Altaf Hamid Rao.
MIRPUR (AJK ), (Parliament Times) : United Kingdom based Kashmiri rights group Global Pak Kashmir Supreme Council (GPKSC) Wednesday demanded of the British Government to immediately exclude Pakistan from the red list of the countries bearing the stipulated minimum positivity percentage / ratio.
In a joint statement released to the media simultaneously in London and Mirpur Wednesday, the GPKSC Chairman Raja Sikander Khan, President of the organization Kala Khan and all of its other office bearers showed a grave concern over the recent British Government’s, what it described, the politically motivated decision to place Pakistan into the coronavirus (COVID-19) red list travel ban countries.
President Kala Khan from Headquarters of Global Pak Kashmir Supreme Council have written a letter to the British Secretary of State for Foreign and commonwealth Rt Hon Dominic Raab MP asking him the reason and the scientific data used to asses the countries to be placed into the red list travel ban, the statement said.
“Global Pak Kashmir Supreme Council are also in contact with various British Parliamentarians as well as with members of upper House of Lords and so far many British Parliamentarians as well as the community leaders and human rights organisations heads have written letters to The Secretary of State for Foreign and commonwealth Rt Hon Dominic Raab MP as well as to British Prime Minister and to many other British Governments Ministers by letting them know that Pakistan is no where near the highly infected coronavirus countries whom have far high percentage of coronavirus cases like France, Germany, India etc. and yet these countries are not in the red list travel ban”, it said.
The statement read “therefor Global Pak Kashmir Supreme Council have come to a conclusion that it has nothing to do with the ratio of coronavirus cases in Pakistan but in-fact it’s all Politically motivated discriminatory action of the British Government against Pakistan and due to this sudden decision by British Government over fifty odd thousand British Pakistani/Kashmiris are stuck and stranded in Pakistan whom had come to Pakistan/Kashmir legally are now due to sudden panic within, they are not able to return back and cannot afford to pay extortionate amount of money up to £2000 for a single return air fare ticket back to UK as well as having to pay the test kit fee set by the British Government sum of £210 prior to their departure”.
The GPKSC Chairman Raja Sikander Khan urged all the British Pakistani/Kashmiris along with the community leaders as well all the human rights organisations to please write and email to your local members of Parliament and your members of Upper House of Lords to record your concern and deep frustration with difficult impact it has on all of us and on some of our family members whom are stuck & stranded in Pakistan/Kashmir.
“We must all do whatever we can by asking the UK government to reconsider their political decision which is not supported by scientific data through MP’s and community leaders”, he emphasized.
Raja Sikander Khan requested to all British Pakistani/Kashmiris to unite at this difficult time and make our voices heard and have this red list ban lifted ASAP, this can only happen if we all British Pakistani/Kashmiris write to our members of Parliament to raise this issue in British Parliament and the British Government must immediately exclude Pakistan from red list travel ban.
Concluding the GPKSC Chief Raja Sikander Khan thanked British Parliamentarians especially Naz Shah MP, Afzal Khan MP, Sarah Owen MP, Barrister Imran Hussain MP, Paul Bristow MP, Mohammad Yasin MP, Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi MP, along with many other Members of Parliament, many organisations and community leaders whom have written to British Prime Minister and British Secretary of State for Foreign and commonwealth.