US urges citizens to reconsider travel to Pakistan

WASHINGTON: The US State Department has asked American nationals who intend to travel to Pakistan to reconsider their decision due to security reasons.

The State Department has recently updated its travel warning for Pakistan on Jan 26, advising Americans to think twice before traveling to the country due to crime, civil unrest, terrorism, and kidnapping.

The country has been categorized as a Level 3 travel warning, which means that there is a high risk of terrorist attacks that can happen at any time without warning. According to the US State Department, the usual targets include “transportation hubs, hotels, markets, shopping malls, military and security facilities, airports, trains, schools, hospitals, places of worship, tourist sites, and government buildings.”

Some areas in the country, including parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, have been labeled as Level 4: Do Not Travel.

The travel warning advises American citizens not to travel to Level 4 areas “for any reason” because there is a high risk of “assassination attempts and kidnappings, which may target US citizens by criminal elements or incorrectly be assumed to target US citizens; these attempts occur often.”

The travel warning also applies to US citizens of Pakistani nationality.

A Level 3 advisory indicates “serious risks to safety”, and travelers are advised to reconsider their travel plans. Level 4 is the highest advisory level and discourages all travel.