Flight causing diplomatic row lands in Islamabad after UK legal threat

LONDON: The chartered flight which caused a diplomatic row, while carrying Pakistani immigrants from London, has finally landed in Islamabad after the UK government issued a strong legal threat to Pakistani government.

Credible sources told this correspondent that the UK government informed Pakistan that legal action will be taken under the European Union Readmission Agreement (EURA) that Pakistan and the UK have signed for repatriation of those illegal immigrants who have exhausted all legal options to stay in the UK and Europe.

Credible sources shared that the chartered flight reached Islamabad on December 16 nearly two months after it was refused permission at the last minute by the Pakistan government. The flight was scheduled to land in Islamabad on October 20.

Pakistan was told that it could face a legal challenge over its refusal to allow the flight to land in Islamabad and that Pakistan could be held in breach of the agreement, a source here confided.

A source in Pakistan government told this reporter, speaking on condition of anonymity, that it’s true that Pakistan is bound by the terms of European Union Readmission Agreement (EURA), and continuing to deny the landing rights could have led to the legal challenge.

The source, however, said that EURA is coming to an end at the end of this month.

The sources have shared that Pakistan would like to bargain new terms with the UK government and cancelling the flight of migrants was a signal to the UK from the Pakistani authorities that it needs to accommodate Pakistan more if it wants to continue sending illegal immigrants from the UK to Pakistan.

Although Britain technically left the EU on Jan 31, 2020, its relationship with the EU remains the same in practice until the end of the transition period on Dec 31, and from January 01, 2021 the EURA terms between Pakistan and the UK will come to an end too as Britain will no more be part of the European Union.

Around 36 immigrants were supposed to fly two months ago on the chartered flight, but around two dozen arrived in Islamabad on the chartered flight, according to a source.

The Pakistan government source said that according to Pakistan’s agreement with the EU, Pakistan is bound to take 21 illegal immigrants from the UK every year whose visas have expired and who are no more eligible to stay in UK. The Pakistan government was criticised when Senator Rehman Malik signed an agreement with the British government during the PPP’s tenure and then Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, under the PML-N, extended the agreement.

The News had exclusively reported on November 06, 2020 that Pakistan cancelled the chartered flight amid a diplomatic row over former prime minister Nawaz Sharif including accountability chief Shahzad Akbar’s letter to the UK Home Secretary Priti Patel that she was “duty bound” to deport Nawaz Sharif.

The UK government, through a letter, has replied to Pakistan that the UK follows international laws and cannot deport Nawaz Sharif however the UK government will consider if an extradition request is filed.

Picking up The News story, on December 15, The Sun published a piece quoting the Home Office that diplomatic tensions between the UK and Pakistan arose after a “duty bound” demand of the British home secretary and the cancellation of a flight from London to Pakistan. The UK paper said the flight cancellation cost the UK around £300,000.