Pakistan War And Terrorism Insurance

Pakistan which is officially called the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is located in South Asia, in the heart of the ancient Indus Valley, bordering Afghanistan, Iran, India, and China.

Pakistan can provide the visitor or expatriate with a great travel experience. This country is culturally rich in history, with a vast amount of great historical architecture, artifacts, art galleries, museums, music halls, and cultural centers. The visitor can go hiking, trekking, skiing on the snow capped mountains, shop in the many exotic bazaars, and even go snorkeling in the Arabian Sea but, Pakistan is a very dangerous country and there is a high threat of terrorism against foreign citizens and expatriates. Pakistan has become so unstable and lawless that it was given the title as being one of the most dangerous countries in the world by the highly respected magazine, The Economist. Reuters and Forbes put Pakistan as the top 5 most dangerous destination in the world.

Pakistan is not only the sixth most populated country in the world with the second largest Muslim population but, it's also the home of the largest number of refugees. After the Soviet-Afghanistan War of the 1980's and especially after the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, Pakistan was forced to inherit over 2 million Afghanistan refugees which many of them were Islamic guerrilla militant fighters

Pakistan's history has been full of ups and downs with periods of military rule, political instability and conflicts with neighboring India and China. Pakistan was once part of India but the Punjab region wanted to be a predominately Muslim country, believing that India was a "Hindu-dominated" (Allama Iqbal) country, chose to become an independent Islamic republic on August 14, 1947.

Pakistan is the region of the world's largest and most militarized territorial disputes between India (Kashmir) and China (Aksai Chin). Pakistan and India have been fighting over the possession of Kashmir which has not been settled. Since1947, there have been ongoing hostilities and volatile security situations with India which led to four Indo-Pakistan Wars (Kashmir wars).

In modern times most of the instability and fighting is along North-West Pakistan which borders Afghanistan. This area has become the front line in the war against terrorism. Its home to over 40 million people, and is also where many Islamic militant groups such as the Taliban (Tehrek-e-Taliban), Mujahideen (Council of United Mujahedeen), Baloch Groups, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and al-Qaeda have made their homes. Terrorist groups have been using the mountainous regions in the Federally-Administered Tribal Areas and Agencies (FATA) as a spring board for their terrorist attacks.

Violence and hostilities are regularly reported in Peshawar, Lahore (once the capital city of the Sikh Empire), Rawalpindi, Karachi, and Balochistan which has caused these regions to become seriously unstable and extremely dangerous places to venture into. South Waziristan is the region where thousands of Afghanistan Islamic militants, such as the Mehsud which is being led by commander Hakimullah Mehsud and the Wazir tribe that consists of 10,000 hardened militants, have taken refuge. The Waziristan region is where the suicide attempts against President Pervez Musharraf were traced back to. There have been many clashes in the Tirah and Shawwal Valleys. Islamic Militants in the Tirah Valley and Shawwal mountains of South Waziristan have been fighting non-Muslim which ended with the beheading of two Sikhs that were kidnapped and then found dead near Peshawar.

Pakistan Armed Forces have implemented many major offensive operatives, such as: Operation Black Thunderstorm, Operation Rah-e-Nijat, and the South and North Waziristan offensive, that have deployed over 80,000 troops with ground assaults and airstrikes to combat the Islamic militant groups in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP). For example, on October 30, 2006, The Pakistani army conducted an air strike on a militant base that killed 80 people and destroyed a building (Madrassa) in the Bajaur region. In retaliation for this attack, Islamic militants attacked a army camp with suicide bombers on November 8, 2006, killing over 42 Pakistani soldiers and wounding 20. On April 12, 2009, the Pakistani military went on the offensive in the Orakazi tribal region with heavy airstrikes and artillery in the attempt to rout the insurgents from the mountains. The fighting was so intense that it has caused more than 200,000 people to flee Northwest Waziristan and Orakzai region.

The ongoing fighting has made much of Pakistan unstable and dangerous. Being faced with the overwhelming task of rooting out or eliminating the multitude of Islamic militant groups, dealing with the deadly political upheavals, and withstanding the ongoing regional disputes has caused the government to virtually lose all control of its country.

For example, a United States diplomat named David Foy was killed, in the city of Karachi, when a suicide bomber rammed his car that was packed with high-intensity explosives into the diplomat's vehicle on March 2, 2006. Benazir Bhutto, daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was elected as the first female Prime Minister of Pakistan, in 1988 and again in1993, was assassinated on December 27, 2007. On March 3, 2009, twelve Islamic militant gunmen from the Lashkar-e-Taiba or Lashkar-e-Jhangvi militant group attacked a bus with rifles, grenades, and rocket launchers that was carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team which was on its way to a game in the city of Lahore. two bystanders and six policemen were killed with six cricket players were injured. Over 45 people were killed and 82 were wounded, on February 29, 2008, after a suicide attack by pro-Taliban militants during the funeral of a district superintendent of police which was killed in a earlier attack in the swat province.

What caught worldwide attention to the intense Islamic terrorist fighting throughout Pakistan was the Islamabad Marriott Hotel bombing that took place on September 23, 2008. In one of the worst terrorist attacks in Pakistan's history, a dump truck that was filled with approximately 600 kg (1,300 lb) of explosives was driven into the entrance to the Marriott Hotel, located in Islamabad the capital city of Pakistan, and detonated. Over 54 civilians and tourists were killed and over 266 were injured. Another Luxury hotel was also the victim of the terrorism that is going on in Pakistan. The Pearl Continental Hotel was destroyed and 18 hotel guests and workers were killed by a suicide bomber in Peshawar on June 9,2009.

