UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been questioned by several British parliamentarians over his addition of Pakistan and Bnagladesh to the “red listed” countries.
In a letter written by chair of the All Parties Parliamentary Group on Pakistan (APPG), Yasmin Qureshi, concerns regarding “the way this plan has been implemented without providing clear evidence for that decision” were delineated.
“The placing of these countries on the red list will have a huge impact on many UK residents. The UK has over 1.1 million British Pakistanis and a large number of British Bangladeshis. Whilst we support measures where there is a clear need to act to protect the UK in relation to COVID-19, we have major concerns about the way this plan has been implemented without providing clear evidence for that decision,” the letter reads, as reported by Geo News.
“Many UK citizens have travelled to those countries in accordance with the government’s COVID-19 guidelines. The vast majority will have travelled to visit family, including elderly relatives, whom they may not have seen for over a year. They will have already paid for return flights but are now in a position where they will have to pay for new flights in order to return before the ban is put in place. Flight costs are currently around £2,000 per single ticket. Most of the people who have travelled will have paid for return flights priced at around £500 which are now useless,” it adds.
This move comes after Britain announced last week that it would add Bangladesh, Kenya, Pakistan, and the Philippines to its travel “red list”. It further stated that it would allow entry only to British or Irish nationals into the country.
