Britons urged to leave Pakistan

The foreign office today urged all Britons to leave Pakistan and said that most UK diplomats are to be evacuated after a "specific" terrorist threat.

The move, announced by Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, is the most dramatic response yet to the danger of a direct attack from al Qaeda or its allies.

Diplomatic staff and their families will start leaving "with immediate effect". The numbers in the capital, Islamabad, will fall from 210 to about 80. The British mission in Lahore will be closed and the 36 personnel in Karachi reduced to fewer than 10.

The Foreign Office, which has already issued warnings about visits to the country, is now advising against "all but essential travel to Pakistan and then only where there is a compelling reason and where security is assured". The statement from Mr Straw said: "We are also advising British nationals in Pakistan to consider leaving."

Foreign Office sources would not go into detail over the threat but today's drastic moves show the seriousness with which it is being taken.

A suicide bomber destroyed a bus carrying French workers this month and the international church in Islamabad was attacked in March.

The Foreign Office stressed that the decisions were not connected with the growing threat of war between Pakistan and India.

Britain's High Commissioner, Mr Hilary Synnott, who is married with no children, is staying on. The Foreign Office would not say whether his wife would also remain.

There are some 1,000 British citizens in Pakistan known to the Foreign Office, although the true number is likely to be higher.

Prepare for battle, says Indian PM
A million men wait for war