KARACHI: A high-level Pakistani delegation visiting Brussels on Thursday urged European Union officials to support the continuation of Pakistan’s preferential trade access under the GSP+ scheme, while also raising concern over India’s alleged violations of the Indus Waters Treaty.
The delegation, led by former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, met with Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s International Trade Committee, to discuss regional tensions following a recent military escalation with India, the worst confrontation between the nuclear-armed neighbors in decades.
The group previously visited Washington and London as part of a broader diplomatic effort to rally international support after the conflict in which the two nations exchanged drones, missiles, and artillery strikes between May 7-10 before a ceasefire was announced. Since then, both countries have launched diplomatic offensives to present their narratives on the conflict and its causes.
“We just had a meeting with their [EU] trade representative, where we conveyed Pakistan’s message of peace,” Bhutto Zardari told reporters after the meeting.
“In that context, we specifically raised the decisions related to the Indus Waters Treaty, which are violations of international law, and in the EU context, they strongly believe in respecting treaties and adhering to international law. So, in that context, we pitched our case.”
