‘GSP-Plus status extension to increase exports’

LAHORE : Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar has appreciated the European Parliament for granting another two-year extension in the GSP-Plus status to Pakistan and hoped the facility would strengthen the country’s economy.

Talking to senior journalists at Governor’s House here on Saturday, he said, "I have contacted European Parliament Vice-President Fabio Massimo Castaldo and 10 other members of the European Parliament to thank them for successfully lobbying and winning extension in GSP-Plus status to Pakistan despite Indian propaganda.”

Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar said he held meetings with more than 30 European Parliament members during his visit to Europe in December last year, adding that Vice-President Fabio Massimo Castaldo also paid visit to Pakistan on his invitation.

Extension in GSP-Plus status will increase exports by 9.5 per cent with monetary benefit of Rs15-20 billion and create job opportunities in the textile industry, he said, adding the extension was reflective of world’s confidence in successful economic policies, peace and stability in Pakistan under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

He said that Pakistan’s efforts for protection of environment and controlling narcotics smuggling, merger of Federally-Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) into Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Ehsaas Programme, Kartarpur Corridor project and legislation and measures to protect rights of women, children and transgender people had widely been appreciated in the European Parliament.

To a question, he said many members of European Parliament told him that India lobbied against Pakistan over extension of GSP-Plus status, but it failed in its mission.

To a query, he said the European Parliament and other countries of the world hailed Pakistan for restoration of peace, adding that the country’s role in the Taliban-US peace deal had also been acknowledged by the world powers. The Punjab governor said that Pakistan wished the peace deal to last as peace in Afghanistan was indispensable for peace in the region. Responding to another question, he said he was working to get two resolutions against the controversial Indian Citizenship Act and Indian atrocities on Kashmiri Muslim passed by the European Parliament, adding that the Pakistani government was committed to exposing Indian aggression in the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) before the world.

gender discrimination: Provincial Minister for Human Rights and Minorities Affairs (HR&MA) Ijaz Alam Augustine has said the International Women’s Day is observed for promoting the rights of women and addressing the challenges they face.

In a statement on the eve of International Women’s Day, he said that under the leadership of Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar, the Punjab government had taken many concrete steps to eliminate gender discrimination. The government set up daycare centres in public and private institutions for the children of working women, he said.

The minister said Punjab government set up Helpline 1043 to guide women on all kinds of their issues, and launched digital online magazine for women. Various awareness campaigns about women’s rights have been launched. He said effective legislation was being made in Punjab Assembly to protect women's rights and to eliminate violence against them.

The minister said that every religion teaches respect to women and protects their rights. He said the Punjab government was committed to providing all basic facilities to women. He added that in the current tenure of PTI, the first-ever Punjab women empowerment package was announced in 2019 on the occasion of International Women’s Day. The minister said that violence against women could be reduced by providing them with education, vocational training and social support. "We all have to perform collective responsibility for the purpose," he said.