Council of the
European Union
Brussels, 14 July 2015
(OR. en)
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ASIE 38
COASI 96
CFSP/PESC 373
RELEX 575
COTER 104
JAI 544
POLGEN 115
COHOM 74
COHAFA 68
CIVCOM 136
DEVGEN 120
"I/A" ITEM NOTE
From:
General Secretariat of the Council
To:
Permanent Representatives Committee/Council
Subject:
EU-Pakistan 5-year Engagement Plan - Implementation report 2015
DOCUMENT PARTIALLY ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC (08.10.2015)
1.
The Asia/Oceania Working Party reached agreement on the EU-Pakistan 5-year Engagement
Plan - Implementation report 2015.
2.
At its meeting of 14 July 2015, the Political and Security Committee confirmed the agreement
reached in the Asia/Oceania Working Group.
3.
Coreper is accordingly requested to invite the Council to take note of the EU-Pakistan 5-year
Engagement Plan - Implementation report 2015.
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EU-PAKISTAN 5-YEAR ENGAGEMENT PLAN
IMPLEMENTATION REPORT 2015
1.
Introduction
1.
Since its adoption in 2012, the EU-Pakistan 5-Year Engagement Plan has provided the overall
framework for the European Union (EU)'s engagement with Pakistan, building on the EU-
Pakistan Cooperation Agreement on Partnership and Development (2004). It is intended to
strengthen EU-Pakistan relations by intensifying dialogues across priority areas including:
political cooperation; security; governance, human rights; migration; trade and energy.
2.
In December 2014, the PSC requested the EU Heads of Mission (HoMs) to provide the
necessary input to the next Report on the state of EU-Pakistan relations – to be presented to
the Council in mid-2015 – which should outline the progress in the implementation of the
EU-Pakistan 5-Year Engagement Plan. On this basis, the annual reporting on the 5-Year
Engagement Plan will replace the annual implementation report on the 2009 Action Plan on
Pakistan, on which the last report was issued in June 2014.
3.
In the reporting period EU-Pakistan relations have been marked by the GSP+ trade
preferences granted to Pakistan with effect from 1 January 2014, creating much positive
attention and visibility for the EU. GSP+ has also provided a framework for deepening
dialogue on implementation of Pakistan's commitments under the 27 international
conventions on governance, human rights, labour and environment covered by the scheme. A
separate report on GSP+ will be presented by the European Commission and the European
External Action Service to the European Parliament and the Council by 1 January 2016.
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4.
The reporting period has been eventful with four months long street protests by two political
parties, the intensification of military operation in North-Waziristan as well as a series of
serious terrorist attacks, often sectarian in nature, and the most deadly attack ever in Pakistan
at an army public school in Peshawar on 16 December 2014, which killed 141 most of whom
children. The EU and Member States have repeatedly expressed their commitment to help
Pakistan tackle these challenges. This commitment of the EU has been reflected by the high
number of political dialogues and official visits held both in Islamabad and Brussels.
Priorities continued to be democracy and good governance, including follow-up to the
recommendations of the EU Election Observation Mission (EOM), human rights, security and
counter terrorism, economic and social reforms, trade and development cooperation.
5.
EU and Member States also maintained a strong engagement in development cooperation in
the reporting period. The EU decided in August 2014 to allocate an indicative amount of €653
million in the new Multi-annual Indicative Programme (MIP) 2014-20 to support Rural
Development, Education and Good Governance, including Democracy, Human Rights and
Rule of Law.
An overview of planned assistance of the EU and Member States in 2015 and
2016 is included in a table attached to this report. The total amount of funding is 901 million €
in 2015 and 805 million € in 2016, almost all of which is allocated to areas covered in the
Engagement Plan.
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2.
Political and economic developments
6.
The political landscape was dominated by increasing challenges to the legitimacy of the 2013
elections results, culminating in street protests in Islamabad by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
(PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehrik (PAT) between August and December 2014. Speculation
was rife that the army and the intelligence services had a hand in the protests, wanting to put
pressure on the Prime Minister who had announced a wish to exercise stronger civilian
control over the armed forces. In the end, although the civ-mil balance remains fragile, it
would appear that a deal was struck forcing the Prime Minister to give up influence to the
army, first and foremost on foreign and security policy. However, strong support expressed by
Parliament to the democratically elected Government contributed to avoid a further escalation
and may have left the elected representatives in a slightly more influential position compared
to before, when they were largely ignored by the Prime Minister.
7.
