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EU declines to approve a new trade deal with Pak
Islamabad, Nov 08: In a significant development, the European Union has blocked a trade and cooperation agreement with Pakistan taking objection to the crackdown against opposition leaders, including Javed Hashmi.
Islamabad, Nov 08: In a significant development,
the European Union has blocked a trade and cooperation
agreement with Pakistan taking objection to the crackdown
against opposition leaders, including Javed Hashmi.
EU said it is withholding its approval for a third generation trade and cooperation agreement with Pakistan as it is concerned about the detention of president of the 15-party Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) Hashmi for releasing an anonymous letter purportedly written by army personnel criticising army leadership for dabbling in politics. Despite hours of persuasion by visiting Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri in Brussels, the EU Rapporteur, John Walls Cushnahan said yesterday that agreement cannot be approved due to Hashmi's arrest and the lack of progress made by democratic institutions in Pakistan.
“Serious incidents such as Javed Hashmi's arrest make it extremely difficult to make progress on the approval of the 3rd generation trade and cooperation agreement with Pakistan," Cushnahan, an Irish member of Parliament said in a written statement circulated to the Pakistan media yesterday.
"The arrest of Javed Hashmi, leader of the parliamentary opposition, calls into question the extent to which there is any real transfer of power from the military to the civilian administration", he said.
Bureau Report
EU said it is withholding its approval for a third generation trade and cooperation agreement with Pakistan as it is concerned about the detention of president of the 15-party Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) Hashmi for releasing an anonymous letter purportedly written by army personnel criticising army leadership for dabbling in politics. Despite hours of persuasion by visiting Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri in Brussels, the EU Rapporteur, John Walls Cushnahan said yesterday that agreement cannot be approved due to Hashmi's arrest and the lack of progress made by democratic institutions in Pakistan.
“Serious incidents such as Javed Hashmi's arrest make it extremely difficult to make progress on the approval of the 3rd generation trade and cooperation agreement with Pakistan," Cushnahan, an Irish member of Parliament said in a written statement circulated to the Pakistan media yesterday.
"The arrest of Javed Hashmi, leader of the parliamentary opposition, calls into question the extent to which there is any real transfer of power from the military to the civilian administration", he said.
Bureau Report