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ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office (FO) on Friday issued an advisory for Pakistani nationals, urging them to refrain from traveling to Syria amid the recent developing situation in the Middle Eastern country.
“In view of the recent developments and evolving situation in Syria, Pakistan nationals are advised to avoid unnecessary travel or visit to Syria until the situation improves,” the FO advisory read.
The foreign ministry spox Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, in an advisory, further advised those currently in Syria to exercise extreme caution and remain in contact with the Embassy of Pakistan in Damascus.
The development came after the Syrian rebel forces seized the central city of Hama on Thursday, a second major blow to President Bashar al-Assad who lost control of the country’s commercial hub Aleppo last week.
The leader of the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani, told residents of Homs “Your time has come”. Rebel forces began the biggest offensive against Syria’s government in years last week.
Tens of thousands of people are fleeing Syria’s third-largest city Homs, a war monitor said, amid reports that rebels are closing in.
Should the rebels capture Homs, that would cut the seat of power in the capital Damascus from the Mediterranean coast, a key bastion of the Assad clan, which has ruled Syria for the past five decades.
