Fact-check: Kasim Khan did not call for revocation of Pakistan's GSP+ status in Geneva

Online posts claim that Kasim Khan, the son of former prime minister Imran Khan, demanded that Pakistan’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) status be suspended during his speech at a United Nations Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva on March 25.

The claim was also shared by Pakistan's defence minister and a parliamentarian from the ruling party.

GSP+ is a European Union (EU) initiative that grants developing countries tariff-free access to the EU market.

The claim is false. Khan did not make any such statement.

Claim

On March 25, a social media account posted a minute-long video of Kasim Khan with the caption: "Imran Khan's son, Kasim Khan, attends a conference to revoke Pakistan's GSP+ status with the European Union, citing human rights violations, specifically regarding his father's imprisonment."

Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif also quoted one such post on X (formerly Twitter) and wrote: "If [the] sons are so concerned about their father, instead of lobbying for revocation of GSP+ status, they should demonstrate their love and commitment, travel to Pakistan to visit him."

Hina Pervaiz Butt, a member of the Punjab Assembly from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, also criticised Khan for allegedly attempting to have Pakistan's GSP+ status revoked, calling it a "direct attack on the country's economy" for the "sake of personal gain".

Fact

Kasim Khan spoke at two events in Geneva. At neither event did he call for the revocation of Pakistan's GSP+ status.

The video circulating on social media has been spliced from the March 25 UN Human Rights Council General Debate under Item 9, which was streamed live by United Nations Web TV.

Geo Fact Check reviewed the full nearly three-hour session, including Kasim Khan's speech, which can be heard at the 18:00 timestamp here.

In his speech, Kasim Khan's exact words were: "Thank you, madam vice president. I am deeply concerned by the alarming rise of intolerance and persecution in Pakistan. We are witnessing a systematic campaign to dehumanize and silence specific segments of the population. My father, Imran Khan, has been imprisoned for nearly 1,000 days. He is the primary target of a regime that treats dissent not as political disagreement, but as a grave crime to be crushed. I have not seen my father in over three years. He is held in a solitary confinement cell, a cell built for death row inmates. UN experts have warned the inhumane conditions could amount to torture. This is not neglect, it's a deliberate persecution designed to strip a human being of his dignity. I have not seen my father in over three years. He is held in a solitary confinement cell, a cell built for death row inmates. UN experts have warned the inhumane conditions could amount to torture. This is not neglect, its a deliberate persecution designed to strip a human being of his dignity."

On the same day, Kasim Khan also spoke at a side event where he again did not call for the suspension of Pakistan's GSP+ status.

During this event, where he spoke more broadly about his father, the only comment Khan made about the GSP+ was: "Pakistan made binding commitments under the GSP+ framework to uphold the international human rights conventions are ratified, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention against Torture. My father’s arbitrary detention, solitary confinement, the denial of medical care, the blocking of family visits, the trial of civilians in military courts; each of these violates those treaty obligations."

His remarks from this side event can be heard at the 26:00 timestamp in the video uploaded by Global Human Rights TV (GHRTV) here.

Moreover, Kasim Khan also posted on his official X account that, during his address at a UNHRC session, he supported the continuation of Pakistan's GSP+ status with the European Union.

Verdict: Kasim Khan did not call for the suspension or revocation of Pakistan’s GSP+ status in either his UNHRC speech or the related side event.

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