WASHINGTON, April 18: The United States on Friday allowed its diplomats to return to Pakistan and resume their duties.

Last month, the State Department had ordered the departure of all non-emergency personnel and family members of the US embassy and consulates in Pakistan before going to war in Iraq.

According to the new order, “the department has (now) authorized the immediate return of US embassy and consulate employees to Islamabad, Lahore and Peshawar.”

Family members of American officials, who were ordered to leave the country in March 2002, are not yet being allowed to return.

“Because of regional tensions and continued high security concerns about terrorists in Pakistan, all US citizens should defer travel to Pakistan. US citizens in the country are strongly urged to depart,” says the new warning.

The US consulate in Karachi remains closed to the public.

The new travel warning acknowledges that the government of Pakistan continues to give full support to the international campaign against terrorism but says that some Al Qaeda members have fled to Pakistan after their defeat in Afghanistan.

These Al Qaeda members, coupled with the presence of indigenous sectarian and militant groups in Pakistan, continue to pose a serious threat to US interests and American citizens in Pakistan the State Department says, also increase the possibility of violence in Pakistan.

Events in the Middle East also increase the possibility of violence in Pakistan.