Pakistan

Is Pakistan safe to visit?

Parts of it, with planning. Pakistan ranked first in the world on the 2026 Global Terrorism Index, with 1,139 terrorism deaths in 2025, and both the US and UK tell travellers to stay out of Balochistan and most of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Yet Lahore, Islamabad and the mountain valleys of Gilgit-Baltistan are visited by foreign tourists every year, mostly without trouble. Ordinary murder is not the main risk: the homicide rateHomicide rateThe number of people killed on purpose each year for every 100,000 residents. It is the most comparable crime figure between countries.More in the glossary, 4.33 per 100,000 in 2023, is similar to that of the United States. We score Pakistan 45, below India and above Afghanistan, its opponent in a border war since February 2026.

Where not to go

The no-go map is large and specific. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary advises against all travel to Balochistan, within 10 miles of the Afghan border, and to most districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including Peshawar city, Swat, Dir, Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan and the Waziristans. It also advises against all travel on the Karakoram Highway between Mansehra and Chilas and on the N45 to Chitral, which covers the Kalash valleys. It advises against all but essential travel to Azad Kashmir, northern Sindh from Nawabshah upwards, and Dera Ghazi Khan in Punjab. The US advisoryUS travel advisoryThe US State Department's rating of each country from Level 1 (exercise normal precautions) to Level 4 (do not travel).More in the glossary, Level 3 since June 2026, says do not travel to Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa or near the Line of Control.

Travel insurance is often void in these areas. Foreigners also need permission to enter Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and parts of Azad Kashmir, and officials may turn you back.

How serious is the terrorism threat?

Very. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks, and the record of the past 18 months shows that big cities are not exempt. A suicide bomber killed at least 36 people at a mosque in Islamabad on 6 February 2026. In January 2026, coordinated Balochistan Liberation Army attacks killed at least 31 civilians and 17 security personnel. A bombing outside Islamabad's district courts killed 12 in November 2025, and in March 2025 the BLA hijacked the Jaffar Express train, an attack that left 64 dead.

Most attacks target the state and security forces, but the FCDO lists hotels, markets, places of worship and tourist sites among possible targets, and notes attacks on Chinese nationals and people of East Asian appearance. The Global Peace IndexGlobal Peace IndexAn annual ranking of 163 countries by how peaceful they are, based on conflict, crime, militarisation and political instability.More in the glossary ranks Pakistan 152nd of 163. It fell 5.5% in 2026, driven by the May 2025 missile and drone exchanges with India and fighting on the Afghan border. During the May 2025 clashes, airspace closures grounded flights for days.

The war with Afghanistan

Pakistan has also been at war with its neighbour. Border clashes in October 2025 ended in a Qatari-mediated ceasefire, but on the night of 26 February 2026 Afghan forces raided Pakistani border posts and Pakistan launched an operation it called Ghazab lil Haq, striking sites in Kabul, Kandahar and four other provinces; Islamabad said it was in "open war". The army's spokesman said 12 Pakistani soldiers were killed and 27 injured on the first night. On 16 March a Pakistani airstrike hit the Omid drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul, and UNAMA, the UN mission in Afghanistan, verified 269 deaths. Pakistan says it targeted only militant and military sites, and it has not given an overall figure for civilian casualties on its own side.

After three months of relative calm, the fighting flared again in September 2026. A militant attack on a police compound in Kohat killed 23 people, Pakistan answered with airstrikes in Afghanistan, and the two sides clashed near the Gulistan sector of Balochistan on the night of 24 to 25 September. For visitors, it is one more reason to stay out of the border districts, which the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary already advises against within 10 miles of the border. All crossings with Afghanistan can close at short notice.

Protests are another risk. Demonstrations without a permit are illegal, the US warns that people have been detained over social media posts critical of the government, and mobile and internet service is often cut during unrest.

Street crime in Karachi

Karachi is where crime most affects visitors. The Citizens-Police Liaison Committee counted more than 60,700 crimes in the first 11 months of 2025, including 16,278 phones snatched and 35,749 motorcycles stolen, and more than 80 people were shot dead while resisting robbers. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary names Lyari, Malir, Orangi Town and Gulistan-e-Jouhar among the areas with a higher risk of violence. If someone demands your phone at gunpoint, hand it over.

British-Pakistani visitors are also targeted by kidnappers and by property fraud, because they are seen as wealthy.

Roads, floods and the mountains

WHO estimatedWHO road-death estimateThe World Health Organization's estimate of road traffic deaths per 100,000 people in a country, adjusted for deaths that police statistics miss.More in the glossary 13.0 road deaths per 100,000 people in 2019, less than in India but well above European levels. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary calls driving standards erratic, especially at night. It advises avoiding public transport, street taxis and ride-hailing apps in favour of taxis booked through a licensed company. It also advises avoiding trains because of attacks and derailments.

The monsoon, from late June to early October, is the main natural hazard. By 9 September 2025 the National Disaster Management Authority had counted 922 deaths, more than half of them in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In the north, landslides close roads, flights to Gilgit and Skardu are often cancelled, and earth tremors are common.

Health risks

Pakistan is one of the last two countries where wild polio still circulates. It reported 31 cases in 2025, down from more than 70 in 2024. The CDC also lists typhoid, malaria in some areas and rabies, and notes that rabies vaccine is often not available after a bite. Drink sealed bottled water only. From October to February, the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary warns, air pollution in Punjab, and Lahore in particular, is a health hazard. Private hospitals in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad are good; in the mountains an ambulance (dial 1122) can take more than an hour.

How to stay safe in Pakistan

• Check the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary list of districts before booking; it changes often.
• Use a reputable local tour operator for the north and register with the authorities in Gilgit-Baltistan.
• Book cars through your hotel or a licensed taxi firm; do not drive at night.
• Stay away from rallies, religious processions and security checkpoints.
• Do not photograph military sites, airports, bridges or dams.
• Get a polio booster, typhoid and rabies vaccines at a travel clinic.

How we scored it

Conflict (15) drives the score: the terrorism threat and the no-go provinces cover a large part of the country, and the war with Afghanistan flared again in September 2026. The weighted average of 45 is below the conflict cap of 50, so the cap does not change it. Violent crime (62) and road safety (58) are mid-range. Health (40), natural hazards (40) and petty crime (45) are weak. Confidence is medium because the WHO road estimate is from 2019 and the flood figures are partial-season counts.