One of the consequences of this crisis has been the boycott of the Parliament by PTI
representatives for more than seven months. After long negotiations between PML-N and
PTI, the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the results of the 2013 elections,
chaired by the Chief Justice, was agreed in March 2015 and led to the return to Parliament of
PTI. The mandate of this commission is to assess the veracity and scale of the rigging
allegations, potentially putting further pressure on the elected Government. In parallel, a
parliamentary committee on electoral reforms established in July 2014 has begun work with a
view to deliver necessary changes to the electoral framework ahead of the next elections. It
remains to be seen if either body will deliver any substantive results.
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8.
At the provincial level, the 18th amendment has provided the four provinces with greater
responsibility in a number of critical areas, giving them an important role in the follow-up to
GSP+. Overall, the lack of capacities remains a cause of concerns given the breath of the
challenges. So far, Balochistan is the only province that has organized local elections and
constituted local governance structures. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is likely to hold its local
elections in May 2015 while Punjab and Sindh will do so in the second half of 2015 if not
further postponed. Elections to Cantonment Boards were held for the first time in 17 years in
April 2015.
9.
The security situation in Pakistan remains fragile, even though a military operation ('Zarb-e-
Azb') against terrorist strongholds was launched in North Waziristan in June 2014. Thus far,
according to the Pakistan army, 90% of the area has been cleared of militants, around 1,300
have been killed and their hideouts have been destroyed. Although the operation primarily
focusses on the tribal areas, its mandate covers the entire country. The fact that the military
expanded its operations, including to Balochistan and Karachi,
DELETED, but was also
made necessary by the fragmentation of the militants groups caused by the operation. The
TTP leader, Mullah Fazlullah, and top figures of the Haqqani network managed to escape
prior to the operations and are believed to be hiding in Afghanistan's border area.
DELETED
At the same time there are growing concerns about the Islamic State (IS) in Pakistan, and
some signs of its presence in some parts of the country, although there is still no clear
evidence that the group is a substantial threat.
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10. Following an attack against an army school in Peshawar last December, a National Action
Plan (NAP) to fight terrorism was adopted with the support of most political parties, which
included a lifting of a moratorium on executions in place since 2008 and transferring terrorist
cases to military courts. The EU has expressed strong concern over the lifting of the
moratorium on executions, and HR/VP Mogherini has written to Sartaj Aziz, Special Advisor
to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs in this regard. Initially, a
decision was taken to start executing persons convicted of terrorism related offenses.
However, after three months the Government decided to lift the moratorium fully and started
to allow all people condemned to death to be executed when all legal remedies had been
exhausted. Pakistan has justified the decision with the fact that it was legally unsustainable to
uphold a distinction between terrorists and non-terrorists as they are required to treat everyone
equally before the law. Executions have been carried out on a rapid pace, and by 26 May the
number of people executed since December stands at around 110. It is estimated that close to
8000 prisoners are on death row. In reality most of the people executed have been common
criminals, although a majority of them have been convicted under Pakistan's Anti-Terrorism
Act that offers considerable leeway in its definition of terrorists.
11. As part of the NAP it was also decided to transfer jurisdiction in the most serious terrorism
cases to special military courts. This was codified in the 21st constitutional amendment
adopted in January 2015. The amendment will apply initially for two years before being re-
evaluated. Provincial level Apex Committees established under the NAP co-chaired by the
military and the civilian authorities decides which cases should be referred to the military
courts. There has been much criticism also inside the country that this step was approved in a
rush without an in-depth analysis of the consequences and little interest shown so far in
improving the civilian criminal justice system. Observers have stressed that such trials should
take place under conditions which safeguard the rights of the defendants to due process and a
fair trial and that the process should be as transparent as possible. However, the first trials
have been held in complete secrecy and no information has been provided to the public. The
legality of the 21st amendment has been challenged in the Supreme Court, which has
suspended all executions based on sentences from military courts until it can rule on this.
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12. Other aspects of the human rights situation in Pakistan also remain highly problematic.
Violence and abuses are perpetrated among others by terrorist groups and networks, religious
extremists and members of the police and security forces. At the same time, the state and the
judicial system are often unable and sometimes unwilling to protect the victims and
perpetrators of human rights violations often go unpunished. Reports of torture, enforced
disappearances and extrajudicial killings continue, in particular from the conflict affected
areas of Baluchistan, FATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Religious minorities live in fear of
persecution and sectarian violence, and there appears to have been an increase in religious
intolerance and violence, targeting Ahmadis, Christians, Hindus and Shias. The latest example
was the attack on a bus in Karachi killing 45 members of the Ismaili community (13 May).
