United States, on Friday, issued a ‘Level 3’ travel advisory, asking Americans to “consider travel” to specific areas of Pakistan, including Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa among other provinces.
The US Embassy in Islamabad also posted the travel advisory on its
What is a ‘Level 3’ travel advisory?
A Level 3 travel advisory means “Reconsider Travel.” It is issued when authorities warn that traveling to a particular country or region could pose serious safety risks.
In the case of Pakistan, the US issued a ‘Level 3’ advisory to consider visiting certain areas of the nation due to multiple security concerns, including terrorism, crime, kidnapping, among others as mentioned in the release.
Although the consulate mentioned that there were no changes to the advisory level or risk indicators, the “advisory summary was updated to reflect changes to US mission operations.”
US travel advisory: Full list of areas to avoid
The US has advised Americans not to travel to:
– Balochistan Province due to terrorism,
– Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Province, including the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), due to terrorism and kidnapping.
– The immediate proximity of the Line of Control due to terrorism and the potential for armed conflict.
US’ updated travel alert comes amid the ongoing Israel-US-Iran conflict and the tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
On Saturday, 28 February, US-Israel jointly launched an attack on Iran, which also killed the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. On Sunday, at least 10 protesters were killed in clashes with police as they tried to storm the gates of the US Consulate in Pakistan’s main port city of Karachi, mentioned a report by Bloomberg.
US-Israel-Iran conflict
On Friday, US President Donald Trump encouraged Iranian Kurdish forces to go on the offensive, while describing Mojtaba Khamenei’s leadership as “unacceptable”. He told reuters he must be personally involved in choosing Iran’s next leader.
“We want to be involved in the process of choosing the person who is going to lead Iran into the future, so we don’t have to go back every five years and do this again and again. We want somebody that’s going to be great for the people, great for the country,” Trump was quoted as saying.
The ongoing conflict in West Asia has reportedly killed more than 1,000 people, including at least six US service members, and caused damage and instability throughout Gulf cities such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi among other key hubs.
