US to resume ‘regular’ consular services in Karachi and Lahore from July 20

The US Embassy announced on Wednesday that it would resume regular consular services at its missions in Lahore and Karachi from July 20, months after suspending operations due to security risks following anti-US protests following the attacks on Iran.

Consular services in provincial capitals were suspended in March after violent anti-US protests that erupted following US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February that killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Protesters entered the outer perimeter of the Karachi consulate, where U.S. maritime security guards opened fire, leading to the deaths of at least 10 demonstrators, according to local authorities, prompting the U.S. mission to suspend routine consular operations for security reasons.

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In a video message attached to the post, an embassy official warned against relying on external sources for appointments or visa applications and encouraged citizens to apply through the embassy website.

On March 5, the United States ordered its non-emergency staff at consulates in Lahore and Karachi to leave the country, and allowed staff to leave missions in Saudi Arabia, Cyprus and Oman after Iran retaliated against a U.S.-Israeli attack.

The U.S. State Department has asked non-emergency-affected government officials and their family members at the U.S. consulates in Lahore and Karachi to leave Pakistan due to “security risks,” the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan said in a statement.

The US State Department also announced the gradual closure of the US Consulate General in Peshawar, thereby transferring responsibility for diplomatic engagement in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to the US Embassy in Islamabad.