Islamabad: In the wake of the car bomb attacks in the Turkish city of Istanbul that killed over 20 people, Pakistan has put its security services on red alert after intelligence reports warned that it could be the next target for such strikes by international terrorist groups.

The alert was also sounded amidst reports that "sympathisers" of Onmal Kansi, a Pakistani national executed on November 14 last year by lethal injection in US for murdering two CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) employees, may trigger terrorist attacks in Pakistan as they just marked his death anniversary.

International security agencies claimed that their reports on imminent terrorist attacks in Pakistan were plausible as "sympathisers" of Kansi were still active in the country, local daily 'The News' reported.

Kansi's execution had triggered a series of reprisal attacks in Pakistan. The US Embassy in Islamabad had been under tight security since then.

Based on intelligence information, the US administration has also issued a travel advisory to the American citizens intending to travel to Pakistan, sending a strong signal that Pakistan may face terrorist attacks in near future, the paper said.

Pakistani officials were also apprehensive about reprisal attacks by the members of the three militant groups which were banned last night by the Government.

With police cracking down on them by arresting their leaders and closing down their offices, some reprisal attacks could be expected, police officials said.

PTI