Explainer News | Politics US, UK, and EU condemn Pakistan’s convictions of civilians: Why it matters The EU has warned that Pakistan may be breaking a preferential trade agreement. Without it, Pakistan’s exports might fall by more than 20%, according to experts. Supporters of PTI Party Last Monday, a military court jailed twenty-five supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s PTI party. By Abid Hussain. Published on December 25, 2024. 25 Dec 2024 Islamabad, Pakistan – The recent sentencing of 25 civilians by a military court in Pakistan attracted severe criticism from the US, which accused the procedures of lacking “judicial independence, transparency, and due process guarantees”. “The United States is worried about the sentencing of Pakistani civilians to respect the right to a fair trial and due process,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on X on Monday

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day, expressing “concern” about the punishment and added that the findings appear “inconsistent with the obligations Pakistan has undertaken under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights” (ICCPR). The EU also emphasized Pakistan’s beneficiary status under the Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+), which allows Pakistani exports to enter European markets duty-free — a reference widely interpreted as a subtle warning that a perceived failure to meet international human rights obligations could jeopardize this status.

So, why has Pakistan used military courts to punish civilians, how has Islamabad responded to criticism from the US, UK, and EU, and what lies ahead for Pakistan and its relations with the West?