Saani, an Ahmadi Muslim, to life imprisonment under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws for acts of peaceful religious devotion and identity, in the absence of any proven physical desecration of the Holy Qur’an.
Pakistan: Pastor Kamran Salamat shot dead in targeted attack
Radio Veritas Asia (09.12.2025) – A Pakistani Pastor was shot and killed by an unidentified assailant on December 5 in Gujranwala, Pakistan.
This was the second targeted attack on Pastor Kamran, who was previously shot on September 21, 2025, while traveling to his church in Rawalpindi, leaving him with a severely injured leg. Following the earlier attempt on his life and escalating threats, he was relocated to Gujranwala, approximately 220 kilometers (135 miles) from Rawalpindi, where he continued his ministry as pastor of a Pentecostal church.
Before his relocation, Pastor Kamran served as Chairman of the Pastors’ Alliance Islamabad in Rawalpindi, where he led and supported a network of around 200 pastors engaged in evangelization and interfaith harmony efforts. His move to Gujranwala marked a new chapter in his ministry, though he continued to face threats.
Pakistan passes bill to form National Commission for Minorities after decade of delay
Christian Post (08.12.2025) – Pakistan’s Parliament has passed a long-delayed law establishing a National Commission for Minorities, marking a step toward institutional protection for religious minorities after years of advocacy and judicial pressure, though the move has prompted only cautious optimism.
The legislation was adopted on Dec. 2 in a joint session, with 160 lawmakers voting in favor and 79 against, amid vocal protests and walkouts from religious parties, according to the United Kingdom-based human rights monitor Center for Legal Aid and Assistance (CLAAS-UK).
The new law creates an 18-member statutory body tasked with investigating violations, advising the government, promoting minority welfare and reviewing implementation of existing legal safeguards.
It follows the Supreme Court’s 2014 directive calling for a commission after a wave of deadly attacks on non-Muslim communities, including Christians.
EU urged to combat violations of religious freedom in South Asia
Christian Daily (08.12.2025) – Citing a dramatic escalation of targeted attacks against Christians and other minorities in their countries, human rights advocates from South Asia called for stronger European Union (EU) engagement on freedom of religion or belief at a conference in Brussels on Dec. 4.
Representatives from India and Pakistan highlighted how religious minorities, whether Christian, Muslim, Hindu or Buddhist, were increasingly under pressure from those professing the majority religion despite constitutional protections in almost all of the region’s countries. They spoke at a conference entitled, “Targeted Violence against Christians in South Asia,” hosted by Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) Matej Tonin and Bert-Jan Ruissen and organized by legal advocacy group ADF International at the European Parliament.
The panel also warned about Pakistan’s continued abuse of some of the world’s harshest blasphemy laws, including provisions carrying a mandatory death penalty. In 2024 alone, 344 new blasphemy cases were registered, many triggered by false or coerced allegations on social media and disproportionately targeting Christians, said Pakistani journalist Asher John, referencing 2023 attacks in the Jaranwala area, where more than two dozen churches and over 85 homes of Christians were burned, and the 2024 lynching of 74-year-old Christian Nazeer Masih Gill in Sargodha.
Pakistan lawyers face ‘judicial persecution’ for criticizing army
UCA News (05.12.2025) – Rights groups have voiced alarm after a Pakistani court rejected two lawyers’ pleas for acquittal in a case they say is aimed at punishing criticism of the military.
An Islamabad court on Dec. 4 dismissed applications filed by lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha seeking to be cleared of charges of inciting linguistic divisions and creating the impression that the armed forces were promoting terrorism.
The court also turned down their request to remove the state-appointed counsel representing them.
Riaz Anjum, president of the Christian Lawyers Association in Pakistan, said the proceedings reflect “an alarming attempt to criminalize dissent and intimidate citizens.”
The case stems from social media posts published between 2021 and 2025 that criticized the military.
The charges fall under provisions of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), which carries penalties of three to 14 years in prison and fines of up to 50 million rupees (US$176,574).
Pakistan passes revised minorities commission law, dropping vital powers
UCA News (03.12.2025) – Minority leaders and rights groups urged authorities to strengthen the law’s inclusivity.
Pakistan’s parliament has approved a revised law creating a National Commission for Minorities, six months after President Asif Ali Zardari returned an earlier version that would have granted the body suo motu powers.
The new law, passed on Dec. 2, establishes an 18-member commission mandated to safeguard the rights of religious minorities by investigating rights violations, monitoring policy implementation, advising government bodies, and promoting minority welfare.
The revised legislation, however, strips the commission of the authority to summon witnesses, inspect detention centers, or initiate inquiries on its own — powers included in the earlier May 12 bill.
The 18-member commission will include three Hindus — two from lower caste backgrounds — three Christians, one Sikh, one Baha’i, one Parsee, and two Muslim human rights experts.
Blasphemy law remains an impediment to religious freedom in Pakistan
USCIRF (02.12.2025) – The U.S Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) reiterates its call for the U.S. government to work with Pakistani officials to take measurable steps to amend or repeal its blasphemy law. Recently the Pakistani government banned the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP). The TLP has incited violent mobs to intimidate and attack religious minorities, even calling for the death penalty as punishment for violating blasphemy laws. This impacts members of the Christians, Ahmadiyya Muslims, and others.
Beyond the legal penalties associated with blasphemy laws, Pakistani citizens sometimes wield blasphemy accusations to settle inter-personal disputes that can often lead to extrajudicial killings and mob violence disproportionately impacting religious minorities. USCIRF has repeatedly called for the United States to enter into a binding agreement under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) with the Pakistani government to encourage steps to address religious freedom violations, including releasing blasphemy prisoners and repealing blasphemy laws.
In its 2025 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. Department of State redesignate Pakistan as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for its systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations. In September, USCIRF released a country update on Pakistan, highlighting escalating attacks against religious minorities.
Pakistan top Bishop hails ban on child marriages in Balochistan as landmark legislative victory
Radio Veritas Asia (01.12.2025)- The President of the Pakistan Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Samson Shukardin OFM, has welcomed the new law passed in the Province of Balochistan to ban child marriages, calling it a historic decision for the protection of children and a major step in strengthening child rights in the province.
The new bill, titled “The Balochistan Child Marriage Restraint Act 2025,” introduces strict punishments for adults marrying children and for those solemnizing child marriages. The law defines anyone under the age of 18 as a child and declares all child marriages in the province illegal.
Under the law, adults marrying minors face two to three years of rigorous imprisonment and fines ranging from PKR 100,000 to 200,000 (USD 350–700), with an additional three months of imprisonment if fines are not paid. The same penalties apply to anyone involved in arranging, promoting, performing, or assisting a child marriage.
The law also requires clerics and marriage registrars to verify the Computerized National Identity Cards (CNICs) of both parties before solemnizing a marriage. Any negligence can result in up to one year of imprisonment and fines up to PKR 100,000 (approx. USD 350).
This law repeals the outdated Child Marriage Act of 1929, under which the minimum marriage age was 14 for girls and 18 for boys.
