KARACHI: Pakistan on Friday hailed as a ‘step in the right direction,’ an update in a US travel advisory that noted the country’s security environment had improved. The US notice did not outrightly relax guidelines for its citizens traveling to Pakistan.
The advisory which was updated on Friday continued to strongly urge US citizens to reconsider travel to Pakistan due to terrorism and asked them not to travel to the restive southwestern province of Balochistan or northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
It also prohibited travel along the de facto India-Pakistan border, the Line of Control. However, it conceded, that since 2014, Pakistan’s security situation had improved due to its counter-terrorism efforts.
A foreign office statement said Pakistan had noted the update in the US advisory.
“It is a step in the right direction,” the statement said and added that significant improvements in the security environment had led the UN to re-designate Islamabad as a family station for its personnel.
“Recently, the United Kingdom, while acknowledging the measures taken by Pakistan, has revised its travel advisory which is a welcome development,” the statement said and added that positive updates in Portugal and Norway’s travel advisories for Pakistan reflected the confidence of European governments in the country’s security environment.
When asked in an interview if the new advisory had brought anything new to the table in terms of easing travel for US citizens to Pakistan, FO spokeswoman Aisha Farooqui said this advisory was different from previous notices.
“It is different because they have stated that Pakistan’s security situation has improved,” Farooqui told Arab News.
While conceding improvement in security, the updated travel advisory mentions that some areas in Pakistan have ‘increased risk’ and does not state it is relaxing its guidelines for travel to the country.
“There are greater security resources and infrastructure in the major cities, particularly Islamabad, and security forces in these areas may be more readily able to respond to an emergency compared to other areas of the country,” the advisory update reads. “While threats still exist, terrorist attacks are rare in Islamabad.”
Dr. Hasan Askari Rizvi, a prominent Pakistani political analyst said the updated US notice presented a ‘slight improvement’ in travel guidelines because previously there had been traveling restrictions for the entire country.
“This is a positive development as the restrictions are meant for some areas and not for entire Pakistan... so we can say that there is a slight improvement,” Rizvi told Arab News.
Earlier on Jan. 3, the US Embassy restricted travel by US government employees, advising their personnel in Pakistan to “postpone non-essential official movements and most personal movements.”
“US citizens in Pakistan should monitor their surroundings for possible demonstrations and suspicious activity,” a statement had said in the aftermath of the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in a US airstrike.
