LONDON, Oct 1, 2008 (AFP) - Britain has decided to withdraw the children of all its diplomats based in Islamabad in the wake of the bombing at the Marriott Hotel in the Pakistani capital last month, the Foreign Office said Wednesday.

'Following a review of security in the wake of the attack on the Marriott Hotel, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has decided that the children of UK-based staff at the British High Commission in Islamabad should return to the UK,' a spokesman for the foreign ministry told AFP.

The spokesman added that the ministry had offered that any dependents, such as spouses, could return to Britain if they chose.

He said that the 'core work of the High Commission will not be affected. The UK is committed to maintaining its strong relationship with Pakistan, especially at this difficult time.'

'The attack on the Marriott Hotel reinforces our shared determination to tackle violent extremism.'

An official within the foreign ministry said that the children would be withdrawn in an orderly fashion over the next few weeks.

At present, Britain advises its citizens to avoid all non-essential travel to Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar, and also says Britons should avoid using international hotels which are frequented by Westerners.

On September 20, a suicide bomber at the upscale Marriott hotel exploded a truck filled with 600 kilogrammes (1,300 pounds) of explosives, killing 60 people and injuring more than 260 others.