Urgent matter regarding a Caucasian American Female going to Islamabad

Oh ok.

@13

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13388421

a very large attack and very close to peshawar

Dremarek, no that's not the one my boyfriend was referring to. I heard about that one. This may have been the one he was near at the time:

http://www.dawn.com/2011/05/11/journalist-killed-in-peshawar-blast.html

I haven't been able to ask him yet. I will be sure to when we have enough time and I can remember! :o)

That is not close nor in Peshawar, some 40 Km, close to Mohmand Agency, the FC HQ at Dheri Shabqadar, mentioned by dremarek.

The incident you're talking about Jenn, that's almost in Khyber agency, tribal belt, BTW, what he was doing there ?

Edited by: imranthetrekker1

i said close to peshawar, which it is.

Hi Jenn,

I am a Pakistani male who moved to Islamabad 4 months ago. I have many American friends, and we do meet up socially around the city.

Your concern is understandable.

I feel that you would be reasonably safe in Islamabad right now. There is no extreme anti-American sentiment in Islamabad, at least there has been no significant change in the past months. There is a quiet resentment amongst people, but it is directed more at our government, rather than the USA.

As long as you stay in the central parts of the city, and with people, I think you would be fine. You can stay at a dependable location, presumably with your boyfriend, and then move around in the secure areas of the city, at the Gloria Jeans Cafe, and the Chaye Kaana Cafe etc. The people generally are very friendly and supportive. A lot of people realize that the present Pak-US tensions are to do with government policies, and not to do with the Pakistani or American people.

Good luck!

Mueen
Islamabad

There was a remote controlled bomb explosion in Peshawar (Landi Arbab area) on 13 of May which caused 3 fatal and 9 non fatal casualties.

Hi all,

I agree with the majority of sentiments expressed here having travelled extensively and worked in Pakistan 5 years ago. My own experiences were characterised by the wonderful hospitality consistently displayed by the locals towards me and I felt at ease throughout.

I should mention that conspiracy theories run high in many parts of the world including Pakistan ranging from the 'maybe' to downright outrageous (I won't go into those in depth here as not to be political on the TT). I always let those who wished to discuss these get what they wanted to say off their chests and held back some of my opinions to pre-empt any misunderstandings that can arise especially when cultural and language differences occur. Once that was said we would talk about everything else like my home country, my impressions of Pakistan and its people and of course cricket!

I will state that like most parts of the world, things are fine until they go wrong and if they go wrong, they tend to go wrong rapidly (ie. it doesn't take long for one to realise that they are out of their depth). When I was in the Northern Areas a civil war between different religeous sub-groups erupted and although the locals went of out their way to show concern for the foreigners, the dangers of being caught in crossfire were very real. As noted above, the Northern Areas (like the NWFP in my opinion) are amazing, just be mindful of the environment that you are in.

To the OP, yes its good you're travelling with 'your husband' as you will no doubt attract attention as a woman. One advantage of being a woman in this part of the world is the access you will have to women to talk to, meet, eat with etc especially in more conservative areas.

Best to all,
BP

Hi again everyone. Thanks to those of you who took the time to give your opinions and experiences. I really appreciate it! I'm extremely happy to know that life in Islamabad isn't too bad ;o).

Imran, to answer your question: my boyfriend was doing business in Peshawar.

Thanks again, all. Have a wonderful day, wherever you may be and whatever you may be doing.

Jenn

How are you going with confirming the validity of your visa?