Do Not Travel to Jammu and Kashmir: US Issues Advisory for Americans, Cites Terrorism
The United States Department of State has issued a level two warning for its citizens travelling to India and a level three alert for those going to Pakistan. While the department has asked its citizens to exercise increased caution while travelling to India, it has urged Americans to reconsider travel to Pakistan.
The country advised its citizens not to travel within 10 kilometres of the India-Pakistan border “due to the potential for armed conflict”.
The advisory on India said that Indian authorities report rape as one of the fastest growing crimes in the country. “Violent crime, such as sexual assault, has occurred at tourist sites and in other locations,” it noted.
The US Department of State cautioned its citizens that militants “may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, and government facilities”. The United States government has advised its citizens not to go to Jammu and Kashmir, citing terrorism and civil unrest.
The advisory said that employees of the United States government are prohibited from visiting the northeastern states without a clearance from the country’s Consulate General in Kolkata.
Militants have targeted US diplomats and diplomatic facilities in the past, the advisory on Pakistan said. Pakistan’s security environment has improved since 2014 when Pakistani security forces undertook concerted counter militant operations.
There are greater security resources and infrastructure in the 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. While threats still exist, terrorist attacks are rare in Islamabad, the advisory said.
The US government has limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in Pakistan due to the security environment, it said. Indo-Pak relations deteriorated after India announced withdrawing special powers of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcation of the state into two union territories in August 2019. The move angered Pakistan, which downgraded diplomatic ties with India and expelled the Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad.
(With Inputs From PTI & Agencies)