Risknet17 July 2024

Islamic terrorists killed eight soldiers today in a complex attack on an army housing complex in Bannu, in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
 
A suicide assailant rammed an explosives-laden truck into an outer wall of the compound before dawn, whereupon gunmen launched an assault.
 
The army said the last of the 10 terrorists involved was killed after 18 hours.
 
The attack was claimed by Gul Bahadur, a rogue field commander of Tehrik-e-Taliban (Pakistan Taliban Movement – TTP), the main domestic Islamic terrorist group.
 
TTP and other jihadist groups continue to regularly clash with security forces in mountainous terrain of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa near the border with Afghanistan.
 
The main concern is that it and lesser domestic Islamic terrorist groups could resume suicide bombings and other attacks in the heavily populated lowlands.
 
Westerners remain prime targets for local jihadists.
 
Westerners should enter Pakistan only in consultation with a security professional.  Only visits to affluent and relatively secure parts of Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi can be sanctioned.  The rest of the country should be avoided entirely.
 
Armed protection is imperative in the three cities for Westerners.  Movement strictly should be between fortified points in a vehicle with a trained driver at the wheel.  Due to higher carjacking and other violent crime risks, a follow vehicle with additional armed escorts is required in Karachi.  No pedestrian activity whatsoever should be undertaken in the three cities.  Visitors should remain alert constantly.  Those on the ground for more than a couple of days should alter travel times and routes.
 
In light of terrorism alert by the United States and Britain in late December 2022, this service is no longer listing the Marriott as a relatively secure hotel in Islamabad, although the Serena hotel in the capital remains relatively secure.
 
In Lahore, the Pearl Continental and Avari are reasonably secure hotels.  In Karachi, the Marriott, Avari, Movenpick and Pearl Continental are reasonable options.  Time spent in lobbies and other common areas should be kept to a minimum.  Ideally, rooms should be booked facing away from any driveway, parking lot or road.
 
No travel at all can be sanctioned outside the three major cities with the sole exception being daytime trips in a two-vehicle security convoy on the modern highway between Islamabad and Lahore.  Travel between Karachi and Islamabad or Lahore strictly should be undertaken by air.