COVID-19: UK “Considering” Removing Pakistan From Red Travel List, Country High Commissioner Says | Politics News

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The top Pakistani diplomat in the UK said Boris Johnson had assured him the government was “examining” the possibility of removing the South Asian country from the travel red list.

Moazzam Ahmad Khan, Pakistan’s High Commissioner to the UK, said he raised his concerns directly to the Prime Minister when they met at Sandhurst Military Academy on Friday.

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Honored to meet Prime Minister Boris Johnson at Sandhurst this morning. Working hand in hand to spread the friendship between Pakistan and the UK: HE Moazzam Ahmad Khan pic.twitter.com/RtfryUd2YP

– Pakistan High Commission in London (@PakistaninUK) August 6, 2021

Pakistan has been on the COVID-19 red list since April, which means almost all travel from the country to the UK is banned.

British and Irish nationals and those with UK residency rights can re-enter, but must self-quarantine in a government-approved hotel for 11 days at a cost of over £ 2,000.

Pakistan was kept on the red list when the last travel review was carried out earlier this month, but neighboring India was reduced to the amber category.

This sparked criticism over the travel system, with a number of MPs calling for an explanation from the government.

Mr Khan said he raised the issue with the prime minister last week, with the aim of removing Pakistan from the red list in the next travel rule review on August 26.

“We feel the system that they [British authorities] adopted to assess Pakistan does not present an accurate picture of our COVID-19 situation, and this needs to be corrected, ”he said, in quotes published by the Dawn newspaper.

“It’s not a criticism, but it’s important to share our point of view. There is no communication gap, we are in constant contact with them.

“In fact, I had the opportunity to speak to Prime Minister Johnson and drew his attention to the fact that keeping Pakistan on the red list has frustrated and disappointed both Pakistanis and the Diaspora.

“He said ‘we are studying this’.”

Image: Boris Johnson at Sandhurst on Friday, when he met Moazzam Ahmad Khan

The high commissioner said UK authorities have expressed concerns over the lack of genomic surveillance for new COVID variants in Pakistan and low levels of testing.

But Mr Khan said Islamabad’s point of view is that the UK is not looking at the big picture.

“We believe that when assessing the situation in Pakistan, not all elements have been taken into account,” he said.

A spokesperson for the Department of Transport said: “Our international travel policy is guided by one top priority – public health – and traffic light assignments are based on a range of factors, including genomic surveillance capability, the risk of transmission and variants of concern. “

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