United Kingdom Blacklists Pakistan: Britain’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) recently issued a travel advisory in which Pakistan was included in the list of countries which it has considered ‘extremely dangerous’ for British citizens to travel to. Geo News has given this information on Friday (March 12) quoting Manchester Evening News.
While updating its list, FCDO has added 8 more countries to such countries this time. A total of 24 places including Pakistan have been banned for travel by FCDO, which are considered very dangerous for its citizens.
Releasing this report, FCDO has warned and also mentioned several concerns which pose a threat to the safety of tourists. Crime, war, terrorism, disease, weather conditions and natural disasters etc. are mainly included in this. The new countries that have been included in this list are involved in conflicts. These especially include Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Iran, Sudan, Lebanon, Belarus and Palestinian territories etc.
These countries are included in the list of blacklist countries
At the same time, in the new list released by FCDO, the blacklisted countries include Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Haiti, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Niger, North Korea, Somalia, Somaliland, South Sudan, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen are included.
Pakistan also included in the red list
Quoting Geo News, the Foreign Office has also released a red list. The countries included in the red list represent areas where travel should be avoided ‘unless absolutely necessary’. Pakistan has also been included in this list.
According to the Dawn report, 789 terrorist attacks and counter-terrorism operations in Pakistan in 2023 led to 1,524 violence-related deaths and 1,463 injuries, including nearly 1,000 deaths, including civilians and security forces personnel. Additionally, total deaths, including criminals, also hit a six-year high, surpassing 2018 levels and the highest since 2017. An increase in violence has been recorded in the country for the third consecutive year, in which an increase has been recorded every year starting from 2021.
According to the report, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces of Pakistan have emerged as the main focal points of violence. Here, more than 90% of the total deaths and 84% of the attacks involved incidents ranging from terrorism to security force operations.