The woes of Pakistan travellers aspiring to travel abroad are not yet over. Many countries including Saudi Arabia, UAE and UK have barred Pakistanis over the worsening coronavirus situation. The UAE changed its policies for Pakistani travellers making it compulsory for them to receive rapid PCR tests taken just four hours before boarding. Due to the absence of such facilities at airports, thousands of travellers wishing to return home were stranded and missed their flights.
The CAA expressed its inability to conduct such tests as they were unavailable in the country. The failure of authorities to seek clarity has worsened the situation for travellers hoping to unite with their families. It urged the foreign ministry to take up the matter with UAE authorities to reconsider their decision. The only solution is to allow private laboratories to set up counters at airports to facilitate the passengers.
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom has retained Pakistan on the ‘red list’ citing the worsening COVID-19 situation and lowest testing rates. Other countries such as India which have been devastated by the pandemic were moved to low-risk ‘amber list’. Many British MPs slammed the decision to retain Pakistan and remove India despite the presence of the Delta variant.
Britain has defended its decision saying it was based on ‘data and science’. Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari also criticized the British government’s ‘feeble excuse’ for retaining Pakistan. She also claimed the British government never asked for coronavirus data available with the NCOC.
The fact remained that the data does not present a true picture of the coronavirus situation. Pakistan still has one of the lowest testing ratios in the region, trailing behind India and even Nepal. The failure to increase testing and record lower cases will not convince the world we have handled the coronavirus situation. We also lag behind regional countries in vaccinations which are getting mandatory even to move around.
If Pakistan wants to convince the world that is making efforts in controlling the pandemic, we need to develop a robust health policy. The government should make strident efforts as that Pakistani travellers can reunite with their families abroad.
