Pakistan Under Fire at UN Geneva: Global Panel Demands GSP Plus Ban, Cites 26/11 and Pahalgam Attacks

• by Akanksha Mishra
• 2026-10-03 17:26:00

In a hard-hitting international seminar hosted at the United Nations Office in Geneva, global policy experts, European lawmakers, and counter-terrorism analysts directly challenged Pakistan's dual stance on regional violence, highlighting its role as a persistent sanctuary for internationally sanctioned militant syndicates. Organized by Interfaith International under the theme "Fighting Terrorism and Human Rights," the diplomatic symposium featured delegates from Cyprus, Vietnam, Belgium, and Tanzania alongside leading European and Asian scholars. Citing high-profile kinetic strikes including the 2008 Mumbai 26/11 attacks and the 2025 Pahalgam strike in Jammu and Kashmir, panel participants urged Western institutions to halt unconditional diplomatic and trade concessions, expressly demanding that the European Union suspend Pakistan's Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP Plus) trade privileges until verifiable counter-terror compliance is verified.

Cross-Border Terror Networks: Gary Cartwright Urges Suspension of EU GSP Plus Trade Status

Investigative journalist and EU Today editor Gary Cartwright delivered an uncompromising assessment connecting European funding, radicalization, and state-sponsored terror safe havens:

Regional Instability Beyond Frontiers: Cartwright emphasized that when extremist syndicates are permitted to recruit, raise financial capital, and operate unhindered, regional destabilization inevitably spills across international borders into India, Afghanistan, and Western capitals.

Sanctioned Outfits on Pakistani Soil: Despite facing domestic blowback from groups like the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Pakistan continues to serve as an operational base for globally proscribed groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), whose cross-border footprint was laid bare in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

EU Education Funds Under Scrutiny: Expressing grave concern over educational oversight, Cartwright disclosed that students enrolled in hardline religious seminaries were absorbed into EU-funded educational initiatives in Pakistan, demanding immediate transparency and forensic audits of European grants.

Call to Freeze GSP Plus Privileges: The European editor called on Brussels to immediately freeze Pakistan's preferential GSP trade concessions, arguing that zero-tariff economic benefits must remain suspended until an independent investigation confirms full adherence to international counter-terrorism conventions.

Human Toll in Jammu and Kashmir: Prof. K. Warikoo Urges Freezing Terror Bank Accounts

The discussion spotlighted decades of cross-border violence inflicted upon civilian populations in northern India:

Suffering of J&K Citizens: A formal address by Prof. K. Warikoo, Secretary General of the Himalayan Research and Cultural Foundation, underscored that the people of Jammu and Kashmir have borne the brunt of systematic Pakistan-sponsored proxy warfare.

Tracking 15 Years of Change: While outlining ground-level socioeconomic shifts witnessed across the Union Territory over the past fifteen years, the statement noted that lasting peace hinges on total global intolerance toward violent extremism.

Financial Strangulation of Terror Channels: Prof. Warikoo urged the international community to dismantle illicit financial circuits, calling on global enforcement authorities to freeze all bank accounts belonging to terrorist cadres, front organizations, and institutional benefactors.

Minority Rights and State Extremism: Greek Lawmaker Flags Blasphemy Laws and 2025 Pahalgam Strike

Greek Member of Parliament Georgios Manousos expanded the discussion to examine domestic persecution and the nexus between radical ideology and state policy:

Dual Reality of Terrorism: Manousos stated that the global community must stop viewing Pakistan solely through the lens of a victim of terrorism, stressing that it remains a documented launchpad where radical networks organize and plan cross-border assaults.

Echoes of 2025 Pahalgam Attack: Pointing to recent evidence, the Greek lawmaker noted that India directly traced the 2025 Pahalgam terror attack back to operational cells operating with impunity from Pakistani territory.

Systemic Abuse of Minorities: Raising deep alarm over the systemic vulnerability of religious minorities—specifically Christian, Hindu, and Sikh communities—Manousos condemned the weaponization of severe blasphemy statutes to orchestrate extrajudicial intimidation, mob violence, and institutional disenfranchisement.

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