The Foreign Office on Wednesday asked Pakistani citizens to exercise maximum caution while planning to visit Iraq, in view of the prevailing situation in the region.
“In view of recent developments and the prevailing security situation in the region, Pakistani nationals are advised to exercise maximum caution while planning visit to Iraq at this point,” the FO statement said.
The Foreign Office advised the Pakistani visitors currently in Iraq to keep a close contact with embassy in the Iraqi capital. “Those already in Iraq are advised to remain in close contact with the embassy of Pakistan in Baghdad,” the statement read.
The statement comes as Iran launched missile attacks on United States-led forces in Iraq on Wednesday in retaliation for the US drone strike on Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani whose killing has raised fears of a wider war in the Middle East.
As the fallout from Soleimani’s killing threatens to spill over, countries across the world have issued travel advisories cautioning their citizens from venturing to Iraq. India has also issued a travel warning, asking citizens to avoid ‘non-essential’ travel to the country, hours after Iran launched missile attacks on US-led forces in Iraq. “In view of the prevailing situation in Iraq, Indian nationals are advised to avoid all non-essential travel to Iraq until further notification,” India’s foreign ministry said in a statement. “Indian nationals residing in Iraq are advised to be alert and may avoid travel within Iraq,” the statement said, adding that the Indian embassy in Baghdad and consulate in Erbil remain operational.
Britain has also warned its nationals to avoid all travel to Iraq, outside the Kurdistan region, and to avoid all but essential travel to Iran following the death of Soleimani. “Given heightened tensions in the region, the Foreign Office now advise people not to travel to Iraq, with the exception of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and to consider carefully whether it’s essential to travel to Iran,” Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a statement.
On Wednesday, the Philippine government said that it has ordered the mandatory evacuation of Filipino workers from Iraq while the coast guard said it is sending a vessel to the Middle East to ferry its citizens to safety in case hostilities between the US and Iran worsen.
France and Canada have also warned their nationals against traveling to Iran and to Iraq, citing an ‘extremely volatile’ security situation.
