https://arab.news/24x9t
- Those already in the Arab state are advised to remain in close contact with the embassy
- Tensions between Iran and the US remain high after the killing of a top Iranian commander in Baghdad
ISLAMABAD: As tensions mount between the United States and Iran in the Middle East, Pakistan has advised its citizens to exercise “maximum caution while planning visit to Iraq at this point.”
The country’s foreign office issued a travel advisory on Wednesday, its nationals who are already in the Arab state “to remain in close contact with the Embassy of Pakistan in Baghdad” due to the fraught security situation in the region.
The Middle East remains on tenterhooks since January 3 when United States President Donald Trump authorized an air strike in Baghdad which killed one of Iran’s most influential commanders, Major General Qassem Soleimani.
On Wednesday Iran fired several ballistic missiles at two military bases in Iraq where American troops are stationed.
Earlier, on January 5, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the country was monitoring the situation in the Middle East and would do everything to guarantee the safety of its nationals in Iraq and the rest of the region.
“We are watching the situation in the Middle East closely which also includes the safety of our people there,” foreign office spokesperson, Aisha Farooqui, told Arab News.
“Pakistan has viewed with deep concern the recent developments in the Middle East, which seriously threaten peace and stability in the region,” said the country’s foreign ministry in an official handout circulated just a few hours after the killing of Gen Soleimani on Friday.
The press secretary at the Pakistan embassy in Iraq, Mazhar Nisar Shami, told Arab News on the same day from Baghdad that the country’s diplomatic mission was concerned about the safety of its citizens in the Arab country and in touch with them.
“We have asked them to restrict their movements, though a majority of our expats here [in Iraq] are unskilled laborers who cannot stop going to work. So we have issued an advisory to restrict their movement as much as possible. The embassy has asked Pakistani citizens to remain confined to their workplaces and houses only,” Shami said, adding that the situation had not escalated to a point where evacuation was required.
“The situation has not reached a level where it can be declared alarming and where evacuation becomes necessary,” he said.
“We have an office in Najaf which deals with Pakistani pilgrims in Najaf and Karbala,” he continued. “We are in contact with them as well, and all of our offices are ensuring complete safety of Pakistani nationals in Iraq.”