Staff Reporter Islamabad
Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar on Saturday questioned Britain’s decision to place four more nations, including Pakistan, on the “red list” of countries effective April 9.
The United Kingdom had said that the decision to add Bangladesh, Kenya, Pakistan and the Philippines to the list was based on advice from public health experts as well as scientific data.
“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,” he said.
The minister also shared a letter written by British MP Naz Shah to British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab dated March 30, prior to restrictions being announced.
“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,” Shah asked in the letter.
She said 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?” the British MP had questioned.
Shah had concluded that 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.
