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US, UK advise 80,000 of their nationals to leave India

Alarmed by war clouds in the Indo-Pak region, the United States, Britain, Germany, Australia, Denmark and New Zealand on Friday decided to reduce the levels of non-essential diplomatic staff and their families in India and advised their nationals against travelling to the region.

The US authorised the voluntary departure of all non-essential diplomats and their dependents from India, saying they could not rule out a worsening of the crisis with Pakistan.

According to the US state department, an estimated 60,000 US nationals currently in India have also been advised to leave the country.

The warning by the US referred to artillery exchanges between Indian and Pakistani troops along the border and also the possibility of terrorist attacks by Al Qaeda against Americans, the advisory, which was also issued by its embassy in New Delhi, said.

Dependents of non-essential US personnel in the embassy and US Consulates in Calcutta, Mumbai and Chennai were also encouraged to depart at government expense, it said.

Britain also decided to reduce the level of its 'less-essential' high commission staff and dependents in India and advised its nationals against travelling to India in the wake of continuing Indo-Pak standoff.

An estimated 20,000 UK nationals are in India at present, according to the British foreign office.

In a statement released by the Foreign Office in London British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said, "On Wednesday in New Delhi, I said that whilst the situation between India and Pakistan was dangerous, war was not inevitable. That remains my view, and we are all working as hard as we can to secure a peaceful resolution of this long-standing conflict."

"However, I do have a clear duty of care in respect both of UK citizens, and of UK staff in diplomatic posts abroad. As a precautionary measure, I have therefore decided to amend our travel advice to India. This now advises, for the time being, against travel to India, and gives more detailed in-country advice. British nationals there should consider leaving."

"We will also offer dependants of British government staff and less-essential staff themselves the chance to return home if they choose; we will continue to offer a visa service, but at a reduced level."

In a live statement broadcast across national television from his parliamentary constituency in Blackburn, Straw added that the action announced was different from an earlier announcement last week with regard to Pakistan when London announced a compulsory reduction in diplomatic staffing levels at the British diplomatic missions in Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore.

That decision, Straw explained, was based on his assessment of the security threats to UK personnel and assets in Pakistan from militant terrorist groups operating there.

He emphasised that the latest advice for India was precautionary, adding, "Its always difficult in situations like this between appearing to be too fearful and appearing to be too complacent. Making the right balanced judgements, calibrating these things is always difficult. But what we have to be is prudent and careful."

US state department spokesman Richard Boucher on Thursday had said: "We have done an ordered departure of our personnel from Pakistan and given the public the advice to defer travel. We have given the advice to defer travel to India now. And we have to consider whether an ordered or authorised departure might be appropriate for our personnel in India as well, given the rise in the level of tensions in the region."

US Secretary of State Colin Powell had also said that his country is reviewing the presence of its diplomats and citizens in India in the wake of rising military tension with Pakistan.

"We are examining what our policy should be with respect to any draw down of our presence in the country, and when we are through with that review and have consulted with others in the administration as well as our allies, we will be making the appropriate announcement if any change is warranted," Powell had told the Public Broadcasting Network on Thursday night.

He said his department has put out advisories to travellers that it would be best to avoid travelling into the region right now.

The US has already evacuated most of its diplomats and citizens from Pakistan.

Meanwhile, New Zealand said it was pulling out all relatives of its diplomatic personnel in New Delhi.

"Dependants of staff at the High Commission in New Delhi are in the process of leaving now," foreign ministry spokesman Brad Tattersfield said.

Australia has also made arrangements for evacuating its citizens in the event of an Indo-Pak conflict, but hoped that such a situation would not arise.

"There are standing precautionary arrangements in place for the evacuation of Australian nationals in case of a war," Australian Prime Minister John Howard said, according to a report from Sydney.

Agencies with inputs from Aziz Haniffa in Washington, Shyam Bhatia in London

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