In a major diplomatic breakthrough, the United Kingdom signed a crucial deal with Pakistan wherein foreign criminals and immigration offenders from the UK can be handed over to Pakistan.
Priti Patel, UK Home Secretary disclosed this in her message through Twitter this morning. She hailed the development on Twitter, saying that “I’m proud to have signed a new landmark agreement with our Pakistani friends to return foreign criminals and immigration offenders from the UK to Pakistan.
This deal shows our #NewPlanForImmigration in action, as we deliver for the British people”.
“I make no apology for removing dangerous foreign criminals and immigration offenders who have no right to remain in the UK. The British public have quite rightly had enough of people abusing our laws and gaming the system so we can’t remove them,” the statement quoted Ms Patel as saying.
“This agreement, which I am proud to have signed with our Pakistani friends, shows the New Plan for Immigration in action and the government delivering.”
Meanwhile, Pakistani High Commission said: “The agreement renews and updates, in a bilateral context an earlier agreement between Pakistan and the European Community regarding readmission of persons residing without authorisation concluded in Oct 2009. The bilateral agreement was necessitated by the exit of the UK from the European Union.”
A photo tweeted with the announcement showed Ms Patel at a signing ceremony with Interior Secretary Yousaf Naseem Khokhar. A statement said the home secretary met with Mr Khokhar and the Pakistan High Commissioner to the UK, Moazzam Ahmad Khan, to sign the reciprocal agreement.
Under the new plan, Pakistani nationals with no legal right to remain in the UK, including criminals, failed asylum seekers and immigration offenders, will reportedly be removed.
I am an experienced writer, analyst, and author. My exposure in English journalism spans more than 28 years. In the past, I have been working with daily The Muslim (Lahore Bureau), daily Business Recorder (Lahore/Islamabad Bureaus), Daily Times, Islamabad, daily The Nation (Lahore and Karachi). With daily The Nation, I have served as Resident Editor, Karachi. Since 2009, I have been working as a Freelance Writer/Editor for American organizations.