UK Issues Travel Advisory, Cautions Against Travel to Specific Areas in Pakistan

Travel Advisory for British Citizens: Cautioned to Refrain from Visiting Various Regions, including Areas in KP, Balochistan, AJK, and Sindh.

Regions identified in the Travel Advisory as high-risk encompass portions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Balochistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), and Sindh.

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) cautions against travel within 10 miles of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

• Bajaur

• Bannu

• Buner

• Charsadda

• Dera Ismail Khan

• Khyber

• Kohat

• Kurram

• Lakki Marwat

• Lower Dir

• Mohmand

• Orakzai

• Peshawar, including the city of Peshawar

• Swat

• Tank

• North Waziristan

• Upper South Waziristan

• Lower South Waziristan

• the Karakoram Highway between Mansehra and Chilas via Battagram, Besham City, Dasu and Sazin up to the junction with the N15

• the N45 Highway, from the north of the Mardan ring road, to the edge of Chitral City

Limited to essential purposes only, the advisory permits travel to the southern coast of Balochistan.

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The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) of the United Kingdom has issued a recent travel advisory for Pakistan, strongly cautioning against all travel to specific regions of the country. The advisory particularly highlights areas surrounding the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, emphasizing avoidance within 10 miles of this boundary.

The FCDO has identified additional regions deemed unsafe for travel, including parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). The advisory provides detailed lists of specific areas within these provinces that are considered high-risk.

For Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, caution is extended to locations such as Bajaur, Swat, and Peshawar, among others. In Balochistan, the advisory strongly advises against all travel to the entire province, except for essential travel to specific areas along the southern coast.

Regarding AJK, the FCDO recommends avoiding travel within 10 miles of the Line of Control (LOC), the military demarcation between AJK and the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

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

It is emphasized that UK citizens should be aware that their travel insurance might be invalidated if they choose to travel against the issued advice.

This advisory comes amid a notable increase in terror-related incidents in Pakistan since the Taliban-led administration assumed control of Afghanistan in 2021. In 2023 alone, the country witnessed 586 terror attacks, with various banned groups such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), and Daesh claiming responsibility for 17% of them.

Security forces responded with 197 operations, resulting in 537-545 outlaws killed. The Annual Security Report from the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) reported 1,524 deaths and 1,463 injuries in the preceding year.