Is it safe to visit Pakistan and India? What tourists need to know
The world is watching nervously after an outbreak of hostilities between India and Pakistan late on Tuesday evening.
At around 9.30pm UK time, the Indian ministry of defence declared that the country's armed forces had launched air strikes against nine locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-controlled areas. This military action was confirmed by Pakistan, with the announcement that missiles fired from Indian airspace had struck the cities of Kotli, Muzaffarabad and Bahawalpur.
India says it has launched what it is calling 'Operation Sindoor' in response to an attack on Indian tourists by armed militants near the town of Pahalgam, in Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir, a little over two weeks ago. Twenty-eight Indian civilians were killed when gunmen opened fire at a scenic resort, Baisaran, on the afternoon of April 22.
Is it safe to travel to India?
India is a very large country, the world's seventh biggest – and the current crisis is taking place in its far north, around its disputed border region with Pakistan, in the shadow of the Himalayas. There is a great deal of distance between the conflict zone and some of India's main tourist destinations. There are, for example, 1,275 miles between Srinagar – the largest city in Jammu and Kashmir – and Mumbai, on the west coast in Maharashtra, and 2,100 miles between Srinagar and Kochi, at the southern tip of the country, in Kerala.
That said, the situation is ongoing, and travellers should keep abreast of the latest news.
Is it safe to travel to Pakistan?
Pakistan is not a mainstream destination for travellers from the UK. Around 270,000 British tourists journey to Pakistan every year, many of them on visits to extended family.
As with India, the situation is tense. The government in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, has called the attack 'shameful and cowardly', and has said that 'Pakistan will respond to this at a time and place of its own choosing'. Potential travellers should keep themselves informed of any developments.
Does the Foreign Office advise against travel to India?
At the time of writing, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is not advising British citizens against all travel to India. It has updated its information to reference the ongoing situation in Kashmir, and is now warning 'against all travel [to] within 10km [six miles] of the India-Pakistan border'. It also advises against 'all travel to the region of Jammu and Kashmir', with the exceptions of Ladakh and the city of Jammu. Its advice against 'all but essential travel' to the north-easterly state of Manipur, on the opposite side of the country, along the border with Myanmar, is a separate issue.
However, the FCDO has not adjusted its recommendations on wider travel to India – or issued any instructions against visiting the likes of Delhi, Agra, Kolkata, Mumbai or Goa.
You can read the full FCDO advice page for India here.
Does the Foreign Office advise against travel to Pakistan?
At the time of writing, the FCDO is not advising British citizens against all travel to Pakistan. However, it does advise against travel to a reasonably long list of places within the country, including its border with Afghanistan, as well as the border with India (plus Balochistan province in the south).
You can read the full FCDO advice page for Pakistan here.
Have flights to India and Pakistan been cancelled?
The crisis has had an inevitable effect upon air travel. The impact has been most keenly felt by Asian airlines, including Korean Air and Taiwan-based China Airlines. Both carriers have announced cancellations or the rerouting of flights in the wake of the attack.
Lufthansa and Air France had already taken the decision to avoid Pakistani airspace prior to yesterday evening's outbreak of hostilities. This is likely to mean longer flight times.
However, there have been no noticeable flight cancellations by major European airlines.
British Airways currently flies to five cities in India (Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai), as well as to Islamabad. At the time of writing, the airline has not issued a statement about the crisis, or made any indication that flights will be suspended.
Where and what is Kashmir?
Kashmir is a large region at the northern end of the Indian subcontinent, framed by mountain ranges such as the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal peaks. It has a long and complicated history, and its precise sovereignty is an ongoing source of disagreement. Since 1947, it has been divided between three different countries: India, Pakistan and China.
Can I cancel my holiday to India or Pakistan?
