VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHIL #0189/01 0290816
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 290816Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1208
INFO RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL 9706
RUEHKU/AMEMBASSY KUWAIT 1516
RUEHDO/AMEMBASSY DOHA 1613
RUEHUP/AMEMBASSY BUDAPEST 0073
RUEHDL/AMEMBASSY DUBLIN 0110

UNCLAS ISLAMABAD 000189 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OTRA PARM ASEC OREP AMGT AFIN PK
SUBJECT: CODEL TIERNEY COUNTRY CLEARANCE 
 
REF: STATE 06212 
 
¶1. Post warmly welcomes and grants country clearance for the visit 
of CODEL Tierney on February 2, 2009. 
 
¶2. Control officer for the visit will be Deputy Econ Counselor 
Martha Patterson.  She can be reached at the following numbers: 
Embassy: +92-51-208-0000; Office: +92-51-208-2690, Direct 
+92-51-208-2927; fax: +92-51-208-2380; cell +92-300-501-2773 email: 
pattersonme@state.gov. 
 
¶3. Visitors must/must obtain separate post clearance if they plan to 
visit any of the three Mission Pakistan consulates (Karachi, 
Peshawar, Lahore) or any other areas under the jurisdiction of the 
consulates.  Most travel outside of Islamabad will require separate 
post clearance.  Post clearance for the consulates should be 
requested via cable to the consulate(s) on the planned itinerary. 
 
¶4. Visas: Everyone arriving in Pakistan must/must have a valid visa. 
 If you do not have a valid visa, you will be denied entry.  If you 
will be in Pakistan on TDY for more than 30 days, ensure that you 
have a multiple entry visa that shows "Work at the U.S. Embassy" or 
"Official Business" as the purpose of your visit.  If your visa does 
not contain this language, your visa cannot be extended or renewed 
while in Pakistan and you will have to physically leave the country 
to renew or extend it. 
 
¶5. Electronic Equipment: Official travelers on temporary duty, 
including non-State personnel, must coordinate the transport of any 
USG provided electronic or photographic equipment (to include 
laptops/electronic notebooks), and receive RSO authorization prior 
to introducing the equipment into the Chancery.  No connectivity is 
allowed to State's unclassified or classified networks.  Personal 
electronic or photographic equipment as well as camera/video capable 
cell phones are not permitted in the Chancery. 
 
¶6. Security: Islamabad and the three constituent consulates in 
Karachi, Lahore, and Peshawar are critical-threat posts. Employees 
assigned to Pakistan are unaccompanied and receive danger pay.  The 
Department of State Travel Warning for Pakistan asks U.S. citizens 
to defer non-essential travel to Pakistan because of the continued 
high security concerns about terrorism in Pakistan.  The Embassy 
approves only essential official travel to Pakistan.  All official 
visitors to Islamabad must adhere to Embassy security standards and 
procedures, and those staying more than one week must attend a 
security briefing held every Tuesday at 10 a.m.  TDY travel outside 
of Islamabad requires RSO clearance.  Travelers to the consulates 
must follow RSO consulate security procedures.  The potential for 
continued threats to Americans in Pakistan from Al-Qaida and other 
extremist elements remains real.  A suicide bomber killed two 
Consulate employees at the U.S. Consulate in Karachi in March 2006. 
A grenade attack against the Protestant International Church in 
Islamabad killed two Embassy members and injured several others in 
March 2002.  In September 2008, the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad was 
bombed.  More than 60 people were killed and many more were injured. 
 American, Western, and Christian targets continue to be threatened 
and attacked.  Anti-Americanism remains strong among certain 
elements of the population.  For further information about travel to 
Pakistan, U.S. citizens should consult the Department of State's 
Consular Information Sheet for Pakistan, available via the internet 
at http://travel.state.gov. 
 
All DOD military and civilian personnel on TDY, TAD, or PCS orders 
to Pakistan are required to notify the Force Protection Detachment 
(FPD), U.S. Embassy Pakistan, of their travel plan/itinerary. 
Notifications must be made well in advance of arrival in country, 
principally if FPD support is needed.  Upon arrival in country, DOD 
personnel are required to check in with FPD to receive a current 
threat briefing, as well as to be reminded of applicable force 
protection countermeasures.  Failure to comply with this requirement 
may result in either denial of current or future country clearances. 
 FPD email addresses are as follows: FPDPakistan@state.sgov.gov and 
FPDPakistan@state.gov. 
 
¶7. Hotels:  Due to the recent bombing of the Islamabad Marriott and 
the resulting security situation, Mission Pakistan cannot place any 
visitors in commercial hotels in Islamabad; all will be housed 
within current USG assets.  While those quarters provide adequate 
sleeping accommodations, they cannot duplicate hotel facilities and 
services.  Travelers will need to be prepared to do without the 
commercial services that are ordinarily provided by hotels. 
 