The blasphemy laws, a key concern of the EU, are also frequently used as a tool of oppression
or abused for personal gain, and radical clerics are involved in inciting mob violence. Hate
speech continues to be prevalent in mosques, madrassas and parts of the media. In the last few
months some prosecutions have been initiated against the perpetrators, but it is still too early
to tell if this will have a lasting effect. Women continue to be subject of widespread
discrimination and targets of violence, with frequent reports of domestic abuse, forced
marriages and conversions, rapes and honor killings and children lack access to education and
health care, while child labour remains a problem. Pakistan also continues to score low an all
social indicators, including literacy and access to education, especially for girls. Human
Rights defenders run significant risks in carrying out their work with a lack of proper
mechanisms in place to protect them and their organizations. The assassination in Karachi in
April 2015 of Ms Sabeen Mahmoud, a prominent human rights activist, was a stark reminder
of this. Media freedom also seems to have regressed. Access to justice is severely restricted
by a massive backlog of cases in the civilian courts, inadequate training of judges, lawyers
and police personnel, as well as lack of education and awareness of rights by the general
public. Court officials are often the victims of threats and intimidation and corruption and
political interference in the judicial process is prevalent.
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13. On the economic front news are mixed. IMF has reported that Pakistan is largely on track in
its implementation of the US$6.63 billion Economic Funding Facility agreed in September
2013. Foreign reserves that were nearly depleted in 2013 have been increased and are
expected to reach the target of three months' worth of imports in the summer of 2015. Growth
projections, although modest for a middle-income country, have been increased slightly and
are expected to reach 4.1% in financial year 2014/15 and 4.5% in 2015/16, while inflation has
dropped to around 5%. Benchmarks on energy sector reform and public revenue collection
have been reached, although the former mostly with the help of falling oil prices and the latter
largely because it was very modest to begin with. Some progress, albeit limited, has also been
achieved on other issues, such as the privatization of State Owned Enterprises and the
governance of the State Bank of Pakistan. However, the benefit of falling imports, primarily
because of the lower oil prices, have been offset by poor export performance, sustaining
longstanding trade imbalances. The problem of insufficient revenue collection in the energy
sector also continues to result in considerable deficits while shortages of electricity and gas
continue to cripple the industry. Besides, Pakistan still has considerable problems attracting
foreign investments, as security problems, political instability and uncertainty about the pace
and direction of economic reforms acts as a discouraging factors.
14. Relations with Pakistan's neighbours, in particular India and Afghanistan, remain central to
regional peace and stability. Prime Minister Sharif pushed forward an agenda of peace with
the neighbours with mixed results.
-
India: Relations deteriorated over the summer 2014 with the cancellation by India of planned
talks at Foreign Secretary level and renewed skirmishes along the Kashmir Line of Control
and the Working Boundary. Pakistan and India retreated into rigid positions which hampered
the prospects for resumption of dialogue and affected the outcome of the SAARC summit in
Kathmandu in November 2014. Finally, much awaited Foreign Secretary talks took place in
March 2015 in Islamabad, but no agreement has been reached on a framework for a
comprehensive dialogue. In addition, the release on bail of one of the alleged masterminds of
the Mumbai attacks, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, will probably further tense India-Pakistan
relations.
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Afghanistan: Relations have been improving with a number of regular visits from the
top civil and military leadership; including the visit to Islamabad of President Ghani in
November 2014 and Prime Minister Sharif's return visit to Kabul in May 2015 during
which the two sides pledged cooperation on security issues and agreed ambitious targets
to boost bilateral trade Pakistan also committed to play a supportive role in the
reconciliation process with the Afghan Taliban. There are still significant challenges for
Pakistan in delivering on these promises, in particular with regard to taking action
against Taliban support structures in the country, but there are some encouraging signs,
including an agreement between the intelligence services of the two countries.
-
Iran: Relations continue to be difficult due to regular border incidents, but Prime
Minister Sharif's visit to Teheran in April 2014 and the decision not to commit any
troops in Yemen illustrates a willingness to sustain a balanced approach between
Pakistan's Arab partners and its Shia neighbour. In addition, the possible lifting of
sanctions on Iran may re-open the prospects of completion of the Iran-Pakistan gas
pipeline.
-
China: The visit of the Chinese President in April 2015 in which investment deals worth
US$46 Billion were signed, was widely lauded as another milestone in the "all weather
friendship" between China and Pakistan. Investments related to infrastructure along the Pak-
China economic corridor and energy projects were among the most important results. China is
also taking a more pro-active role on security, among others speaking out against terrorist
sanctuaries in Pakistan, home to militant Uighurs, and getting involved on the reconciliation
process with the Afghan Taliban. However, the progress on the economic corridor reignited a
political debate among the Provinces and the Federal Government about the route that this
should take.
