Ministers see ‘conspiracy’ against GSP+ behind Kasim’s UN speech

• PTI says Imran’s son did not try to derail country’s GSP+ status
• Arrest of Aliya Hamza Malik condemned

ISLAMABAD: The PTI and the main opposition alliance, Tehreek-i-Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP), on Thursday rejected allegations levelled by the government of attempts to sabotage Pakis­tan’s status of the European Union’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+), under which Pakistan enjoys relatively lower tariffs on exports.

Earlier, Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and his Punjab counterpart, Azma Bokhari, had bitterly criticised ex-premier Imran Khan’s son Kasim and party leader Zulfi Bukhari for att­e­m­pting to derail the country’s GSP+ status.

However, according to a fact-check by iVerify, the claim that Kasim Khan demanded the suspension of Pakistan’s GSP+ status at a UNHRC summit is false, as the footage being circulated online was taken from an event on the sidelines of the UNHRC moot.

The federal information minister, referring to Kasim’s speech, said that an “unfortunate development” had taken place in Geneva a day earlier.

“They thought their leader was bigger than Pakistan,” he said, adding that the party leadership had also attempted to cast doubt over Pakistan’s GSP+ status in 2024.

The minister maintained that “it was not a one-off incident — wish he had done it without a paper in his hand, however, but that is okay, they are kids”.

“Someone must have written it for him,” he added.

Separately, Ms Bokhari likened Kasim’s speech to “another May 9”, particularly in its “implications” for Pakistan’s GSP+ status.

“Since the GSP Plus status was granted, Pakistan’s exports have surged by 40 per cent, significantly boosting the textile sector and creating thousands of jobs,” she said, adding that the PTI was now attempting to snatch the livelihoods from the people of Pakistan for the sake of petty political gains.

PTI defence

“The PTI strongly condemns the recent remarks made by Azma Bokhari and Attaullah Tarar regarding Kasim’s appeal at the UN about his father’s health,” a PTI statement said.

Sheikh Waqas Akram, the party’s central information secretary, emphasised that neither Kasim nor Mr Bukhari had made a single statement that could harm Pakistan’s national interests.

PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said Kasim’s speech was telecast live and that he did not say a single word against the GSP+ status.

Meanwhile, the PTI also condemned the arrest of the party’s Punjab chief organiser Aliya Hamza Malik, stating that she was being repeatedly targeted in what it described as “fabricated and baseless” cases related to the May 9 incidents, despite already facing legal proceedings.

Published in Dawn, March 27th, 2026