ISLAMABAD: Islamabad has welcomed Washington’s revision of a travel advisory to Pakistan, which acknowledges improved security in the country and its “effective handling” of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Foreign Office said on Saturday.
“We welcome the recent revision of travel advisory by US which has upgraded Pakistan to Level-3,” FO spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said in a Twitter post.
“The upward revision is an acknowledgement of the improved security environment in Pakistan and effective handling of COVID-19 pandemic,” he added.
We welcome the recent revision of travel advisory by U.S. which has upgraded Pakistan to Level-3. The upward revision is an acknowledgement of the improved security environment in Pakistan and effective handling of COVID-19 pandemic.@usembislamabad @PakinUSA
— Spokesperson MoFA (@ForeignOfficePk) August 7, 2021
On July 19, the US State Department issued a new advisory for Pakistan, upgrading it from “no travel” to “avoid unnecessary travels.”
Previously, the advisory was at the highest Level 4 of “do not travel.”
“Pakistan’s security environment has improved since 2014 when Pakistani security forces undertook concerted counter terrorist and counter militant operations,” the order said.
It added that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had issued a “Level 2 Travel Health Notice for Pakistan due to COVID-19, 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 an FDA authorized vaccine...” it said.
In June, the CDC eased travel recommendations for over 110 countries and territories as part of its assessments of COVID-19 risks.
However, the latest State Department order “restricted” travel by US government personnel within Pakistan, adding that more curbs on movements may occur at any time, depending on local circumstances and security conditions, which can “change suddenly.”
The advisory further asked US citizens not to travel to “Balochistan province, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province, including the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), due to terrorism and kidnapping,” in addition to the immediate vicinity of the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir due to “terrorism and the potential for armed conflict.”