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15. After some years of tension, relations with the U.S. have improved following visits to
Washington of Prime Minister Sharif in November 2013 and Chief of Staff Raheel Sharif in
November 2014, as well as a visit to Islamabad of Secretary of State John Kerry in January
2015. Fresh on the heels of this visit, the U.S. approved a US$1 Billion arms sale to Pakistan.
Pakistan has also initiated a process of rapprochement with Russia, in particular in the defence
sector with the signing of an agreement on defence cooperation.
16. The deteriorating situation in Yemen and the subsequent Saudi-led military operation in April
2015 have put Pakistan in a predicament due to strong Saudi pressure for military
involvement. Despite the close links between Prime Minister Sharif and the Saudi royal
family, consensus emerged about the need to stay out of this war, concentrate on the fight
against terrorism at home and avoid fuelling sectarian divides. The final decision, however,
took time due to speculations of what would be the "price to pay" for Pakistan in light of the
large financial donation provided by Saudi Arabia last year. This policy decision could assert
Pakistan as a neutral actor in the Muslim world.
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3.
EU-Pakistan engagement
3.1. Strategic and political
17. With the adoption in 2012 of the 5-Year Engagement Plan, the EU’s relations with Pakistan
have further strengthened and the EU's visibility has improved, culminating with the granting
of GSP+. Regular high level interactions between the EU and Pakistan have been taking place
and two new fora for discussion have been established: local human rights meetings, the first
of which took place on 12 March 2015, and an energy dialogue due to take place later this
year. Further high level political interactions are planned for 2015, including the political
dialogue at Political Directors’ level and a next round of the Strategic Dialogue. The timing of
the next
ad hoc Summit still remains to be decided. The next meeting of the EU-Pakistan
Joint Commission and its sub-groups on Trade, Governance and Human Rights, and
development cooperation in the framework of the EU-Pakistan Cooperation Agreement
(2004) are also scheduled to take place in the second semester of 2015.
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3.2. Security
- Counter-Terrorism (CT) Dialogue and Cooperation
18. The fourth EU-Pakistan CT Dialogue took place in Islamabad on 24 February 2015 between
the EU (EEAS) at the level of Managing Director accompanied by the chair of COTER and
Pakistan (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) at the level of Additional Secretary. The dialogue also
involved on the Pakistani side a range of relevant ministries and agencies at federal and
provincial level, as well as representatives from the armed forces. The key objective of the CT
dialogue was to obtain commitment from the Pakistani government to work further with the
EU on CT related issues. In this respect the dialogue was a significant step forward in
securing EU-Pakistan CT engagement, and a set of joint conclusions were adopted, clearly
signalling political commitment from both sides to work together on key priority areas such as
criminal justice, rule of law, law enforcement/security, countering financing of terrorism and
countering violent extremism and its root causes. Furthermore, a formal response from
Pakistan to an EU non-paper on CT cooperation from July 2013 was received. However, a
certain difficulty exists in carrying out concrete co-operation activities in this field, due also to
the limited availability of MS agencies for that purpose.
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19. On the operational side, the EU continued to implement activities on Rule of Law, including
CT. On the operational side, the EU continued to implement activities on Rule of Law,
including CT. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the programme "
Citizens' Justice and Peace" started
in January 2015, aimed at improving policing and justice service delivery and relations with
the public at community level, supporting organizational reforms and strengthening civil
society's ability to monitor the police. The recently approved project
Pakistan's Action to
Counter Terrorism (PACT) will develop Khyber Pakhtunkhwa criminal justice institutions'
anti-terrorism modus operandi and technical capacity as well as provincial and interprovincial
coordination. In Punjab, two actions are ongoing to strengthen provincial capacity to deal with
terrorism cases and improve judicial performance and legal and judicial empowerment at
district level. In parallel, the project on
“Access to Justice in Punjab” focuses on increasing
availability of legal services at community level and on enhancing the quality and efficiency
of the judicial process in Punjab. Implementation of the
STRIVE project started in October
2014 with the aim to support Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) in Pakistan. Two
peacebuilding projects were completed in October 2014 and March 2015, while a new Call
for Proposals was launched in March 2015, focusing on peace building through engagement
with religious communities, women and youth as well as cultural heritage and arts.
