Pakistan Summary

There is not much we can tell you about Pakistan. It is not a country to go to and enjoy a nice holiday, due to the security situation in the country. Traveling North might be nice where you can find the Himalayas, and it’s considered to be safe. Last year, however, an Al-Qaeda militia slaughtered an entire group of tourists and their guide. Since then, the situation in this part is also quite precarious.
However, traveling seems safe enough, mainly because of the armed escorts who are constantly traveling with you. We didn’t feel unsafe at any time.
However, the Belgian ambassador in Pakistan disagrees, judging by the mail we received from him.

Dear sir Voorwynckels,

I wish to formally express my support to my colleague in Tehran, in particular with regard to Pakistan. With this mail I also refer to the travel advice of Foreign Affairs.
Personally, I find it irresponsible that the Embassy of Pakistan even considers to provide you a Visa with the knowledge that you would travel through Baluchistan and I will protest with my colleagues in Brussels.
The travel advice from the Embassy is very clear: we advise against all travel through Baluchistan, FATA and large parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
You should know that these areas for us, are prohibited and that we won’t go there in case of problems. The Embassy of the Czech Republic has been struggling for months with a major problem of people who, like you, wanted to travel through Baluchistan via Iran and were abducted in May. As for today there hasn’t been any news about their current situation. Finally I would point out that the South-East of Baluchistan was hit by a massive earthquake and that both the death toll and property damage are enormous. You should know that even the Pakistani workers (foreign aid is not possible because of the dramatic security situation) are being attacked on a regular basis. We strongly recommend you to change your travel . The 'adventure' is really not worth such risk.

Sincerely,
Peter Claes
Ambassador of Belgium

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Pakistani Rupee

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