Travel advisory: Govt issues list of ‘no go’ areas for foreigners

Quetta, Bannu district among areas off limits as part of security measures.


Our Correspondent July 02, 2012

LAHORE: The federal government on Sunday issued a list of prohibited areas for foreigners to visit and directed police and law enforcement agencies to bar entry of foreigners in these places, an official document revealed.

Cantonment areas – including all those places where sensitive and important installations fall – 10 miles from the Line of Control in Kashmir have been declared off limits for foreigners.

“The government of Pakistan has banned the entry of foreigners in these areas,” read the contents of the circular issued by the National Crisis Management Cell of the Ministry of Interior.

This letter was also sent to the provincial home departments, provincial police chiefs and heads of other law enforcement agencies.

The so-called “no-go” areas for foreign visitors in Balochistan include Pishin, Quetta, Bugti Agency, Kohlu Agency, Sibi district, 35 miles border area of Qilla Saifullah, Zhob Agency, Loralai.

The government has also declared Mosa Khel in Punjab and Bannu district and the special scanning border area of Dera Ismail Khan as off limits for foreigners.

Police and law enforcement agencies have been directed to immediately implement these directions as precautionary security measure.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 2nd, 2012.

COMMENTS (22)

p r sharma | 11 years ago | Reply

The govt. has finally conceded that the areas so forbidden for foreign tourists are totally unsafe and they do not want to increase their problem when they get kidnapped and the homeland country of tourist mounts pressure.. Moreover this is a restriction on foreign investigative journalists( in the guise of tourists0 too to further expose their inability/vulnerability in the area. Spies need not go to border areas themselves.

Climp Jones | 11 years ago | Reply

The Pakistan government failed to mention that these areas are also unsafe for Pakistani's. Actually all of Pakistan pretty much appears to be a free for all given over to violence at any given moment.

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