Owing to serious security concerns, the Foreign Ministry has demarcated dozens of regions across the country as sensitive areas and directed the foreign diplomatic missions to get permission before travelling to these areas.
A circular has been issued to all diplomatic missions on new instructions and they have been asked to inform the Foreign Office at least days before travelling for business in any restricted area.
“Once the request for permission is received, the Foreign Office would make a decision in consultations with security agencies whether to allow the diplomats to travel after reviewing the security situation in that particular area,” a Pakistani official said, seeking anonymity. He dispelled the impression that the new circular had anything to do with the earlier applied travel restrictions on US diplomats, saying the contentious issue of curbs against American diplomats had been resolved.The official said US diplomats would no longer require travel permits or no objection certificates (NOC), as they were required before the settlement of the row.
“The issue with Americans got resolved after a meeting between army chief General Ashfaq Kayani and US Ambassador Cameron Munter a few days ago,” he said.
He said the US diplomats would also have to seek permission like others before travelling to any restricted areas. Nonetheless, he declined to name the areas marked sensitive by the Foreign Ministry. However, the official said prohibited areas included around 15 regions in Punjab, 18 in Balochistan, five in Sindh, major parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, all cantonments, Gilgit-Baltistan and some areas along the Line of Control (LoC) in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
Every minute in the hour hunderd of satellites keep taking pictures of strategic places in areas forbidden by local governments of many nations. On the US $ bill it is printed
'' In God We Trust " many of us think that the people and government of USA trusts in God. Infact it is the dollar bill that lays her trust in God and makes every Tom, Dick and Harry in developing nation's government's prostrate to the dollar bill. Sooner or later the diplomats will be riding in the safe-haven cars of our law makers to the very destinations marked as restricted without F.O permission. incidently some would also
interpret the short word FO for foreign Office as the F letter word that is frequently used
in US between friends.
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