US announces withdrawal of non-emergency staff from consulates in Karachi and Lahore

Islamabad, Mar 4 (PTI) The United States announced on Wednesday the withdrawal of non-emergency staff from its consulates in the Pakistani cities of Karachi and Lahore due to security concerns.

The decision came just days after protestors tried to storm US consulates and the embassy after the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli joint air strikes.

“The Department of State ordered non-emergency US government employees and the family members of US government personnel from US Consulates Lahore and Karachi to leave Pakistan due to safety risks,” the US Mission in Pakistan said in a statement.

It said there was no change to the status of its embassy in Islamabad.

The advisory noted that “an ongoing threat of drone and missile attacks from Iran and significant disruptions to commercial flights” amid the ongoing conflict in the region.

Although there is an additional consulate in Peshawar, the updated travel advisory did not mention it.

Following the onset of hostilities between Iran and the US-Israel since February 28, the State Department has issued similar instructions for its staff in multiple regional countries.

These include Jordan, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Oman and recently, Cyprus, as per statements posted on X.

At least 10 protestors were killed in Karachi on March 1 when they tried to break through the security perimeter around the US consulate. Similar protests were held in Lahore and Islamabad. PTI SH  ZH ZH