Pakistan: US government prohibits personnel from traveling through Karachi airport July 25

Event

On Tuesday, July 25, the United States Consulate General in Karachi announced temporary travel restrictions for all US government personnel in the city, barring all official and unofficial travel by personnel through Jinnah International Airport (KHI) until further notice. According to the US Consulate General, there is an elevated risk of violence at the airport or around it.

Context

In general, the security situation in Karachi has improved substantially after a large security operation was launched in 2014 against militant and criminal groups. According to official statistics, there has been a 70 percent reduction in targeted killings, an 85 percent reduction in extortion cases, and a 90 percent decrease in cases of kidnappings for ransom. However, both targeted and indiscriminate crime continues to occur with relative frequency.

Advice

Despite this significant improvement, the southern city of Karachi (the largest in Pakistan) remains one of the most crime-prone cities of the whole Asian region. Karachi is described by several Western governments as a city vulnerable to various issues including violent ethnic conflicts, criminal and political violence, and frequent incidents of armed carjacking, robbery, kidnapping, and murder, as well as strikes called for by religious and political parties. As a reminder, all Western embassies in Pakistan advise their citizens against nonessential travel to the country. Travel to Karachi (or elsewhere in Pakistan) should only be considered with proper security protocols in place.