British-Pakistani MPs are up in arms thanks to the UK government’s recent move to ban Pakistani citizens from entering. According to the UK government’s guidelines, visitors who have transited through Pakistan in the previous 10 days cannot enter the UK. British and UK citizens can enter but with a stipulation of a 10-day quarantine period at a government approved hotel which will cost £1,750 and will also be required to self-isolate from home.
About 50 outraged British MPs have written a joint letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson asking him when the “Red List” as it is termed will be ended. Led by Yasmin Qureshi, a British Pakistani MP, they indicated anger at the “short notice” of the deadline and have called upon the government to compensate UK citizens who they claim will either be “stuck abroad” or start “getting into considerable debt” to pay to get home. The government has so far not officially responded to the concerns voiced by the MPs. An estimated 1.1 million British Pakistanis will be affected as many are believed to have travelled to Pakistan during the pandemic. This is particularly true of the Greater Manchester area, where large groups of British Pakistanis, many of whom had flown out for family weddings, now remain trapped.
