UK Issues Travel Advisory For Citizens Planning to Travel To Pakistan Amid Tensions With Afghanistan

London: The United Kingdom's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) on Friday issued a travel advisory for its citizens planning to visit Pakistan amid escalating tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The UK advised its citizens not to travel to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and Balochistan. This comes as Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif declared that it is in an “open war” with Afghanistan.

Here is the list of areas UK has advised not to visit:

Pakistan-Afghanistan border

The UK has advised its citizens against travelling to within 10 miles of the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province

The UK has also warned people not to travel to the following areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province:

1. Bajaur 
2. Bannu 
3. Buner 
4. Chārsadda
5. Dera Ismail Khan 
6. Hangu
7. Karak
8. Khyber 
9. Kohat 
10. Kurram 
11. Lakki Marwat 
12. Upper Dir 
13. Lower Dir 
14. Mohmand 
15. Orakzai 
16. Peshawar, including the city of Peshawar 
17. Swat 
18. Tank 
19. North Waziristan
20. Upper South Waziristan 
21. Lower South Waziristan  
22. The Karakoram Highway between Mansehra and Chilas via Battagram, Besham City, Dasu and Sazin up to the junction with the N15  
23. The N45 Highway, from the north of the Mardan ring road, to the edge of Chitral City, including Kalash valley

FCDO advised against all but essential travel to the following areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province:

1. Malakand
2. Mardan
3. Nowshera
4. Shangla
5. Swabi

Balochistan Province

FCDO has advised against all travel to Balochistan Province.

Pakistan-India Border Area

FCDO has advised against all but essential travel within 5 miles of the international border between Pakistan and India except the Grand Trunk highway to India via Wagah border (which is currently closed) and the Kartarpur Corridor for Sikh pilgrims visiting Gurdwara Darbar Sahib (currently closed for crossings).

Pakistan Occupied Kashmir 

FCDO has advised against all travel to within 10 miles of the Line of Control.

Sindh Province  

FCDO advised against all but essential travel to all areas of Sindh Province north of and including the city of Nawabshah.

Punjab Province

Citizens have been advised against all but essential travel to Dera Ghazi Khan.

The United Kingdom also advised its citizens to get appropriate travel insurance if they choose to travel to Pakistan. This comes after Kabul launched a cross-border attack on Pakistan on Thursday night, saying it was a retaliation to Pakistan's airstrikes on Afghanistan on Sunday. While Pakistan argued that its airstrike only killed militants in Afghanistan, Kabul claimed that civilians, including women and children, also died in the attack.

Also Read- Pakistan-Afghanistan 'War': All You Need To Know About The Latest Fighting Between The Neighbours