5 of the most serious dangers of traveling in Pakistan. Beware, the country is not for those weak of heart… or stomach.
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Pakistan is one of the most dangerous countries in the world. Governments have strongly advised against travel there, and for good reason: as a foreign traveler, you’ll be in constant danger from a variety of causes the second you set foot in the country… but they might not be the ones you expect.
Terrorism
As with many things in life, everything you’ve heard on Fox News is completely true: Pakistanis are terrorists. We’re not talking about your run-of-the-mill, AK-touting, Jihadi Joe kind of terrorists, but something much more sinister… culinary terrorists.
Often disguised as a plump, loving Pakistani mother or grandmother, culinary terrorists are everywhere. They can be found lurking behind every door to every home, ladles at the ready, waiting for their chance to stuff you so full of food that you burst like the human bomb they think you are.
There’s no way to escape it–they will find you, they will sit you down, and they will feed you until you pop. Once you’ve been assaulted, there’s no getting away until they decide that you’re done. You’d be safer staying at home, far away from the sinister cells of feeders and their delicious delectables.
You can see the calculating look in her eyes, pondering how best to stuff some more food into our bellies before we depart.
Kidnappings
Kidnappings are a daily occurrence in Pakistan. Foreigners wander aimlessly through the streets, and are often accosted by random Pakistanis along the way. Before they can call out “embassy!”, they are whisked away to the closest stand or apartment for many a cup of chai and conversation. It doesn’t stop there: many foreigners have reported being transported to their captors’ homes, where they are held hostage in comfy beds while being tortured with food, chai, and love.
Resistance is futile, and refusing chai is dangerous: it will only encourage your captors to torture you with more. Beware, captors do not accept ransom, and will refuse all offers to pay from their victims.
We were held hostage by the family behind Let’s Go to Pakistan, and forced to eat a delicious iftar and many a dessert with them. We’re not sure our bellies will ever recover.
Violence
Violence runs rampant on the streets of Pakistan. No matter where you go, throngs of people will swarm you, seeking a warm handshake or selfie. They will assault your eardrums with questions about your travels, and your opinion of their country. Things can escalate quickly, especially when food is involved–many will assault you with food and hospitality until your body can take no more.
Be particularly cautious of those wanting to become Facebook friends. It is not uncommon for these aggressors to stalk your travels online, in hopes of being able to provide you with more help and hospitality in the future.
Forcibly assaulted and forced to pose for photos on the train to Lahore. To make things worse, our assailants helped us carry our heavy backpacks off of the train. Suspicious.
Scams
The rumors are true: Pakistanis are scam artists.
Some will deceive you into thinking you can treat them for their hospitality, only to sneak away and grab the bill while you’re not looking. Others will conspire with waiters to ensure they ignore your attempts to snag the bill at the end of a meal. Pakistanis use every trick in the book to ensure your attempts to pay are futile.
Many will tell you that a hotel is full, or that there is no public transportation, so that they can drive you and host you themselves. Unless you’re prepared to be bathed in love and affection for several days, be on full alert if forced to interact with local people.
Despite our greatest attempts at cunning, our host in Larkhana managed to pay for everything during our stay there. We tried to outsmart him at Moenjo-daro, to no avail.
Theft
Pakistanis are the greatest thieves in the world. We’re not sure how they do it, but they have mastered the art to perfection: there’s no way to travel through the country without your heart being stolen by the people of Pakistan.
Terrorists? Thieves? Kidnappers? What do you think?
For a more serious take, check out my in-depth guide to safe travel in Pakistan.
Want to know more about traveling in Pakistan? Check out our Pakistan travel guide!
Hello…I love your thoughts…respect for your efforts…want to meet you..if you visit Pakistan…
Thank you for the kind words. Hopefully we can come back to Pakistan one day to meet.
Pakistan is one of the most difficult, if not impossible, countries to get a visa on the road for. I was turned away in Hong Kong, do you know a place where one can get a visa to visit there without applying from their home country? I’m in East Africa currently.
We wish. We have the same problem, and even with the help of highly places officials we can’t get a visa on the road. Your only change, as far as we know, is sending your passport back home and have it done there.
There is no way i can do that so Pakistan won’t happen for me unfortunately. Such a shame.
Hi Alex and Sebastiaan, I so loved reading your blog and reminiscing about the trips we’ve done. We are a couple from the Netherlands (Hallo Sebastiaan! Omdat Alex natuurlijk geen Engels praat doen we het in het Engels) and we’ve visited every country you blogged about, besides Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Afghanistan is high on our list, however it doesn’t feel like something we will do now. Pakistan on the other hand is on top of our list for years! We still feel a bit uneasy about our safety, but we know that a country can be very different from what the media and the government portrays. Besides your very helpful and useful blog are there other guidebooks, forums and website you read in advance? Love to hear from you, and look forward to your next travels.
Hi Judith, thanks for reaching out. Glad our blog is helpful. For Pakistan you can find some info on The Broke Backpacker, too. And there’s a Facebook page, called backpacking Pakistan (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1211980632227404/), where you can ask questions and such. Besides that there’s hardly any reliable info available.
Let us know if you have any more questions. Cheers!
I am so thankful for writing such a beautiful & detailed description of dangers in Pakistan.
You’re welcome 🙂
Hello!!
I am glad I found your blog. This year I am planning to cycle on a bike the Karakorum Highway from Islamabad to Kashgar and than to Bishkek. I must admit that I am a little bit concerned about my safety, do you think it safe enough to cycle north part of Pakistan? My plan is to fly to Islamabad and than leave my staff for 3 days in hotel and visit Lahore, after comming back Islamabad I am planning to take a jeep to Abottabad in which is going to be the beginnig of my trip. I am going to do that on my own but If anyone would be interested in that woudl be nice to have a companion.
Could you give me some advise?
Cheers from Poland
Gregory
I don’t believe in this it’s only a bad misconception about the Pakistan , We love to live in peace and spreads peace in the world we welcome foreigner to be here then you will see in your own eyes that hospitalize our culture is..
Thanks for chiming in. We’ve removed the link in your comment, as we don’t see how it’s relevant.
We need more posts like these! Though I have never been to Pakistan, I have read umpteen stories about how unsafe the place is. And, when you started the story, I was like “how can you write something like this?!” But, then I read further.
People, in general, are nice everywhere. It’s the politics which is bad!
Glad you kept on reading. Not everyone does, and we’ve had some angry reacts on this one, too 😉