CANADA’S decision to allow PIA flights to Toronto is a welcome step, given the steady fall in confirmed Covid-19 cases in Pakistan over recent weeks. On June 24, around 1,052 people tested positive after 45,924 tests were conducted, indicating a national positivity ratio of 2pc. This is a significant improvement from April, when the positivity ratio in some cities was a staggering 40pc and thousands were admitted to critical care units in hospitals across the country. If Pakistan continues to maintain the trend of decreasing Covid-19 infections, countries such as the United Kingdom and the UAE must consider easing travel restrictions for travellers from Pakistan. Both countries have a significantly large Pakistani workforce and diaspora, so the travel curbs are posing serious difficulties for both migrant labour and families. It appears these countries have clubbed India and Pakistan in one category when it comes to Covid-19 evaluations. This defies logic, because cases in India are far higher than in Pakistan, and the spread of the Delta variant which originated in India is a serious factor. The UK astonishingly put Pakistan on its red list weeks before India — a decision which British MPs challenged as biased and unscientific. In fact, the UK was criticised for delaying putting India on the red list, as it meant that the Delta variant was allowed to spread in the UK when travellers from India arrived. The Delta variant is now the dominant variant in the UK, and is a major reason why the UK has delayed lifting the lockdown restrictions.

Countries must acknowledge the falling number of reported cases in Pakistan, and let in at least those travellers who have had two doses of WHO-approved vaccines. The Pakistan government must realise how critical a mass vaccination programme is to international travel. Conditions for travel may move beyond negative Covid-19 tests before flights, and become dependent on proof of vaccination. Our government must ensure both vaccine awareness and access, so Pakistani travellers don’t face difficulties as a result of perpetually being on travel red lists. Increased testing is also a key factor in demonstrating to other countries the reality of the spread of Covid-19 cases in Pakistan — an element of the Covid-19 response that has been terribly lacking in Pakistan. For a country of 200m people, Pakistan’s testing has been abysmally low even during the peak of Covid-19. The government must address these shortcomings so that Pakistan can make a compelling case for its citizens to travel.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2021