Pakistan to issue new travel guidelines for foreign diplomats

Pakistan said on Thursday it was developing new travel guidelines for foreign diplomats to ensure their safety following a recent attack on a convoy of envoys from 12 countries in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

One policeman was killed and four wounded in the roadside bomb attack in Malam Jabba, a tourist resort in Swat district, on Sept 22.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack and the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had issued a statement saying the group had “nothing to do with the attack” targeting the ambassadors of a dozen nations.

“We are developing guidelines to ensure that such incidents do not happen again,” foreign office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said during her weekly media briefing in Islamabad.

“We are in the process of discussions and internal deliberations on how to implement these measures, how to rectify what has happened, and how to fix things for the future,” she added.

The spokesperson said the trip of foreign diplomats had been organised by Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) without prior consent from the ministry. “We have taken serious note of the lapses made by the concerned individuals, including their failure to inform the ministry of foreign affairs about organising such a visit,” she continued.

Pakistani forces maintain a strong presence in the Swat Valley, long a hotbed of Islamist militant insurgency. Militants have stepped up their attacks since late 2022 after breaking a ceasefire with the government.