The US embassy has warned its staff in Islamabad from visiting a private hotel in the Pakistani capital due to a possible terrorist attack, an official statement on Sunday evening said.
“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,” the embassy statement read.
The embassy also urged its personnel to avoid “non-essential, unofficial travel in Islamabad throughout the holiday season”, as it cited the ‘Red Alert’ issued by the Islamabad Police the same day in the wake of a terrorist attack in the city on Friday.
Similarly, the British High Commission in Islamabad also updated its travel advisory to warn of a “possible attack” at the Marriott Hotel.
One policeman was killed and four others injured when a suicide bomber travelling in a taxi blew himself up at a police checkpost in Islamabad on Friday. Two civilians were also injured in the attack which has been claimed by banned terrorist group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The TTP, also known as the Pakistan Taliban, has escalated attacks against the Pakistani state since last August. The group, whose stated goal is to establish Sharia (Islamic law) in Pakistan, called off its ceasefire against the Pakistani government last month.
Official data reported in local media claims that the TTP has claimed responsibility for nearly 141 terrorist attacks across Pakistan in the past three months.
TTP Warns US Against Helping Pakistan in Counter-Terror Ops
The travel alerts by the US and the UK diplomatic missions in Pakistan come days after TTP chief Noor Wali Mehsud warned Washington against “interference” in the country’s affairs.
In an interview to American media last week, Mehsud said that Washington should not be “instigated” by Islamabad to target its fighters in the region.
Mehsud also stated that the group’s agenda is “confined” to Pakistan and it doesn’t use the territory of Afghanistan to stage attacks against Pakistan.
Several United Nations (UN) reports have claimed that the TTP’s leadership is based in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, though even the Taliban** denies such claims.
The warning to the US by Mehsud was sounded after a series of high-level engagements between US and Pakistan.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) chief General Michael E Kurilla said this month that Washington was “concerned” by the threat that TTP poses to Pakistan.
Similarly, counter-terror cooperation against the TTP was on top of agenda during Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s visit to Washington this month.
In his visit, Bhutto met US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R. Sherman among other officials.
*banned in Russia
** under UN sanctions