Pakistan’s Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar on Thursday slammed Britain for accepting only “white” COVID-19 vaccines and certificates for approving of foreign travelers entering the country, questioning “a colonial mindset” shown in the policy.
Britain “decides gora (white) certificates and vaccines are ok but most non gora (white) vaccine certificates and Chinese vaccines are not,” Umar said on Twitter.
He added that despite widespread evidence of fake certificates in the United States and Europe, Britain is sticking to the policy.
“Chinese vaccines are WHO approved,” he said, asking whether the British government upholds the policy out of “health considerations or hangover of a colonial mindset.”
Umar’s tweet came a day after the British government said that due to it only approves European and U.S. COVID-19 vaccines, it is working with Pakistani authorities to recognize the vaccine certificates issued by the National Database and Registration Authority of Pakistan.
The British government recently removed Pakistan from its red list after a decline in COVID-19 cases in the country, but put it on the “rest of the world” list, according to the fact that vaccinated Pakistanis traveling to the country have to undergo the same mandatory COVID-19 prevention measures like the unvaccinated people, as the vaccines they took or the vaccination certificates they hold are not recognized by Britain.