¶8. Public Transportation: For safety and security reasons, Americans 
are prohibited from using taxis and all public transportation.  The 
Embassy requires that official visitors use its motor pool. 
 
Emergency telephone numbers: 
American Embassy Islamabad        92-51-208-0000 
Marine Security Guard (24 hrs)    92-51-208-2338 
Regional Security Office          92-51-208-2203/2204 
American Consulate Karachi        92-021-520-4200 
American Consulate Lahore         92-042-603-4000 
American Consulate Peshawar       92-091-526-8800 
 
¶9. Embassy Motor Pool Services: Post maintains a 24-hour motor 
pool. 
 
¶10. Health:  The Embassy Health Unit has provided the following 
information to aid visitors and tempoQry duty employees in 
Pakistan: 
 
10A. Facilities:  There are health units at the embassy and each of 
the three consulates.  The Islamabad Health unit is staffed by a 
Regional Medical Officer, a Foreign Service Nurse Practitioner and 
two RNs.  It provides routine medical care and basic laboratory 
services during the workweek.  It does not supply medications for 
chronic medical conditions; these must be brought with you.  The 
facilities in Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar are extremely limited in 
the services they provide and are staffed by part-time local medical 
providers.  Official visitors traveling to or working at those 
locations should bring all personal medicines with them including 
over-the-counter drugs. 
 
10B. Food and Water-borne Illnesses: Visitors to Pakistan are at 
high risk for water-borne and gastrointestinal illnesses. Careful 
attention to the choice of food and beverages helps to reduce the 
risks.  Avoid salad bars and buffets while eating at local 
restaurants; a la carte items are your safest bet.  Meat, eggs, and 
vegetables should always be thoroughly cooked or steamed.  Safe 
foods include steaming hot dishes, rice, pasta, cooked vegetables 
served hot, and bread products.  Foods that are moist and served at 
room temperature, especially peeled fruits, salads, sauces, 
egg-based foods, mayonnaise-based dishes and buffet offerings are 
risky.  Avoid ice cream as well. 
 
10C. Drinks: Safe drinks include hot tea, coffee, and carbonated 
beverages.  Assume all tap water is contaminated contrary to notices 
occasionally posted in some hotels or elsewhere.  The only exception 
to this rule is the tap water on the embassy compound.  Commercially 
available water bottled in Pakistan has been found to be 
inconsistently safe for consumption.  Bottled water sold in our 
commissary has been judged safe.  Be sure the seals have not been 
broken.  Remember that freezing does not make water safe, so avoid 
ice cubes unless you know they have been made from potable water. 
 
10D. Malaria: Malaria is endemic to various regions in Pakistan, and 
the risks of infection vary depending on location, altitude and 
season.  During the rainy season all visitors are advised to take 
prophylaxis, especially those traveling outside the major 
metropolitan centers or who make frequent trips between the 
consulates and Embassy.  Mefloquine is the preferred prophylaxis and 
should be brought with you during travel as it is unavailable in 
country except at the mission health units.  Doxycycline is an 
alternative and is available in country.  In conjunction with 
medication, visitors must also take measures to reduce contact with 
mosquitoes, such as wearing clothing that covers most of the body 
and using an insect repellent containing DEET. 
 
10E. Immunizations: Visitor immunization records should be reviewed 
by the Department's Immunization Clinic prior to departure.  For 
short-term visitors the following immunizations are recommended: 
hepatitis a, hepatitis b, typhoid, and tetanus in addition to usual 
childhood immunizations.  The rabies series is also recommended for 
Pakistan and should be completed before arriving in country.  The 
Health Unit in Islamabad can provide most vaccinations except 
smallpox, which is only available in Washington.  The consulate 
health units can provide a limited number of vaccinations depending 
on type needed and health unit staffing. 
 
10F. All TDY travelers are urged to take annual flu vaccination 
before international travel.  Tamiflu, the flu treatment drug, is 
not available in country.  If travelers wish to obtain supplies for 
travel, they will need to consult their local provider in the U.S. 
for a supply prior to travel to Pakistan. 
 
10G. Emergency Medical Services: Emergency medical care is extremely 
limited in Pakistan even in major cities.  The health units keep 
up-to-date lists of available facilities in cities in which the 
embassy and consulates are located. Travelers should arrange for 
medical evacuation insurance either personally or through their 
sponsoring agency prior to their arrival in country. 
 
10H. Automobile and Pedestrian Safety: Overseas automobile accidents 
remain a major cause of death of expatriates abroad and Pakistan is 
no exception.  State Department and Mission policy require the use 
of seat belts for both rear and front seats.  Insist that your 
driver maintains a safe speed.  Stay alert crossing streets and 
intersections, especially after dark. 
 
PATTERSON