A day after the United States updated the travel advisory for its citizens, the United Kingdom also issued a similar advisory, asking its citizens not to travel within 10 km of India and Pakistan’s border areas due to rising tensions between the two neighbours.
In its update on Thursday, the Foreign Office (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) said all travel within 10 km of the India-Pakistan border must be avoided, and the Wagah-Attari border (in Punjab) has been closed. It specifically asked the UK nationals to not travel to Pahalgam and Srinagar.
“FCDO advises against all travel to the region of Jammu and Kashmir (including Pahalgam, Gulmarg, Sonamarg, the city of Srinagar and the Jammu-Srinagar national highway) except for travel by air to and from the city of Jammu, travel within the city of Jammu, travel within the Union Territory of Ladakh.”
The UK updated its advisory two days after terrorists killed 26 people, including 25 tourists and one resident, in Pahalgam. The latest advisory also says, “The India-Pakistan border in Gujarat and Rajasthan is unmarked in some areas. Approaching it away from an official crossing point could be dangerous. Where it is unmarked, you could enter Pakistan illegally.”
“There is a continuing threat, towards Indian government targets and civilians including tourists and foreign nationals,” says the latest advisory. On Friday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said he was “horrified” by the terror attack in Pahalgam.
On Wednesday, a day after the attack, the US reiterated its ‘Do Not Travel’ advisory for J&K owing to possible “terror attacks” and “violent civilian unrest” in the UT. “Terrorist attacks and violent civil unrest are possible in the union territory of Jammu & Kashmir… Violence happens sporadically in this area and is common along the Line of Control (LoC) between India and Pakistan. It also occurs in tourist spots in the Kashmir Valley: Srinagar, Gulmarg, and Pahalgam,” the US Department of State’s updated travel advisory said.
It also asked its citizens to avoid going within 10 km of the India-Pakistan border “due to the potential for armed conflict”.
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In 2023, India held a key G20 tourism meeting in Kashmir, the biggest international event organised in the region since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019. Over 60 international delegates from G20 member countries attended the event amid heightened security.
Over the last few years, Kashmir has seen a steady rise in the number of visitors. Tourist arrivals grew from 34 lakh in 2020 to a record 2.36 crore in 2024. This included 65,000 foreign tourists. Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Patnitop were among the main attractions for foreigners and domestic tourists.
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