Warning its citizens against travelling to several regions in Pakistan due to ongoing safety concerns, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) on Tuesday issued an updated travel advisory, listing high risk areas and stressing caution.
Citing the heightened risks in the border regions, the FCDO has advised British citizens not to travel to the areas lying within 10 miles of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
Additionally, UK travellers have also been asked to avoid travelling to parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, including Bajaur, Bannu, Buner, Chārsadda, Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber, Kohat, Kurram, Lakki Marwat, Lower Dir, Mohmand, Orakzai, Peshawar, Swat, Tank, North Waziristan, Upper South Waziristan, and Lower South Waziristan.
British nationals are also suggested not to take the Karakoram Highway between Mansehra and Chilas, as well as the N45 Highway from Mardan to Chitral, including Kalash Valley.
The UK foreign affairs department has also restricted all travel to Balochistan province, except for the southern coast of the province.
The advisory, however, has allowed only essential travel to the southern coast, specifically areas south of the N10 Motorway and a section of the N25 leading to the Balochistan-Sindh border, including Gwadar.
The FCDO also advised against all travel within 10 miles of the Line of Control in Azad Jammu and Kashmir region while further cautioning against travel to parts of Sindh province north of Nawabshah.
Militant and terrorist attacks have been rampant in the provinces of KP and Balochistan — which abut Afghanistan — targeting especially the law enforcers and security forces.
Islamabad has time again urged Kabul to not allow its territory to be used by terrorist groups to carry out attacks against Pakistan.
The diplomatic effort is coupled with ongoing kinetic action against terrorists by security forces who eliminated at least 15 militants, including Afghan Taliban members in a swift and effective response to the infiltration attempt last week.
A week before that, the forces gunned down 13 terrorists in three separate operations in KP.
The third quarter of 2024 (July-September) witnessed a sharp uptick in fatalities in terrorist violence and counter-terrorism campaigns with a 90% surge in violence, according to a report issued by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS).
A total of 722 people were killed, including civilians, security personnel, and outlaws, while 615 others were wounded in as many as 328 incidents recorded during the period under review.
Nearly 97% of these fatalities occurred in KP and Balochistan — marking the highest percentage in a decade, and over 92% of these incidents of terror attacks and security forces’ operations were recorded in the same provinces.
In 2024 alone, the military has reported 383 soldiers and 925 militants killed in various clashes.
