The Pakistan Senate has approved legislation that eliminates the death penalty for two specific crimes, in which officials openly recognize as a calculated measure to preserve billions of European commercial benefits, while leaving the blasphemy laws intact that have sent dozens of Christians to death corridor.
The draft amendment of criminal laws, which Wait the approval of the National Assembly and the presidential firm, eliminates capital punishment for publicly undressing women and cover -up of kidnappers. Pakistani officials did not attempt to hide their motivation: the changes were explicitly designed to meet the requirements of the European Union under the commercial scheme of the generalized preferences system (GSP+), which requires that death sentences “limit only to the most serious crimes.”
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“This bill aims to align the laws of Pakistan with its international obligations under the GSP+ trade agreement with the European Union,” said Interior Minister of State, Talal Chaudhry, to the senators, according to Pakistani media reports.
Commerce prevails over human rights
The GSP+ scheme gives Pakistan free access to European markets in 66% of their exports, benefits valued at approximately 3,000 million dollars annually that Pakistani officials admit that they cannot afford to lose. In return, Pakistan must implement 27 international conventions on human rights, labor protection and good governance.
However, the selective nature of Pakistan’s fulfillment reveals the limits of European influence to face the treatment of the Islamic Republic towards religious minorities.
Although Pakistan has eliminated death sentences for two relatively unusual crimes, it keeps the capital punishment for more than 100 crimes, including blasphemy charges that disproportionately affect the 3 million Christians and other religious minorities in the country.
“The death penalty is currently applied to more than one hundred crimes” in Pakistan, acknowledged justice minister Azam Nazeer Tarar during debates in the Senate, defending the system in general while giving little to European pressure.
Christians have the worst part
At least 34 members of religious minorities, including Christians, are currently in the death corridor in the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to the researcher based in Lahore, Sarmad Ali. The vast majority faces blasphemy under laws that, according to human rights defenders, are routinely used to resolve personal disputes and persecute religious minorities.
The case of Asia Bibi – a Catholic mother of five children who spent eight years in the death corridor before being acquitted in 2018 – exemplifies the dangers faced by Pakistani Christians. Bibi was condemned by blasphemy after Muslim companions refused to drink water she had played due to her faith, which led to an argument that resulted in false accusations.
Her eventual claim had a huge cost: two outstanding Pakistani politicians who supported her – the governor of Punjab, Salman Taseer, and the minority minister, Shahbaz Bhatti – were killed by Islamic extremists. Taseer was killed by his own bodyguard, while Bhatti, the only Christian minister of the Pakistani cabinet, was killed by the Pakistani Taliban.
Even after the Supreme Court exonerated Bibi of all positions, national protests by Islamic extremists forced their family to hide before they finally found asylum in Canada.
The government traces red lines
The government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has made it clear that, although he will make symbolic concessions to preserve European commercial benefits, the blasphemy laws that remain sacred for the Islamic identity of the country will not be touched.
After the resolutions of the European Parliament that condemned the Blasphemia laws of Pakistan in 2021, then Prime Minister Imran Khan declared that “he did not commit to the country’s blasphemy law.” He argued that Pakistan’s agreements with the EU “did not include any condition related to religion.”
The current government maintains this position. During a visit to Pakistan in January, the special representative of the EU for Human Rights, Ambassador Olof Skoog, warned that Pakistan “should not assume his status GSP+” and highlighted concerns about the abuse of the blasphemia law. However, Pakistani officials insist that religious laws remain out of European influence.
The European response falls short
The European Union’s response to Pakistan’s selective compliance has been characteristically diplomatic but ineffective to protect religious minorities. Although the members of the European Parliament have repeatedly asked to review the commercial status of Pakistan for the abuse of the Blasphemia laws, the European Commission has maintained the preferential commercial relationship of the country.
In 2021, the European Parliament adopted a resolution with 678 votes asking for an immediate review of the Pakistan GSP+ status by the Blasphemia laws, expressing special concern for the Christian couple Shagufta Kausar and Shafqat Emmanuel, sentenced to death by blasphemy charges. However, Pakistan maintained its commercial benefits.
The 10th UE-Pakistan political dialogue held in Brussels this Julio saw both parties “reaffirm their commitment to deepen cooperation”, despite what European officials recognize as “a growing scrutiny about the Human Rights History of Pakistan.”
The increasing persecution remains without control
Christian activists report that blasphemy cases continue to increase in Pakistan despite European pressure. “Unfortunately, the cases of blasphemy continue to increase, and only so far this year, at least five Christians have been accused of committing blasphemy,” said Nasir Saeed, of the Center for Legal Aid, Assistance, and settlement.
The legal system is still against religious minorities. “All the burden of proof falls to the victim to demonstrate his innocence, and judicial hearings are often postponed,” Saeed explained. “As a result, victims of this law must suffer several years in prison, sometimes more than their own sentence.”
Several Christians remain imprisoned for years for blasphemia charges, including Sajad Masih (nine years) and Zafar Bhatti (eight years). In comparison, others such as Sawan Maish and Imran Ghafur Masih were released only after turning eight and eleven years in prison, respectively.
Economic calculations prevail over faith
The Pakistan approach regarding the requirements of the GSP+ reveals a government willing to make minimum adjustments to preserve economic benefits, while refusing to address the central problems that endanger religious minorities. The amendments to the death penalty are directed to two crimes that are rarely processed, allowing Pakistan to claim reforms while maintaining the broader system of religious persecution.
According to report 2024 of Justice Project Pakistanthe country issued 174 death sentences last year, a significant increase with respect to 102 of 2023, with 6,161 prisoners currently in the death corridor throughout the country.
The GSP+ scheme has spread until 2027, but European officials perform reviews every two years. The next renovation cycle will test if Europe’s commitment to commercial benefits exceeds its concerns declared for religious freedom and minority rights.
For the besieged Christian community of Pakistan, the recent amendments to the death penalty do not offer relief against the blasphemy laws that continue to threaten their lives and freedom. While European commercial policy prioritizes economic relations on religious freedom, Pakistani Christians will remain vulnerable to a judicial system that deals with their faith as a reason for persecution.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Press team. Originally published in CNA.
Thomas Philipp Reiter
Thomas Philipp Reiter is a Belgian-German journalist resident in Brussels, specialized in reports from Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. He studied journalism, economics and political science in Hamburg, Germany. Since 1986, it covers European issues and publishes books on numerous German and Belgian themes. He is also known as radio and podcast presenter.