The European Parliament,

- having regard to its previous resolutions on Pakistan,

- having regard to the sstatement by High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini on the attack on a school in Peshawar, Pakistan, 16 December 2014

- having regard to the UN General Assembly’s December 18, 2007 resolution calling for a moratorium on executions and the subsequent move by UN member countries towards the global abolition of the death penalty.

- having regard to Article 18 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,

- having regard to the 1981 UN Declaration on the Elimination of all Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination based on Religion or Belief,

- having regard to the reports of the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief,

- having regard to its resolution of 11 December 2013 on the Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World 2012 and the European Union’s policy on the matter, condemning the persecution of Christians and other religious minorities,

- having regard to the EU-Pakistan five-year engagement plan of March 2012, containing priorities such as good governance and dialogue on human rights, and to the closely related 2nd EU-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue of 25 March 2014,

- having regard to the Council conclusions on Pakistan of 11 March 2013, reiterating the EU’s expectations regarding the promotion of and respect for human rights and condemning all violence, including against religious minoritieshttp://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+MOTION+P8-RC-2014-0289+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN - _part1_def3,

- having regard to its resolution of 12 March 2014 on Pakistan’s regional role and political relations with the EU,

- having regard to Rules 135(5) and 123(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.  Whereas Pakistan plays a crucial role in the geostrategic balance of power in South Asia and should therefore lead by example in strengthening rule of law and human rights;

B.  Whereas Pakistan entered the GSP+ scheme for the first time on 1 January 2014; whereas this scheme "should provide a strong incentive to respect core human and labour rights, the environment and good governance principles";

C.  Whereas there are estimated to be at least 800 people on death row in Pakistan for “terrorism” convictions and another 17,000 people undergoing prosecution for alleged terrorism offenses.

D.  Whereas the Government of Pakistan executed two convicted militants in Punjab province on December 19, 2014, as an explicit reaction to the December 16 attack by the Pakistani Taliban splinter group Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) on a school in Peshawar in northwestern Pakistan that left 153 dead.

E.  Whereas between 2009 and 2012, there were at least 838 attacks on schools in Pakistan, leaving hundreds of schools destroyed.

F.  Whereas girls and women are particularly vulnerable, while including them in education is crucial for the development of Pakistan´s society and economy;

1.  Expresses its condolences to the victims and families of the barbaric terrorist attack of the December 16, 2014.

2.  Expects the Government of Pakistan to take urgent and efficient measures to address the security threat posed by all militant groups operating within Pakistan and the surrounding region, without exception.

3.  Condemns the subsequent decision by Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif to rescind a four-year unofficial moratorium on capital punishment and calls for this moratorium to be re-instated immediately.

4.  Calls on the Government of Pakistan to improve security at its schools, to protect students and educators from future such atrocities. The Government should show significantly stronger determination and strengthen its efforts to arrest and prosecute TTP militants and others who target schools for violence, otherwise its international credibility would be undermined.

5.  Calls for more to be done to prevent the radicalisation of young people in Pakistan, in particular by increasing investment in a publicly funded education system and by making sure Madrassas have the materials they need to provide a balanced and inclusive education to young people.

6.  Calls on the Government of Pakistan to reserve anti-terrorism laws for recognizable acts of terror, instead of being used to try ordinary criminal cases.

7.  Calls on renewed international commitment to push the state- and non-state actors that are sponsoring extremist and jihadist networks to end these immediately;

8.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the European Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the EU Special Representative for Human Rights, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Secretary-General of the UN, the UN Human Rights Council, and the Government and Parliament of Pakistan.