UK paves road for Pakistan travel

ISLAMABAD.: More than six months after British Airways resumed operations to Pakistan, the United Kingdom on Friday relaxed its travel advisory for the country in a major step welcomed by Islamabad as “great news”.

The UK changed its travel advice for Pakistan in almost five years, allowing its citizens to travel by road to the north of Pakistan as well as the scenic Kalash and Bamboret valleys, the UK High Commission in Islamabad said on Friday.

The first major update of the travel advice by Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) since 2015 is the result of a comprehensive review of Pakistan’s security situation based on a wide-ranging assessment of the country’s security situation.

Pakistan has made tremendous strides towards bettering the internal security situation. In June, British Airways resumed operations to Pakistan after 11 years of suspension, when the airline’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner touched down at Islamabad International Airport.