- Disarmament and Non-proliferation
20. The first ever sectoral dialogue on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation took place in
Islamabad on 16 June 2014. This dialogue highlighted the benefits of engagement in order to
bridge gaps and identify possible areas of cooperation. On this basis, further areas of
cooperation have been explored in the field of export control and bio-safety, including
through possible Pakistani participation to the EU’s CBRN Centre of Excellence for Central
Asia. These issues will be further discussed at the next dialogue due to take place in Brussels
during the 2nd semester of 2015.
DELETED
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- Staff talks
21. Defence issues are now also part of the bilateral agenda following the first EU-Pakistan Staff
talks in Brussels on 18-19 April 2013 and the visit of the EU Chairman Military Committee
on 16-18 June 2013. Regular contacts between the EU Delegation and the Pakistani security
establishment have been taking place as well as coordination between the EU MS' Military
Attaches. However, this dimension of the EU-Pakistan relationship faces the challenge of
identifying clear converging interest from both sides.
3.3. Democracy, Governance, Human Rights and Socio-Economic Development
- Democracy
22. The EU has a longstanding commitment to democracy in Pakistan and has been invited to
observe three Parliamentary elections in 2002, 2008 and 2013. The 2013 EU Election
Observation Mission made a number of recommendations for further strengthening the
electoral framework in Pakistan and the EU has since consistently advocated for their
implementation, including in the framework of the recently established parliamentary reform
committee and underlined its readiness to support the process. As part of strengthened
parliamentary exchanges, the Chairman of the Pakistani Senate visited Brussels on 27-30
January 2015 and was received by President Martin Schulz, while a Delegation of the
European Parliament visited Pakistan on 16-20 February, holding a number of high level
meetings, including with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The mission raised a number of key
issues on democracy, governance, human rights and counter terrorism. It also met with the
newly established EU friendship group in the National Assembly and it was agreed to keep
close contact between the two groups.
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23. Currently the EU has a democracy portfolio for improving elections and strengthening
parliamentary institutions. This includes support for the Federal and Provincial Assemblies.
Two multi-facetted programs under the Instrument contributing to Peace and Stability have
also been rolled out. Interventions have covered the demand side (domestic election
observation, work on electoral reform and advocacy with parliamentarians, politicians and the
media) and the supply side (support to the Election Commission of Pakistan). An evaluation
of the overall EU electoral portfolio in Pakistan confirmed the high relevance of EU support
to all key stakeholders simultaneously as compared to only focusing on some. This, and
specifically the support to the demand side, had enabled the EU to position itself strategically
as a committed donor and provided a basis for longer-term impact. The evaluation
recommended building upon this investment with a similar approach, enhancing civil society
outreach, strengthening capacity building of the supply side and working on strong
collaborative measures with all stakeholders. However, these plans might be jeopardized in
case the Government of Pakistan persists in its current request to be the exclusive beneficiary
and manager of governance related actions through direct budgetary commitments.
- Governance
24. The EU continued to provide assistance via the Public Financial Management Support
Programme for Pakistan (PFM-SPP) to the Government of Sindh and the Federal
Government. The program supports Public Financial Management (PFM) reform strategies
and action plans, budgeting reforms, macroeconomic forecasts and other selected PFM areas.
Initiated in 2014, it has an expected duration of five years. It uses the latest findings of Public
Expenditure and Financial Accountability assessments for the Federal Government and the
Government of Sindh. In Sindh, the programme is led by the provincial Government and EU
cooperation support is aligned with World Bank assistance. At Federal level PFM reforms are
being developed by the Federal Government with EU assistance. At the same time, DFID is
supporting PFM reforms in the provinces of KP and Punjab.
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- Human Rights
25. In the area of Human Rights, the EU together with Member States continued to urge Pakistan
to improve its human rights record based on the human rights country strategy that identifies
four priority areas: Freedom of Religion or Belief, Women’s Rights, Death Penalty and
Access to Justice. In the first month of 2015, the EU has devoted particular attention to lobby
against the death penalty, following the decision by Pakistan to lift the moratorium on the
death penalty and resume executions. Interventions are made through a combination of
dialogue meetings, demarches and public statements as well as through regular interactions
and support to the active Human Rights civil society organizations. The EU Special
Representative for Human Rights visited Pakistan in October 2014 and the visit proved useful
in conveying strong messages on these issues. The granting of GSP+ has provided the EU
with increased leverage in the field of human rights and efforts have been made to ensure that
this is utilized. This has included a prominent place for GSP+ and human rights in all
dialogue meetings and at all levels, including the general political dialogues and dedicated
human rights dialogues. The latter comprises the Human Rights Subgroup of the Joint
Commission that met in June 2014, as well as Human Rights meetings at local level. The first
local meeting was held on 12 March 2015 between the EU Delegation and the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and proved a useful forum for an informal and constructive exchange on EU's
concerns. A key challenge for the coming months will be to ensure that Pakistan is able to
demonstrate progress in effectively implementing its commitments under GSP+ - in particular
on human rights and labor rights - in time for the first report to be submitted to the European
Parliament and EU Member States by 1 January 2016.
