ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office issued an advisory related to Lebanon on Tuesday, urging its citizens to leave the Arab country or avoid traveling there amid escalating security tensions in the region following the recent assassinations of a Hezbollah commander in Beirut and the Hamas political chief in Tehran.
The killings of Hezbollah’s Fouad Shukr and Hamas’s Ismail Haniyeh occurred within a span of a few hours in different parts of the Middle East last month, raising fears of a broader regional conflict as Iran threatened to retaliate against Israel in response to the latter event.
The Netanyahu administration did not claim responsibility for targeting Haniyeh, though it was widely believed to be behind the attack in Tehran while the Hamas leader was visiting Iran to attend the inauguration of its new president.
Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon has already been engaged in skirmishes with Israel since the beginning of the conflict in Gaza on October 7.
“In view of the recent developments and the prevailing security situation in the region, all Pakistanis are advised to avoid travel to Lebanon till further notice,” the foreign office said in the advisory.
“All Pakistani nationals presently residing in Lebanon are advised to leave Lebanon while the commercial flights remain available,” it continued. “Those staying in Lebanon are advised to exercise extreme caution especially with regard to vulnerable areas.”
The foreign office also shared the contact details of its diplomatic mission Beirut, asking its citizens in Lebanon to remain in contact with its embassy.
Israel launched its air and ground offensive targeting Gaza last October following a surprise attack by Hamas in which around 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were taken hostages.
The Palestinian group said its attack was in response to the deteriorating condition of Palestinian people living under occupation.
Israel’s response was widely viewed as disproportionate by the international community in which nearly 40,000 people, mostly women and children, have died.
Since the outset of the conflict, the international community has remained concerned the war could also spread to other parts of the Middle East.
