ISLAMABAD – Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi Friday welcomed the UK government’s decision to remove Pakistan from its travel red list, which will be effective from September 22.
Taking to Twitter, Qureshi wrote: “Welcome decision of UK government to remove #Pakistan from the travel red list”.
The minister recalled that he had last month raised deep concerns with British counterpart Dominic Raab on keeping Pakistan on red list “despite irrefutable scientific data on Pakistan’s handling of #Covid19 pandemic”.
“This change is appreciated,” Qureshi concluded.
Earlier in the day, Britain Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps said that the UK has removed Pakistan and seven other countries from its red list, easing travel restrictions for the South Asian country.
The other countries include Oman, Kenya, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Turkey and Bangladesh.
He further announced that the UK are making testing easier for travel.
“From Mon 4 Oct, if you’re fully vax you won’t need a pre-departure test before arrival into England from a non-red country and from later in Oct, will be able to replace the day 2 PCR test with a cheaper lateral flow,” he added.
The UK will also introduce a new simplified system for international travel from Oct 4, replacing the current approach with a single red list Red circle and simplified measures for the rest of the world – striking the right balance to manage the public health risk as No.1 priority.
Read more: https://pakobserver.net/uk-removes-pakistan-from-travel-red-list/
