UK envoy asserts Pakistan red listing was not politically motivated

ISLAMABAD: Nearly three weeks after the British government placed Pakistan in its ‘red list’, UK High Commissioner Christain Turner has issued a clarification regarding the so-called political motivations behind the travel ban.

The application of travel restrictions on Pakistan was purported due to a surge in Covid-19 cases, in reply to which National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) head and Federal Minister for Planning Asad Umar on Twitter questioned the move, asking if it was based on science or foreign policy.

The move was also met with some backlash from the Muslim members of the British parliament itself, who felt it was not a data-driven decision.

The criticism was exacerbated by the fact that Pakistan was placed on the red list, whilst other countries with a higher positivity ratio, such as India, were not.

The move had raised suspicion that the British government might have other motives behind putting restrictions on Pakistan.

Replying to the criticism, Christian Turner offered a detailed explanation and even challenged myths doing the rounds about the red listing.

“This was not a political decision. This was not about politics,” Turner told a local news outlet. “The decision was based on data and evidence collected not here in Pakistan but in the UK.”

The UK high commissioner said that the move was made after utilising data attained through their own tests. It was not a matter of the number of cases within the country itself, but the number of cases emerging from those that travelled to the UK. In this regard, Turner explained that the UK tests travellers on the second and eighth day after arrival.

He cited three specific reasons as to why Pakistan was put on the red list.

“Firstly, Pakistan was the largest single source of international air travellers into the UK in March; Secondly, Covid positivity amongst those travellers from Pakistan was high – a higher than average percentage of them were tested positive in that day-2 tests.

“Thirdly, our testing showed that some variants of concerns were those variants that we are worried about but were present in passengers from Pakistan including the South African one.”

“I can look at the data [to find out] how many cases [have emerged] in Somalia; how many cases in India and how many cases in Pakistan. What concerns us is the traveler to the UK.

“And that’s why we are not relying on the Covid-19 data from Somalia or anywhere else. It’s the numbers that are coming to the UK.”

UK High Commissioner Christian Turner outright dismissed any claims about the move being an attempt to punish Pakistan.

“There is no diminishing of the very close ties and affection between the UK and Pakistan and the UK-Pak dosti (friendship),” he remarked.

“We have turned about £20 million aid to help Pakistan fight Covid-19,” he pointed out, underscoring the fact that the UK was making moves to help Pakistan obtain the vaccine and overcome the pandemic.

When asked, the envoy said he could not give any timeline regarding the lifting of the ban on Pakistan. As a high commissioner, he said he would be “happier” if Pakistan was removed from the list sooner.

During the interview, the matter of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo and proscribed offender Nawaz Sharif was also raised.

Pakistan on Wednesday last had urged the United Kingdom to repatriate the former premier, who is wanted in many cases by the country’s top courts.

An informed source had told Pakistan Today that the repatriation of Nawaz has become a source of controversy between the two countries, as British authorities have a history of ignoring Pakistani requests in such matters.

“The British Home Secretary Priti Patel has been conveyed that it is his responsibility to repatriate Nawaz Sharif to Pakistan, but the UK has not yet cooperated with the Pakistani government in sending Nawaz Sharif back,” the source had said.

The source said that British Home Secretary Priti had written a letter addressed to Prime Minister Imran Khan and Accountability Advisor Shehzad Akbar, in which she has said that the British government would consider the request to repatriate Nawaz Sharif to Pakistan in accordance with the international law.

Moreover, Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed had told media persons that during his meeting with British High Commissioner Christian Turner last week, he had raised the issue of deportation of Nawaz Sharif. To this, Turner said that Pakistan may submit a formal application for deporting Sharif.

When asked about the possibility of Nawaz Sharif being extradited to Pakistan today (Monday), Turner said under the UK immigration laws he was not authorized to talk about individual cases.

However, he did explain how the federal government could secure the extradition of the former prime minister. “The UK and Pakistan do not currently have an extradition treaty and I have said before on the record I will be very pleased to see those negotiations concluded,” he said.

He said extradition of any individual was possible “even without a treaty” provided that Pakistan put a formal request for that.

“So there is a mechanism, called extradition as you can ask questions you can make affidavits but under the UK law and under the Pakistani law the only way two countries can formally request an individual to come back is an extradition request.”

“If an extradition request is made then we will respond absolutely accordingly,” the British high commissioner said. He, however, added that the Pakistani government has not yet formally made a request for the extradition of Nawaz.

“My message on this has not changed. I have said many, many times to many people: we play things with a straight bat; we play by the rule of law – no sweep shots, no googlies, no funny business. We will play this according to our immigration laws with a straight bat,” he stressed.

Another issue discussed during the interview was the matter of the Kashmir dispute. In the recent months, along with the escalating tensions between Pakistan and India over the disputed territory, it has been speculated that UK has been working behind the scenes to improve relations between the two neighbours.

When asked whether the UK was involved in quiet diplomacy, the British high commissioner opted not to respond. However, he reiterated the oft-stated, media-ready response of how the UK has been advocating for dialogue between the two countries.

“We have always been clear that Kashmir must be resolved between India and Pakistan in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmiri people,” he said, adding that the people of Kashmir are party to this long-standing dispute.

Turner said he and his counterpart in New Delhi have always said: “Please find channels to talk to each other”. According to him, confrontation along the Line of Control (LoC) – the de facto border dividing the disputed Himalayan valley of Kashmir – is in neither country’s strategic interest.

Reacting to the US administration’s announcement on its withdrawal plan from Afghanistan, and the subsequent concern that Afghanistan may slip into yet another cycle of civil war, Turner confirmed that the British troops in Afghanistan would leave along with the US troops.

Turner expressed the belief that both Pakistan and the UK were common-minded in the fact that there is no military solution to thew Afghan conflict.

“All the parties in Afghanistan have got to come together now because the alternative is civil war; further suffering for the people of Afghanistan and further instability for the region and in the neighborhood – something that none of us wants.”

He agreed that the next few months are crucial to determine the future of Afghanistan, stressing that all the Afghan stakeholders would seize the historic opportunity for putting an end to the war.

He acknowledged Pakistan’s role in the Afghan peace efforts and dismissed the notion that the country is supporting the Afghan Taliban to achieve its strategic interests. Turner said he found the Pakistani leadership “deeply committed” to the Afghan peace process.

On a lighter note, the British high commissioner, who himself is a keen cricket fan, confirmed that the England cricket team would undertake the first official tour to Pakistan since 2008 to play three T20 internationals in October. England women’s cricket team would also visit Pakistan, he added.

“In the autumn of 2022, the England cricket team is planning to undertake a full bilateral tour that will include test, one-days and T20 international matches,” the British high commissioner said.

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