The British government has decided to start chartered flights to repatriate its remaining nationals standed in Pakistan, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) sources confirmed on Wednesday. The UK decision comes in the wake of Pakistan International Airline (PIA) announcement to close daily flights operation to the UK during the COVID-19 crisis.
Pakistan was not included in the initial list of countries for the UK government’s £75 million fund to enable special charted flights to bring home UK citizens. This lead to anger among the UK MPs who wrote a letter to Foreign Secretary (FS) Dominic Raab accusing the government of abandoning thousands of Britons stranded in Pakistan while sending charter flights for other tourists trapped overseas by the coronavirus crisis.
In this regard to accelerate the overall efforts to repatriate Brits in Pakistan, FS Dominic Raab spoke to Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood over the telephone on Tuesday and discuss the ways to bring more people home including organising UK’s charter flights facilities. Similarly, British High Commissioner (BHC) in Islamabad Dr Christian Turner on Wednesday said 7758 passengers arrived in UK in 22 flights over the 9 days period since 4th April. He said British officials worked with the government of Pakistan to keep some international flights running, PIA was the only airline to operate commercially and was the best and quickest way to get the Brits home.
BHC Turner claimed that these over seven and a half thousand people who would otherwise not be able to get home including some of most vulnerable. “We know the frustration of some of you had with the PIA including industrial action, cancellations as well as costs”, Dr Turner said and added that British officials worked hard with PIA to address these issues and offer financial assistance to those who genuinely need. He further said these are extraordinary and difficult times in Pakistan and around the world and UK HC in Islamabad have been able to get around 7500 people back to the UK.
Dr Turner and his team have been working around the clock across Pakistan helping the stranded Brits and their efforts had been appreciated by the British- Pakistanis. Muneer Butt, Nottingham based community leader told Daily Times his nephew Tariq applied for travel document as his British Passport expired in Pakistan and to his great relief his new travel document has been issued within two days by British HC Islamabad.
Similarly, Khalid Mehmood from Birmingham whose family arrived home last week said they are thankful to British High Commission and PIA for their hard work and bring British families home during the coronavirus crisis Moreover, hundreds of Pakistanis are stranded in UK including students, Businessmen and senior citizen. Some Pakistanis have already taken home by the PIA but majority are still in the UK waiting for the government help to repatriate them. They demanded the UK government to allow them to travel on their charter flights which they have agreed to organise to bring home the UK citizens stranded in Pakistan. They said that they will cover the cost of the travel.