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26. The EU provided four new grants under
EIDHR in 2014, three of which concern actions to
fight violence against women and one of which relates to economic empowerment of women.
Ongoing grants under EIDHR included actions related to the rights of the child and freedom
of religion or belief, as well as a number of awareness raising activities on GSP+ obligations
and visibility of EU Guidelines. Another call of proposal will take place in 2015.
As signalled above, the EU is facing difficulties launching new projects on human rights and
governance due to reservations made by Pakistan on the choice of implementation modalities.
- Socio-Economic Development
27. Rural development is the main focal sector of the EU-Pakistan 2014-2020 MIP. The EU
provides support to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with focus on Malakand Division, through an
ambitious budget support programme for the implementation of the provincial policy of
"
Community Driven Local Development", technical assistance to Provincial and District
level authorities, and grants to the local NGO Sahrad Rural Support Programme. Building on
the existing legal framework of decentralisation, the intervention aims to support and
institutionalize a framework enabling district authorities to directly involve Community Based
Organisations in the delivery of basic front line services. A similar programme
"SUCCESS"
has been accepted for Sindh, which builds on and expands a Government funded programme
on community development. Similarly, under the 2015 AAP an expansion of the ongoing
Balochistan Community Development Programme is proposed. Within its rural development
activities, the EU is also funding a project aimed at refugee affected and hosting areas
(
RAHA) in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, implemented by UNDP. This project is
closing in September 2015 and an external review will assess progress and quality of
implementation.
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Within the thematic line 'Non State Actors-Local Authorities', the EU is committed to pilot
small interventions where local authorities and communities are engaged into processes of
local development, testing enhanced forms of collaboration and coordination to improve
resource allocation. The EU is also funding a nutrition programme in Sindh. The project is
now half-way through. A mid-term review is on-going, and the implementing partners are
finalising an exit strategy to ensure continuation of the services after 2016.
28. Education (including basic and technical and vocational education) is the second focal sector
of the EU-Pakistan 2014-2020 MIP. Currently EU is funding the technical and vocational
education and training (
TVET) through two main projects. "Support to the TVET Sector in
Pakistan (TVET I)" focuses on building the capacities of the provincial TVET authorities and
also providing technical and vocational training and skills to about 40,000 youth and women
in rural areas of Pakistan. "Supporting TVET Reform in Pakistan (TVET II)" focuses on
improving the governance of the TVET sector, developing curricula, training teachers as well
as educating 100,000 trainees. The two ongoing projects will end by 2016. The mid-term
reviews of these two projects were carried out in 2014. The findings indicated overall
satisfactory progress. Currently, the EU is planning the next phase of its support to the TVET
sector which will build on the outcomes of the ongoing TVET projects. An in-house
identification has been carried out and a formulation is planned in May and June.
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3.4. Trade and Investment
29. Trade and investment between the EU and Pakistan has increased in 2014. The largest
increase of more than €1 billion (or almost 25%) was in Pakistan's exports to the EU,
primarily in the areas of textiles, leather and agriculture. This can largely be attributed to the
increased market access through GSP+ and therefore GSP+ demonstrated that it has a real
economic impact. EU's exports to Pakistan have also increased although at a much more
modest level. There is considered to be a potential for increased EU investments in Pakistan,
but this is made difficult by real and perceived security challenges, power shortages and a
difficult regulatory and business environment. EU and Member States will address these
issues through a closer dialogue with the Government on economic reforms, in the context of
the IMF programme and a stronger dialogue on energy (the first meeting of which is expected
in 2015). At the same time, efforts will be made to address long-standing trade irritants, such
as an import ban on certain bovine products from the EU, export taxes as well as sanitary and
phytosanitary and pharma issues.
DELETED The activities of trade – related technical co-
operation have contributed to the promotion of the GSP+ system, an endeavour which will
require steady commitment even in future
.
