The United Kingdom on Friday changed its travel advice, reflecting improved security situation in Pakistan.
The announcement to this effect came from British High Commissioner to Pakistan Dr Christian Turner in a video message posted on his Twitter handle in Urdu and English languages. “Pakistan is very beautiful and I am very delighted that in my first video message I am giving you good news,” he said in the video message. “Thanks to the improving security situation, UK has changed its travel advice for Pakistan. Among other changes, the advice now allows for the travel by road to the north of country,” the high commissioner further said. “This builds on the successful visit of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the return of British Airways. It is great credit to the hard work of the government of Pakistan to improve security,” he said. “I myself am excited to visit more of Pakistan and delighted that the British nationals will be able to see more of what Pakistan has to offer,” Dr Christian Turner added.
The announcement is the result of a comprehensive review of UK travel advice for Pakistan, based on a wide-ranging assessment of the country’s security situation. This was the first major update in the travel advice since 2015.
The move was welcomed by Prime Minister Imran Khan, who took to Twitter to appreciate the decision. “This is great news as it will address two most important econ issues facing Pak today: employment & our current account deficit, by bringing in tourism & investment which in turn will provide employment opportunities esp for our youth,” the prime minister tweeted.
Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi also termed the change in travel advice by the United Kingdom encouraging and said the credit of this achievement goes to the nation and armed forces of Pakistan. In a statement, the foreign minister said he is glad to listen about it, and added that he had also talked with the United Kingdom foreign minister in this regard. He said Pakistan had also talked with the US President Donald Trump in this regard.
He said Pakistan is also talking with Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Malaysia about tourism and hoped the three countries will help Pakistan in promotion of tourism. He said Prime Minister Imran Khan had talked with Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad Bin Salman about Saudi investment in tourism sector of Pakistan. He said Pakistan is the land of peace and progress with incredible natural beauty, warmth and hospitality. He said this change in travel advice is encouraging, the first major update to the UK’s travel advisory to Pakistan since 2015. He said it will further strengthen Pak-UK relations. “Welcome to Pakistan,” he said.
Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan welcomed the United Kingdom’s revision of its travel advisory for Pakistan. “We welcome the UK’s revision of travel advisory for Pakistan. This augurs well for the promotion of tourism in the country, making Pakistan a destination of choice for international tourists. Heartening to see that under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan ‘Pakistan’ is moving in the right direction,” she posted on her Twitter handle. She said the revision of travel advisory, return of British Airways and visit of the British royal couple to Pakistan are signs of a bright and peaceful Pakistan. “Pakistan is considered as a beautiful and attractive destination for tourists around the globe,” she added.
The Foreign Office also welcomed UK’s decision to change travel advisory and called it a positive step for relationship building. In a series of tweets, FO Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui hailed the development and said that the initiative will help build ‘stronger and closer people-to-people links’ between the two countries. “Pakistan is looking forward to hosting tourists, investors, academics and other visitors,” she added. Special Assistant to Prime Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Syed Zulfikar Bukhari expressed great joy on the new travel advisory. Taking to Twitter, Bukhari thanked the British High commissioner to Pakistan and the United Kingdom authorities for greenlighting the initiative. He expressed hope that the United States (US) will also follow the footsteps of UK and take note of the improved security situation in Pakistan. He revealed that Prime Minister Imran Khan has discussed the matter with Donald Trump in his recent meeting on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