On April 5, 2010, there was an attack on the U.S. Consulate in Peshawar, Pakistan. Militants exploded several bombs near the area of the consulate with major clashes of gun battles between security forces and the attackers. Seven civilians were killed and many were injured. Also hours before the attack on the U.S. Consulate there was a suicide bombing, in North-East Peshawar, that left over 43 civilian dead.

Not only are tourists and foreign business people in a position of risk while in the country, but Pakistani civilians and policemen are in danger and have been paying with their lives. Civilians and security personal are being caught between the crossfire and have been the target of the various militant groups that use terror in order to reach their political ends. Charity non-government organizations like the Red Cross and Save the Children have also become the target of terrorism from the various Islamic extremist groups. In the Khyber region near the city of Peshawar (Frontier Province) extremists set off a bomb in a hospital which injured two employees of an agency that is working with children.

Between 2003 and 2009 it is estimated that over 25,000 people were killed from terrorist attacks throughout Pakistan, an approximate 14,800 militants were killed during this time. Over 2,637 soldiers (and policemen) have been killed and at least 856 soldiers and policemen have been captured by the militants. The number of civilians killed is over 7,598 and during the North-West fighting in Pakistan alone, close to 1,229 civilians lost their lives (163 cases were on the media reporters).

Due to the intense and ongoing fighting, between the various Islamic militant groups and the government, Pakistan is considered unstable and a dangerous place to visit. Terrorism is alive and insurgent activities such as: suicide bombings, shooting in the middle of public streets, political assassinations, hostage taking, and countrywide sectarian violence between Sunni and Shia Muslims have been taking place within this country. It is therefore important to put in place a medical health insurance plan for yourself and your family in case of an emergency. Should you need to travel to Pakistan, it is recommended that you obtain a comprehensive international health insurance policy which will cover for acts of war or terrorism.

Outside of the serious issues posed by the ongoing, wide ranging conflict, Pakistan is in a healthcare crisis. Its healthcare system has become inadequate and in most places non-existent due to the costly ongoing domestic fighting. The country's healthcare system suffers from a shortage of doctors and nurses. There are only one doctor for 1,225 people, which is below the international recommended ratio of one doctor per thousand people (Cuba has 1 doctor for every 175 patients), and there are only 62,000 nurses (one for every 40 patients) in all of Pakistan. There is also a shortage of healthcare facilities in Pakistan. In 1992, there were only 12,804 health facilities, which is one hospital for every 131,274 persons, in all of Pakistan, and most are located only in the major cities

Over 45% of the population have no access to healthcare services because its: not available due to shortages of medical staff, lack the medicine needed, medical treatment is too expensive, or the medical facilities are closed. Almost half of the population in Pakistan are poor and malnourished because they cannot afford to buy food (One in four families are struggling to survive on only US$1 dollar per day). Only 45% of the people, who live in the rural regions, have any access to safe drinking water and over 95 million Pakistanis live with no sanitation (No sewage system in place). So it comes to no surprise that there is a widespread burden of communicable diseases in Pakistan. Diarrhea, Hepatitis A and E, Typhoid Fever, Malaria, Dengue Fever, and Rabies are very high.

Foreign nationals and expatriates traveling to Pakistan should be aware of the medical conditions in the country, and the way to handle their stay in terms of medical care. The public healthcare system in Pakistan is generally low in quality, over crowded (99.3% of the population are uninsured), under funded, and ill equipped. Many hospitals are understaffed due to the high turnover rate of skilled workers. Many healthcare facilities often remain closed due to lack of staff, drugs and supplies that are essential for daily operations.

Pakistan is struggling to provide adequate healthcare but it can still offer acceptable, if expensive, treatment in private hospitals that are located in the major cities. The private hospitals tend to be concentrated in the cities but they are very expensive and they tend to cater to the middle and higher income earners who can afford the prices. Many of the doctors working in the private sector are Western trained and speak English.

If there is a healthcare facility outside a major city, in most cases it will only be able to provide immediate and temporary emergency treatment. These rural medical facilities will usually be substandard, if you happen to be outside of a major city you will have to face a long journey (60 km or more) to even reach an under funded, ill equipped clinic. Transportation is hard to access and in most cases you will be in need of an emergency evacuation to a nearby city.

Before traveling to Pakistan, you may need to get the following vaccinations for illnesses and diseases and other diseases you might be at risk of contracting at your destination: Hepatitis A/B, Polio, Yellow Fever, Rabies, Typhoid, Japanese Encephalitis, and Tetanus-diphtheria . Please also check with your doctor to make sure you are up to date on your routine immunizations as well.

It is important to note prior to traveling to Pakistan that the country is currently a terrorist hot-spot. Incidents of violence occur regularly throughout the country. Accessing quality medical care in the event of an untoward incident can be difficult and these difficulties are often compounded by the dilapidated state of the country’s healthcare system. War and terrorism health insurance for Pakistan can help ensure that you will be able to access the highest quality medical treatment in the event that the worst should happen.

Pacific Prime works with a number of the world's best insurance companies. We are able to give you an extensive range of options for your international medical insurance plans that can provide you with the coverage and peace of mind in Iraq you need. To speak to an advisor about the overseas health insurance policies that we can offer, or to receive a free quote, contact us today.

Recent Questions / Comments:

---