As the political turmoil in Pakistan intensified Tuesday after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan was arrested, the United Kingdom updated its travel advisory for Pakistan.
The news about the travel advice update was shared by British Acting High Commissioner Andrew Dalgleish on his Twitter account.
Titled “updated information on political rallies and protests”, the updated travel advisory cautioned British citizens from travelling to certain areas.
The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) advised citizens against all travel to the following:
- Baujar, Mohmand, Khyber, Orakzai, Kurram, North Waziristan and South Waziristan
- Charsadda, Kohat, Tank, Bannu, Lakki, Dera Ismail Khan, Swat, Buner and Lower Dir
- Peshawar
- The N45 road, from the north of the Mardan ring-road, to the edge of the district of Chitral
- Balochistan, excluding the province’s southern coast
- The section of the N35 (or Karakoram Highway) between the Mansehra ring road and the N15/N35 Chilas interchange
- Within 10 miles of the Line of Control
In addition, the FCDO advised citizens against all but essential travel to the following:
- Arandu town and the road between Mirkhani and Arandu in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- The southern coast of Balochistan, defined as the area south of (and including) the N10 motorway as well as the section of the N25 which runs from N10/N25 intersection to the Balochistan/Sindh border, including Gwadar
- Areas of Sindh north of, and including, Nawabshah
Earlier today, Rangers personnel arrested PTI Chairman Khan from the premises of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) — acting on National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) warrant.
Following his arrest, the PTI urged supporters all across Pakistan to protest and “block all roads, close all shops”.
Subsequently, PTI workers held protests in several cities, including Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Multan, Peshawar, and Mardan.
In Karachi, demonstrators clashed with the police near Nursery. They threw stones at and set fire to police vehicles, tore down street lights and damaged a bus. There were reports that police fired teargas shells at the protesters.
Protesters also caused damage to public property in other cities, including Rawalpindi and Lahore.
