ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan held a telephonic conversation with Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom today, Monday, and urged him to reconsider his country’s decision to place Pakistan on a “red list” of nations banned from travel to the UK.
Effective April 9, the UK banned entry to people arriving from countries on a “red list” unless they were British or Irish nationals. It announced that those who came to Britain from countries on the red list would be refused entry, while returning Britons must submit to 10 days of mandatory quarantine in hotels.
The cost for one adult to quarantine in a government-approved hotel room for 10 days is £1,750, which does not include the mandatory £210 each passenger has to pay for testing in this period. A negative coronavirus test in this time does not shorten the duration of the quarantine.
Many expats stuck in Pakistan have said the cost of quarantine is unaffordable for them and many are still biding their time in their country of origin until the UK changes its policy or the Pakistan government comes to their rescue.
“The Prime Minister impressed upon the UK to revisit the decision of placing Pakistan on Red List of travel ban countries,” the Pakistani PM’s office said in a statement, adding that the two leaders “exchanged views on the current trajectory of bilateral relations, the Afghan peace process, the Covid-19 Pandemic and climate change.”
“Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed the hope that Pakistan and the UK would be able to forge an even stronger partnership going forward, particularly in the domains of trade and investments. The two leaders agreed on the importance of high level exchanges between the two countries,” the statement said, adding:
“The Prime Minister lauded efforts of Prime Minister Boris Johnson in effectively combating Covid-19 pandemic in the UK. He also briefed his British counterpart on measures taken by Pakistan to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic while saving lives, securing livelihoods, and stimulating the economy.”
On Afghanistan, Khan reiterated Pakistan’s support for an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process and his long standing stance that there was no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan and a negotiated political solution was the only way forward.
“Underscoring the importance of a responsible withdrawal, the Prime Minister apprised his British counterpart of Pakistan’s on-going efforts to support the Afghan peace process as part of a shared responsibility,” the PM office said.
PM urges UK to revisit decision to place travel ban on Pakistan
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PM urges UK to revisit decision to place travel ban on Pakistan
- Effective April 9, UK banned entry to people arriving from countries on a “red list” unless they were British or Irish nationals
- It announced that those who came from countries on red list would be refused entry, returning Britons to go through 10 day quarantine in hotels
Gunmen kill 3 Revolutionary Guards in Iranian province bordering Pakistan
- Iranian state media says attackers ambushed patrol in Sistan and Baluchistan province before fleeing
- Border region with Pakistan and Afghanistan has long seen militant and smuggling-related violence
TEHRAN: Gunmen killed three members of the Revolutionary Guard in Iran’s southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan near the Pakistan border, state media reported.
The Guard members were ambushed while patrolling near the city of Lar in a mountainous area about 1,125 kilometers (700 miles) southeast of the capital Tehran, the official IRNA news agency reported.
IRNA did not report whether any Guard members were injured in the attack.
The Revolutionary Guard is pursing the attackers it calls “terrorists,” but they remain at large. No group has taken responsibility for the attack, IRNA reported.
The province bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan, one of the least developed in Iran, has been the site of occasional deadly clashes involving militant groups, armed drug smugglers and Iranian security forces.
In August, Iran’s security forces killed 13 militants in three separate operations in the province a week after the group killed five policemen who were on patrol.
