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UK pulls diplomats from Pakistan
LONDON, England -- Britain has said it is dramatically cutting the number of its diplomats in Pakistan following a series of bomb threats against its interests. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told reporters in London: "In recent weeks there have been a number of all too public security outrages in Pakistan. "It's my duty above all to take into account concerns about security of our staff and their families and children," he added, referring to incidents that led to the killings of American and French citizens. Eleven French engineers and three Pakistanis were killed earlier this month in a suicide bombing in Karachi and five people, including two Americans, were killed in a March grenade attack in a church in Islamabad.
The decision comes amid Britain's prominent role in the region's "war against terror" and growing tensions between Pakistan and India over Kashmir. A British High Commission in the Pakistani capital Islamabad told Reuters: "The nature of the threats was a bomb attack. It's more than one threat that we've had." The Commission is warning UK nationals to be careful over their personal security, vary regular routes and check vehicles for bombs. Diplomatic staff in Islamabad will be reduced from 210 people to 80 and in Karachi, from 36 to under 10. The small consular office in Lahore is to be shut down. The British Foreign Office said: "We are now advising against all but essential travel to Pakistan and then only where there is a compelling reason and where security is assured. "We are also advising British nationals in Pakistan to consider leaving. We will do all we can to continue to offer a full consular service for British nationals who need our assistance." British officials said a "strictly limited" visa service for the whole of Pakistan will be offered from the High Commission in Islamabad and it will not be able to process visitor applications "for the immediate future." At least 15 foreign nationals have been killed in Pakistan and dozens wounded in violent attacks since January. The foreign nationals killed in Pakistan since January have been the targets of Islamic radicals opposed to the U.S. war on terror following the September 11 attacks on the United States and moves by Pakistan's military regime to crack down on militants. Pakistani ruler General Pervez Musharraf became a key ally in the U.S. war on terror and abandoned his former Taliban allies in Afghanistan after September 11, a move that sparked violent reactions from Islamic radicals at home. Militant groups were further angered when Musharraf launched a crackdown on them in January after a bloody attack on the Indian parliament, blamed by New Delhi on Pakistan-based militants, which has taken the two countries to the brink of war. The United States pulled out most of its non-essential staff and dependents in the wake of the March church grenade attack. Canada later did the same. |
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