“These allegations are completely false. We do not single out Pakistanis,” said a statement issued by the British high commission here after media reports indicated that hundreds of Pakistanis residing in the UK were being rounded up for forced deportation.
Last week, the UK Border Agency launched a drive against illegal Pakistani immigrants after London and Islamabad revived an agreement, which empowers the two countries to curb illegal immigration. However, the UK authorities have been accused of unlawfully discriminating against Pakistanis.
Independent chief inspector John Vine, the man tasked with scrutinising the UK Border Agency, said it was harder to enter the UK from Pakistan than from Bahrain, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
On Thursday, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi met the British High Commissioner Adam Thomson to caution London against taking any hasty action against Pakistanis living there.
The statement issued by the British high commission acknowledged that the vast majority of Pakistani migrants to the UK are law-abiding residents and want to abide by the conditions of their visa.
However, it made clear that Britain will not tolerate those who abuse its visa system.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 6th, 2010.
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