Pakistan welcomes recent revision of US travel advisory

ISLAMABAD (92 News) - Pakistan has welcomed the recent revision of the US travel advisory for Pakistan, which has upgraded Pakistan to Level-3 and termed it as step in the right direction.

In response to media queries about recent revision, Foreign Office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said this is an acknowledgement of the improvement of security environment in Pakistan and the effective handling of Covid-19 pandemic by the government.

He said Pakistan will continue to work with the US Government on this issue to ensure further rationalization and improvement of travel advisory on Pakistan.

The latest travel advisory noted, "Pakistan’s security environment has improved since 2014 when Pakistani security forces undertook concerted counter terrorist and counter militant operations."

“There are greater security resources and infrastructure in major cities, particularly Islamabad, and security forces in these areas may be more readily able to respond to an emergency compared to other areas of the country.”

The advisory pointed out that “while threats still exist, terrorist attacks are rare in Islamabad”.

The notification, however, urged US citizens to “reconsider travel to Pakistan due to terrorism and sectarian violence” and suggested additional caution due to Covid-19, as “some areas have increased risk”.

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a Level 2 Travel Health Notice for Pakistan, indicating a moderate level of Covid-19 in the country.

“Your risk of contracting Covid-19 and developing severe symptoms may be lower if you are fully vaccinated with a US-authorised vaccine,” it added.