Travellers with forthcoming holiday plans in India or Pakistan should certainly exercise caution, and keep up to date with the latest developments. However, unless and until the Foreign Office issues formal advice against travel to the country in question, tour operators will not be obliged to offer refunds to customers who wish to cancel their trip.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
Race Across the World has made Coventry brothers closer
A pair of brothers who are taking part in the latest series of Race Across the World have said the experience has improved their Mole and his brother Melvyn Mole, who are both in their 60s, are one of five teams who have raced more than 14,000km (8,700 miles) across China, Nepal and India for the chance to win £20, Coventry born brothers said they are using the show as a way to reconnect with each other."Before the race, I couldn't imagine Brian and I talking the way we've spoken over the last seven weeks." Melvyn said on the show. On Wednesday's episode the teams embarked on the penultimate leg of the race across India, from Sasan Gir in Gujarat south to Panaji in being at the top of the leader board, the brothers made the decision to visit a vineyard in Nashik, Maharashtra, costing them the top siblings expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to reconnect."Our relationship will only get better now," Melvyn said on the Mole jokingly told Radio Coventry and Warwickshire: "We're blokes, we don't usually say I love you to your face, he was lucky to get a hug the other day."Brian previously said it took him a little while to make up his mind about joining the challenge but he was glad he his delight on the show he said: "Once the race is finished we'll speak to each other more. "I'm not a big lovey dovey bloke but I love him really, I wouldn't tell him that to his face," Brian joked. Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Telegraph
Race Across the World, ep 7, review: it's time for the sob stories to take a back seat
Warning: contains spoilers Just when you thought Race Across the World (BBC One) was running on a pretty familiar road, they go and wrong-foot you. In the penultimate leg of the race, the tried and tested helter skelter to the checkpoint, the edit skipping back and forth between competing pairs as they attempted to decipher baffling directions, was thrown out the window. Because it looked like ultra-competitive brothers Brian and Melvyn, the canny old codgers of the field, were a shoo-in. But in a devious twist that I was kicking myself for not seeing coming, all was not as it seemed and the glossy sign-in hotel book had a different tale to tell – Caroline and Tom were victors of this penultimate leg. It was a clever trick to play because, however entertaining a reality format is, viewers need to be kept on their toes. The cheeky twist showed there's plenty of life left, global meltdowns and closed borders permitting, in this compelling if tricksily edited travel race. The stunning cinematography of far-flung exotic locales we take for granted by now – India, here I come – and there are only so many times we can witness flustered Brits shouting, 'How much?! What no bus for five days?!' at ticket office windows. So the twist got a thumbs up. As did the welcome return of a spot of hitch-hiking, a dying art in our paranoid times. Admittedly, it was only Caroline and Tom and Sioned and Fin who got a lift to the nearest bus station rather than attempting a daring traverse across the sub-continent, but it was good to see trust being placed in the kindness of strangers rather than suspecting danger lurking around every corner. By this point, I'm usually rooting for my favourites to win and wishing a travel itinerary débacle on the ones who've got up my nose, but this year it's a pretty even field. No real heroes, no dastardly villains, which makes a refreshing change in reality casting world. It's not all plain sailing. This former backpacker would appreciate seeing more of India and the interactions with hosting families and employers, which have largely taken a back seat this series, and rather less of the prerequisite backstories that are going round in circles. How many times do we have to be told that Laetitia is gaining in confidence or that travel has brought mildly estranged brothers Brian and Melvyn together? I'm pleased for them, I truly am, but over seven episodes, the constant leaning into the other journey the contestants are taking, exorcising the demons in their lives, is becoming as wearying as a 12-hour night bus trip. Just the idea of that makes my back sigh. When we did see the racers engage with the locals, such as Sioned and Fin tucking into a home-made biryani donated to them by a kindly Indian chap on a bus, you got the real feeling of what a buzz life can be on the road. For that alone, I'd like the young Welsh couple to take next week's prize. For this passenger, the sob stories can take a back seat.
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
BBC Learning English - Learning English from the News / Kumbh Mela: 400 million to attend world's largest festival
(Photo by Ritesh Shukla/ Getty Images) ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ The story The Kumbh Mela festival, the largest religious gathering in the world, has begun in the northern Indian city of Prayagraj. 400 million people are expected to attend throughout the 45-day period, authorities say. The festival can be seen from space. The Hindu festival is held once every 12 years, but this year it's particularly significant because of a rare alignment between the Sun, the Moon and Jupiter, which happens only once every 144 years. News headlines India's Maha Kumbh Mela festival gets under way for first time in 144 years The Guardian India's Maha Kumbh festival sees 15 million people take holy dip on first day Reuters Kumbh Mela, explained: Its mythology, history, astrology, and why millions flock to it The Indian Express Key words and phrases under way in progress You can't enter the venue once the concert is under way. dip a brief swim After hiking all day, a quick dip in the lake felt amazing. flock move in a crowd Tourists flock to the city every summer. Next Learn more English vocabulary from the news with our News Review archive.
