Asad Umar questions UK’s decision to ban entry from Pakistan and putting on red list

The Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Asad Umar has questioned United Kingdom’s decision to place four countries, including Pakistan, on the red list of countries effective April 9.

According to media reports, the Britain had said that the decision to add Kenya, Bangladesh, Philippines and Pakistan to the list was based on advice from public health experts as well as scientific data.

In a tweet on Saturday, the Planning Minister Asad Umar said, “Every country has a right to take decisions to safeguard the health of their citizens. However, the recent decision by the UK government to add some countries, including Pakistan, on the ‘red list’ raises a legitimate question whether the choice of countries is based on science or foreign policy.”

Asad Umar has also shared a letter written by UK MP Naz Shah to British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab dated March 30, prior to restrictions being announced.

In the letter, the Britain’s MP Naz Shah asked, “I have a large Pakistani diaspora within my constituency which is why I am writing to simply ask, what scientific data is any decision being led by?”

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MP Naz Shah further stated that according to recent available data, France, Germany and India had substantially higher numbers of infections per 100,000.

“It must also be noted that the South African variant isn’t a concern in Pakistan whereas this isn’t the case for example in France and other countries. This begs the question why hasn’t the government extended the red list to France, Germany, and India?” he questioned.

“The British government did not have a coherent strategy for dealing with the ‘red list’ and was applying decisions led by politics and not data. Contrary to what the government is saying, it is clearly not making decisions fed by science/data. Further, it is knowingly and consciously discriminating against Pakistan and the Pakistani diaspora community,” he added.