UK warns its citizens against traveling to Pakistan, calls it 'too dangerous to travel'

The United Kingdom's foreign, commonwealth & development Office (FCDO) recently included Pakistan in its roster of countries deemed "too dangerous" for its citizens to visit, as reported by the South Asian nation's Geo News.

In its latest update, the FCDO has expanded the list by adding eight more countries.

According to the latest notification by the office, the total count of prohibited destinations now stands at 24, as per Geo News.

The FCDO's advisory encompasses various factors endangering visitors' safety, such as crime, warfare, terrorism, disease outbreaks, adverse weather conditions, and natural calamities, Geo News reported citing the Manchester Evening News.

Read: India asks its citizens not to travel to Israel, Iran as West Asia boils again

The newly added countries are those involved in conflicts, including Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Iran, Sudan, Lebanon, Belarus, and the Palestinian territories.

The blacklisted countries include, Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, Chad, Haiti, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Niger, North Korea, Somalia, Somaliland, South Sudan, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen.

Additionally, the Foreign Office has also issued a red list, according to Geo News.

The countries included in the red list represent those regions where travel should be avoided "unless absolutely essential."

"If you're planning to travel somewhere from the UK, remember not to visit the blacklisted countries or countries on the red list," it added.

In 2023, Pakistan, which recently saw a new government taking over following a violence-marred election in February, witnessed 1,524 violence-related fatalities and 1,463 injuries from 789 terror attacks and counter-terror operations, including nearly 1,000 fatalities among civilians and security forces personnel, reported the country's Dawn news outlet.

Moreover, overall fatalities, including those of outlaws, marked a record six-year high, exceeding the 2018 level and the highest since 2017.

Reportedly, the country saw a surge in violence for the third consecutive year with an uptick recorded each year beginning from 2021.

(With ANI inputs)