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3.5. Energy
30. The energy crisis remains highly acute in Pakistan, as illustrated by the still long hours of
load-shedding (around 5.000 Megawatt missing in the grid), the shortage of fuel for more than
a week in large cities in February 2015, a general shortage of gas essential for industrial
production and the episodes of electricity blackout in several parts of the country. In the
beginning of its tenure, the PML-N Government adopted a National Energy Policy 2013-18,
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Given the critical importance of this issue and the increasing engagement of the EU and
Member States in this field, the idea to establish an EU-Pakistan energy dialogue was
endorsed at the Strategic Dialogue on 25 March 2014 and a final decision was reached at the
Joint Commission on 24 June 2014. The first edition of this dialogue is scheduled for the 2nd
semester of 2015. It will offer an opportunity to discuss the Government's policy on energy
reform (e.g. circular debt, privatization) and regional energy projects (e.g. TAPI, CASA
1000), address obstacles to private investment of European companies, enhance coordination
of funding for energy related projects and technical assistance on the running of an efficient
and clean energy market. Discussions related to climate change are also envisaged in the
framework of the dialogue. Following the signing last year of a European Investment
Bank €100 million credit for a hydel project in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa co-funded with
Germany, the Bank is looking into further investments in Pakistan in the field of wind and
hydel.
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3.6. Sectoral cooperation
- Migration
31. Following the entry into force of the EU Readmission Agreement (EURA) with Pakistan on 1
December 2010, a considerable number of Member States continue to express concerns about
delays in the processing of applications and the issuance of Pakistani travel documents to the
returnees. However, there have recently been signs of willingness by Pakistan to improve the
situation. The third meeting of the Joint Readmission Committee (JRC), held in October
2014, discussed how to make progress on a number of issues, including procedures for
submission of applications, documentation required and an electronic platform for the
streamlining of the application procedure and reducing processing time in the future. The
effects of this are still not evident at all in many Member States and continued vigilance and
resolute action is needed to address this problem. The next JRC will need to take stock of
progress and discuss ways to ensure full implementation of the agreement. The discussion
will also have to be carried out in the context of the implementation of the EU pilot initiative
on return, for which Pakistan has been chosen as one of the pilot countries. At the same time,
efforts will continue to develop a dialogue and to assist the Pakistani authorities on migration
management, including in the context of regional cooperation under the Silk Route Project.
- Science and Technology
32. Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF) has been designated by the Ministry of Science and
Technology of the Government of Pakistan to act as a partner to promote the HORIZON 2020
Programme in Pakistan. The EU Delegation is working closely with the PSF to organize
awareness seminars in all provinces targeting a broader audience comprising research and
technology, academia and entrepreneurs. The first of these will be held in Karachi in May
2015 while seminars in other provinces will be organized later. In all these seminars the
Regional Counsellor for Science and Technology based in the Delhi Delegation will be
closely involved. Two such seminars were held in 2014, one each in Islamabad and Lahore.
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- Higher education
33. Pakistani students and scholars have benefited from Erasmus Mundus scholarships since
2009. In 2014, 241 students and scholars from Pakistan were selected for Erasmus Mundus
scholarships. Discussions are on-going to strengthen the cooperation with the Member States
to jointly promote the higher education programs and also to further engage with the Erasmus
Mundus Alumni Association in Pakistan. The new programme Erasmus+ opened the capacity
building action to Asia, which will provide an opportunity to strengthen links between higher
education programs and bilateral education programs (for example in teachers training).
- Humanitarian assistance
34. The military operations in North Waziristan and in Bara area in Khyber agency led to further
displacements of around 770,000 people. At the beginning of 2015, the Government of
Pakistan announced an ambitious Operational Return Plan for an estimated 125,000 displaced
families to their areas of origin in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in 2015.
Currently, around 238.000 families still remain internally displaced in Pakistan and sustained
humanitarian access to displaced population continues to challenge humanitarian
organisations 'capacity to meet the needs of affected populations.
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35. In addition, while the FATA Secretariat states that access to humanitarian agencies will be
granted, this has to date not materialized. ECHO has raised serious concerns on the concrete
modalities (unclear and patchy at best) for assistance to returnees and in areas of return by the
authorities. In addition to duplication of assistance between government and humanitarian
assistance, the main concern remains access and principled actions. The shrinking of
humanitarian space concerns all of the conflict affected areas and has been increasingly
affecting international NGOs as well as UN implementing partners. At present, only 13 out of
58 international NGOs have received an MoU that allows them formally to operate in
Pakistan. In addition, “non-objection certificates” continue to be required.
