U.S. lifts India travel warning, not Pakistan

Pakistani border troops are working to prevent terror bases being set up inside Pakistan

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Reacting to reduced tensions between nuclear rivals India and Pakistan, the U.S. State Department Wednesday revised a travel warning it had previously issued for India, no longer urging American citizens to leave that country.

But the State Department continued to "strongly" urge U.S. citizens to leave Pakistan, citing the threat of terrorist attacks there. And it said American citizens should "defer all but essential travel to India."

In the travel warning issued for India, the State Department noted that "the very high level of tension" between India and Pakistan "has subsided somewhat" thanks to "intense diplomatic activity."

However, the warning added, "The risk of renewed high levels of tension cannot be ruled out."

In the warning for Pakistan, the State Department said "the possibility of threats to Americans and other civilian targets continues" and, as such, "Americans in Pakistan are strongly urged to leave that country."

The warning said that suspected al Qaeda terrorists had fled to Pakistan and other countries because of the war on terrorism waged in Afghanistan.

"This, coupled with the presence of indigenous sectarian and militant groups in Pakistan, requires that all Americans in or traveling through Pakistan take appropriate security measures," it said. "Events in the Middle East also increase the possibilities of violence."

Last month, the State Department had urged Americans in both countries to leave.

In March, it authorized the departure of non-emergency U.S. Embassy personnel and family members in Pakistan and did the same for such personnel in India last month.