TALKING about human rights in Pakistan has been both hazardous and controversial. This is not only true for those who live within the country. If one is drawing attention to the issue outside Pakistan, it is not much easier even if it might be safer in some ways. Those who do so must be prepared for disapproval, along with more. At the very least, these ‘troublemakers’ (within and without) are accused of washing their dirty linen in public and at worst, of being ‘unpatriotic’. ‘Treacherous’ is also a word that gets thrown around. As the last two adjectives have become rather popular of late, one needs to be careful all the time. Indeed, these days, anything short of fulsome praise can and does fall under the category of unpatriotic activities. But I digress.

This ‘old, old’ debate was highlighted once again as Imran Khan’s sons (along with the PTI) were ‘troublesome’ enough to bring up Pakistan’s human rights record in Geneva and then criticised for putting Pakistan’s GSP-Plus status in danger. GSP-Plus is a scheme where preferential access to Pakistani exports is provided in exchange for the government committing to a human rights agenda. And because this helps increase exports, which in turn provides employment, we are told no one should complain about the country’s human rights record. But people (including Khan’s party and family) did, and as a........

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