Khan Did Not Call for Pakistan’s GSP+ Status Revocation in Geneva

Pakistani Officials Falsely Accuse Imran Khan’s Son of Advocating Against EU Trade Status

Claims circulating on social media that Kasim Khan, son of imprisoned former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, called for the suspension of Pakistan’s preferential trade status with the European Union have been debunked as false.

The allegations emerged following Kasim Khan’s March 25 appearance at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, where he spoke about his father’s detention conditions. Multiple social media accounts, including those of high-ranking Pakistani government officials, accused him of seeking to revoke Pakistan’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) status—a critical EU initiative that grants developing countries tariff-free access to European markets.

Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif amplified the claim on X (formerly Twitter), writing: “If [the] sons are so concerned about their father, instead of lobbying for revocation of GSP+ status, they should demonstrate their love and commitment, travel to Pakistan to visit him.” Hina Pervaiz Butt, a Punjab Assembly member from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, also criticized Khan, describing his alleged actions as a “direct attack on the country’s economy” for “personal gain.”

However, a thorough review of Khan’s remarks at both the official UN session and a related side event reveals he made no such demand.

During his address at the UN Human Rights Council General Debate, which was streamed live and remains accessible on United Nations Web TV, Kasim Khan focused on his father’s imprisonment conditions, stating: “My father, Imran Khan, has been imprisoned for nearly 1,000 days. He is the primary target of a regime that treats dissent not as political disagreement, but as a grave crime to be crushed.” He described how his father is being held in “a solitary confinement cell built for death row inmates” in conditions that UN experts have warned “could amount to torture.”

At a separate side event the same day, Khan did reference the GSP+ framework, but only to highlight how his father’s treatment violates Pakistan’s obligations under the agreement. “Pakistan made binding commitments under the GSP+ framework to uphold the international human rights conventions it ratified, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention against Torture,” he noted. However, he never called for these privileges to be suspended or revoked.

The GSP+ status is vital to Pakistan’s economy, providing duty-free access to the European Union for approximately 66% of tariff lines. Pakistan received this enhanced trade status in 2014, and any suspension would significantly impact the country’s export sector, particularly its crucial textile industry. The EU regularly reviews compliance with human rights and labor standards as conditions for maintaining this status.

Kasim Khan himself has since refuted the allegations on his official X account, clarifying that he supports the continuation of Pakistan’s GSP+ status with the European Union.

The spread of this misinformation by government officials appears to be part of ongoing political tensions in Pakistan following Imran Khan’s removal from office in 2022 and subsequent imprisonment on multiple charges, which his supporters claim are politically motivated. Khan, a former cricket star who served as Prime Minister from 2018 to 2022, remains a polarizing figure in Pakistani politics even while behind bars.

The false claims highlight the increasingly contentious nature of Pakistan’s political discourse, where even verifiable public statements can become distorted and weaponized in the struggle between the current government and opposition forces loyal to the imprisoned former leader.