Daily Times

A Member of Parliament (MP) of the ruling party in Britain on Monday questioned British government’s decision to curtail travel from Pakistan in view of Covid-19 cases and sought clarification.

The ME noted that Pakistan has been added to the Red list even when the country has low rates of Covid transmission.

In a letter to the British Foreign Secretary Domonic Raab, Conservative MP for Bury North, James Daly asked for an outline of the clinical and medical reason for Pakistan’s Red list status from April 9th.

Referring to his constituents from Bury North in Pakistan, Azad and Jammu Kashmir (AJK) who are having grave difficulties in returning to the UK, he said due to restrictions being imposed the prices of flights have risen substantially and have become unaffordable for many.

The letter states “there is clearly a need for commercial airlines to work closely with the government to repatriate British citizens and I am grateful for the work currently undertaken to support this aim.” However, “there are concerns regarding the number of available seats on planes leaving Pakistan prior to the April 9 and have been told about the disproportionate cost of tickets is having a real impact on the choices my constituents face whether to return to the UK or being forced to remain in Pakistan,” James added.

Meanwhile, James Daly have also written a separate letter to the CEO of Pakistan International Air (PIA) Air Marshal Arshad Malik, in which he raised the issue of substantial increase in the price of flight tickets. He said” I have received reports tickets already purchased for flights bound for the UK from Pakistan are being resold by airlines and travel agents at an inflated cost without the consent of the original purchaser, would you please confirm this is not the case and existing tickets and prices will be honored.”

MEP James Daly called on the airline to work closely with passengers to find a solution for those wishing to return to the UK, and consider altering the present policy of offering travel vouchers and credits rather than full cash refund for cancelled flights. PIA and UK’s Foreign & Commonwealth Development office (FCDO) should work together to ensure the safe passage of British Pakistanis stranded in Pakistan and AJK, James Daly concluded.

Councillor Khalid Hussain JP, the first member of Bury’s Muslim community elected as a Conservative councillor in 2004 praised James Daly for his efforts in standing up for the rights of Pakistanis and Kashmiris following Pakistan’s inclusion in the Red list. Khalid described James as the lion heart of Bury who always stand up for Pakistan and Kashmir adding MP Daly puts principles before politics.

Earlier, Bradford West MEP Naz Shah also criticised the UK government’s decision to curtail travel from Pakistan in view of Covid-19 cases, dubbing the move “consciously and knowingly discriminatory”.

In a letter to Dominic Raab,the MEP asked for an explanation about why Pakistan was added to the ‘red list’ when it has “substantially lower cases” as compared to France, India and Germany. “What scientific data is any decision being led by?” she wrote, noting that France, Germany and India had 403, 137 and 24 infections per 100,000 persons, respectively, whereas Pakistan had 13.