Britain on announced pulling out of more than 150 diplomatic staffs from Pakistan and closing down of its visa offices in Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore, while advising its nationals to leave the country in view of threats to the safety of British interests there. Announcing this, foreign secretary Jack Straw said: We will begin reducing the number of staff and dependents in Pakistan with immediate effect.

We are also advising British nationals in Pakistan to consider leaving.

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The numbers of diplomats, staff and dependents attached to the British high commission in Islamabad will be cut from 210 to 80.
The deputy high commission in Karachi will see a cut from 36 to 10 while the office in Lahore, which currently has 10 Britons attached to it, will close.

Besides the three visa offices in Pakistan`s main cities, the British Council has shut it doors to the public.

According to foreign office spokesperson, there had been fears that the British community in Pakistan could become a target for Islamic extremists, particularly once the British forces joined the American-led operation inside Afghanistan against al Qaeda and Taliban.

The spokesperson denied the decision had anything to do with hightening tension between India and Pakistan.
Bureau Report