36. Return of refugees to Afghanistan has increased substantially since the Government's actions
in response to the Peshawar school attack. Up until the end of March 2015, 13,045 refugees
repatriated. The increase in returns from 2014 is substantial, most notably from Mirpur,
Peshawar and Haripur districts, in which elevated numbers of arrests, detentions and evictions
have been reported. In total, there are some 1.6 million registered Afghan refugees and a
similar estimated number of unregistered refugees, many of whom are already the second or
third generation. As reported by IOM, most of the returning Afghans have spent between 15-
25 years outside of Afghanistan, and as such could face challenges reintegrating. Absorption
capacity in Afghanistan remains limited. Pakistan agreed to extend the Afghans’ “Proof of
Registration” cards at the end of last year shortly before their expiry until 31 December 2015.
In view of improved relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan since the new Afghan
government took office, renewed tripartite discussions have started to engage on finding a
joint solution to the refugee issue.
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37. ECHO also focused renewed attention on the nutrition agenda in Sindh province in
recognition of the persistent nutritional crisis that remains deeply entrenched due to the
repeated natural disasters and underlying structural vulnerabilities existing before the massive
flood crisis in 2010. The province is yet again hit by a prolonged drought crisis that has
persisted mainly in the Thar Desert region since late 2013. Available reports indicate massive
depletion of the already scarce livelihoods options /coping capacities and deterioration in
nutritional status. Addressing the high rates of under-nutrition in Sindh requires a combination
of comprehensive multi-sector humanitarian assistance with a commitment to facilitate
transition towards longer-term multi-sector approaches to build resilience. ECHO's Sindh
2015 response will target the drought affected districts on priority basis.
4. CONCLUSIONS AND WAY FORWARD
38. Pakistan remains of key importance to the European Union. It is central to regional stability
and security and as such also to the security of the EU, not least since it is at the front line in
the fight against terrorism domestically, regionally and globally. Pakistan is also a major
transit hub for the global trade in illicit narcotics and a major sending state for irregular
migration to the EU. At the same time, a large population of Pakistani origin resides legally in
the EU and is part of our societies and an important source of remittances for the Pakistani
economy. EU-Pakistan relations received new momentum with the adoption of the 5-year
Engagement Plan in 2012. It is of the utmost importance that the EU remains actively
engaged with Pakistan.
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39. EU-Pakistan relations have expanded in recent years and some progress has been made within
the framework of the 5-years Engagement Plan. Granting GSP+ to Pakistan has given the EU
leverage on human rights, labour standards and governance issues. The impact of GSP+ on
trade is so far very positive for Pakistan.
40. However, at the same time there are factors that threaten to affect the relationship negatively
in the future.
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Most prominent of these are
concerns on the human rights front - where there have been significant steps backwards - in
particular the decision of Pakistan to resume executions, but also issues related freedom of
religion and belief and protection of minorities, access to justice, women's rights and the
situation of human rights defenders - and the consequences that these concerns may have on
GSP+.
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41. Against this backdrop efforts must be increased in the coming months to maintain the
constructive momentum in EU-Pakistan relations, while finding mutually acceptable ways
forward on the problematic issues. Actions in this regard may include the following:
•
Further enhance dialogue and cooperation on human rights at all levels based on the EU
Human Rights Country Strategy, ensuring that these topics continue to feature
prominently in all interactions with the Government of Pakistan.
•
Work with Pakistan to encourage and support concrete progress in implementation of
the 27 GSP+ conventions in advance of the first report, due 1 January 2016.
•
Building on past elections support, engage politically and develop new cooperative
interventions in support of ongoing work to reform the electoral framework.
•
Use positive momentum in the CT dialogue to further engage with Pakistan on CT
issues and strengthen and expand CT cooperation.
•
Enhance dialogue in the non-proliferation and disarmament area in order to bring
Pakistan closer to effective cooperation in relevant multilateral fora.
•
Engage proactively with Pakistan to strengthen trade and investment and resolve
outstanding trade issues, in close dialogue with EU industry.
•
Strengthen exchange and cooperation with Pakistan on energy issues, including through
the envisaged energy dialogue.
•
Enhance interactions with Pakistan on Climate Change to ensure cooperation in
promoting an ambitious outcome of COP21.
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•
Engage in a high level dialogue to resolve obstacles to EU development cooperation in
Pakistan, particularly in the areas of democracy, governance and human rights, which
are particularly critical for the future of our relations;
•
Continue efforts to improve implementation of the EU-Pakistan Readmission
Agreement, in particular with a view to reduce processing time for applications, while
developing the dialogue on migration matters.
•
Advocate unhindered access, including the fast issuance of MoUs and NoCs, for
humanitarian NGOs and UN agencies in order to deliver principled humanitarian
assistance to the population in need.
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ANNEX TO THE ANNEX
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