Straw tells Britons: Get out of Pakistan

Blair speaks of 'grave situation' as diplomats pull out because of threats and India and its neighbour move closer to war

Most British diplomats are to be evacuated from Pakistan as the nation lurches closer to war with India in the deepening crisis over Kashmir.

Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, announced the emergency plans after receiving a "specific" terrorist threat, and appealed to all Britons to leave Pakistan.

Although Mr Straw insisted the announcement was not directly linked to the acrimonious stand-off between the nuclear neighbours, the Government made plain its alarm over the apparent slide towards war.

Tony Blair told MPs in the Commons: "This is indeed a very serious and grave situation and it cannot be stressed enough the dangers inherent in this situation where India and Pakistan are presently confronting each other."

The decision to scale back Britain's official presence in Pakistan was made amid alarm among ministers over the number of al-Qa'ida sympathisers in the country, many of whom have slipped across its porous border with Afghanistan. The country is also home to several other terrorist groups suspected of a series of attacks on Westerners.

Mr Straw, who flies to the region next week with a plea to the two nations to step back from the brink, said diplomats, their families and staff members would start leaving immediately. He urged the several thousand Britons in Pakistan to leave and added that the Foreign Office was advising against all visits to the country, unless travellers could guarantee their security.

The numbers in the embassy in Islamabad, the capital, will be cut from about 210 to 80, including the high commissioner, Hilary Synnott.

The Karachi consulate will be reduced from 36 to fewer than 10 and the Lahore mission, believed to be particularly vulnerable because it is based in a hotel, will be closed.

In a letter to MPs last night, Mr Straw said: "Although we have taken thorough measures to protect our diplomatic staff in Pakistan, the risk they are currently facing is none the less unacceptable."

He said there was an "acute and growing" danger to British interests from terrorism in Pakistan, revealing threats received in the past four days to the missions in Lahore and Karachi.

The Foreign Secretary also cited recent attacks in the country, including a bomb attack on an Islamabad church in which two Americans died and the murder of French contractors by a suicide bomber in Karachi. "The last few weeks have seen numerous bomb threats and a high level of indigenous violence," he added.

In the Commons, Mr Blair urged India and Pakistan to "pause and reflect" before taking action that could plunge their region into conflict. "I do urge both countries and the leadership of both countries to pause and reflect before taking action that could plunge not just their countries into conflict, but the wider region, with implications for the whole of the world," he said.

The Prime Minister, who carried a similar message during a five-day visit to the region in January, called on both the nations to give ground.

"It is essential in the end that Pakistan stops support for any form of terrorism in Kashmir or anywhere else in the region and that at the same time India is prepared to offer a proper system of dialogue to resolve all issues between the countries, including disputes over Kashmir," Mr Blair said.

Earlier this week Mr Straw warned that growing tensions over Kashmir made the possibility of war between India and Pakistan "real and very disturbing." He added: "This is potentially the most serious conflict the world could face at the moment, more serious even than that in the Middle East."