Srinagar: Sensing volatility after ‘Operation Sindoor’ was launched by Indian Army to target terror bases in Pakistan, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Singapore have issued travel advisories, urging their citizens to avoid Jammu and Kashmir amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan and an increasingly volatile security scenario in the region.
The US Embassy in New Delhi took lead in issuing travel advisory asking American citizens to “exercise increased caution in India due to crime and terrorism. It asked countrymen not to travel to Jammu and Kashmir (except the eastern Ladakh region and its capital, Leh) due to terrorism and civil unrest.
“There is the potential for violence and civil unrest,” the US embassy alert said. “Avoid areas of known unrest and exercise heightened awareness of personal security,” it added.
Canada’s travel advisory, updated shortly after, echoed the same concern. “Avoid all travel to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir due to the unpredictable security situation,” the Canadian government warned.
“There is a threat of terrorism, civil unrest and kidnapping,” it said. The advisory emphasised that the security environment in the region could deteriorate without warning.
The United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) advised citizens against travelling within 10 kilometres of the India-Pakistan border and against all but essential trips to Jammu and Kashmir. “There is a high threat of terrorism, civil unrest and kidnapping in this area,” the UK government said in its latest update. It also flagged increased military activity and the possibility of spontaneous violence.
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, through its Smartraveller platform, advised Australians to “reconsider their need to travel to India and not travel to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, “due to the potential for armed conflict, civil unrest and terrorist attacks.” It warned that consular support may be severely limited in such high-risk areas.
Singapore, though geographically distant from the conflict zone, also asked citizens to desist from travelling to Jammu and Kashmir now. In a May 7 advisory, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) urged citizens to “defer all non-essential travel to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir in India, and to Pakistan,” citing the “volatile security situation between the two countries.”
“Travellers should exercise precaution, especially at the border regions between Pakistan and India,” the MFA said. It added that Singaporeans currently in either country should avoid large gatherings, monitor local news closely, follow local authority instructions, and register with the MFA for emergency assistance.
The alerts were issued after India conducted retaliatory strikes in Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir on May 7, following a deadly April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, that killed 26 civilians.
