Britain to speedily deport illegal Pakistani nationals: UK home secretary Priti Patel

The UK home secretary, Priti Patel, has signed an agreement with Pakistan to deport "foreign criminals and immigration offenders" from the UK.

With this, London has reached a "historic" agreement with Pakistan to expedite the return of Pakistani nationals who have no legal right to remain in the United Kingdom.

On Wednesday, the home secretary met Pakistan's interior secretary, Yousaf Naseem Khokhar, and the country's high commissioner to the UK, Moazzam Ahmad Khan, to sign the reciprocal agreement.

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On Twitter, the home secretary wrote: “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.”

She said in a statement: “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. 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. Our new Borders Act will go further and help end the cycle of last-minute claims and appeals that can delay removals.”

Official data shows that Pakistan has the seventh highest number of foreign criminals in English and Welsh prisons, accounting for nearly 3% of the total foreign offender population. The UK deported 10,741 foreign offenders between January 2019 and December 2021.

(With inputs from agencies)

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