An alert posted to the US Embassy website spoke of a specific threat to US government staff visiting the Islamabad Marriott hotel, as well as a general threat relating to Islamabad and extending throughout the holiday season.
By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The United States Embassy in Islamabad issued an express security alert on Sunday, prohibiting US government staff from visiting Islamabad’s Marriott Hotel due to possible attack.
The Christmas day alert comes against the backdrop of heightened terrorist activity in Pakistan in recent weeks, including a thwarted suicide attack in Islamabad on Friday that resulted in the killing of a policeman.
The US government is “aware of information that unknown individuals are possibly plotting to attack Americans at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad sometime during the holidays”, says the alert, posted to the Embassy website.
“Effective immediately, the Embassy in Islamabad is prohibiting all American staff from visiting Islamabad’s Marriott Hotel.”
The alert further said that the embassy is “urging all Mission personnel to refrain from non-essential, unofficial travel in Islamabad throughout the holiday season”, because “Islamabad has been placed on a Red Alert citing security concerns while banning all public gatherings”.
It laid down a set of five specific actions to take for all Americans in Islamabad, i.e., (i) exercise vigilance at events, places of worship, and avoid locations with large crowds; (ii) review personal security plans; (iii) carry identification and follow requests from law enforcement; (iv) be aware of your surroundings; and (v) monitor local media for updates.
Reports percolating the microblogging site Twitter spoke of a similar advisory issued by the British authorities, although the High Commission’s website had no such information as of this writing.
Meanwhile, an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement said an army captain and four jawans had been killed in an IED attack in the Kahan area of Balochistan’s Kohlu district, also on the Christmas day.
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