London: The United Kingdom on Saturday issued a traveladvisory asking its citizens to avoid travelling to Jammu and Kashmir after theGovernment of India advised Amarnath pilgrims and tourists to leave the statein view of the security situation. The advisory, which was issued by theForeign and Commonwealth Office, advised against all travel to Jammu andKashmir  "with the exception of (i)travel within the city of Jammu, (ii) travel by air to the city of Jammu, (iii)travel within the region of Ladakh".

The advisory cautioned against "all but essentialtravel to the city of Srinagar and travel between the cities of Jammu andSrinagar on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway", and also advised againsttravel to the tourist destinations of Pahalgam, Gulmarg and Sonmarg.

The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office also said that theBritish High Commission in New Delhi was closely monitoring the situationfollowing reports that the Jammu and Kashmir government had advised touristsand Amarnath Yatra pilgrims to curtail their stay in the Kashmir Valleyimmediately and take necessary measures to return home as soon because ofsecurity threats. "If you're in Jammu and Kashmir, you should remainvigilant, follow the advice of local authorities and keep up to date withdevelopments, including via this travel advice," the advisory said.

It said there have been "a number of terrorist attacksagainst army bases and other targets in Jammu and Kashmir," and mentionedthe February 14 Pulwama attack in which 40 security personnel were killed.

The advisory also mentioned the February 10, 2018 terrorattack on an Indian Army camp in Sujuwan in which 16 persons were killed, theJuly 2017 terror attack on a bus carrying pilgrims on the Srinagar-JammuHighway, the Uri terror attack of 2016.

"Since the death of Hizbul Mujahideen (HuM) commanderBurhan Wani on July 8, 2016, there have been widespread violent protests in theKashmir Valley, which have resulted in deaths and serious casualties. As aresult, curfews are imposed and lifted on an almost daily basis," theadvisory said."Foreigners remain vulnerable in rural districts and outsidethe main population centres and tourist areas. There is a risk of unpredictableviolence, including bombings, grenade attacks, shootings and kidnapping. Thelong-standing policy of the British Government is not to make substantiveconcessions to hostage-takers. The level of consular assistance that theBritish High Commission can provide in Jammu & Kashmir is severely limited,"it added.It may be recalled that the J&K government on Friday issued anadvisory asking the Amarnath Yatra pilgrims and tourists to leave the Valleyciting intelligence warning about possible terror attacks in Kashmir. J&KGovernor Satya Pal Malik met a delegation of different political parties inJammu and Kashmir on Friday and Saturday amid concerns over the prevailingsituation in the state.

During the meeting, the Governor asked the leaders of theparties to ask their workers to communicate to people that they should notbelieve in rumours and stay calm.

Referring to a J&K government's advisory to AmarnathYatra pilgrims and tourists, the Governor said that it was issued on the basisof authentic intelligence inputs. He also said that some political leaders hadbeen attributing the advisory to different things that led to unnecessary fearamong the people.