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

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

Consular services in provincial capitals were suspended in March after violent anti-U.S. protests broke out following the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in February that killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Protesters stormed the outer perimeter of the consulate in Karachi, where US Marine security guards opened fire, killing at least 10 protesters, according to local officials, prompting the US mission to suspend routine consular operations due to security concerns.

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In a video message attached to the post, an embassy official warned against paying outside sources for appointments or visa interview requests 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 granted staff permission to leave missions in Saudi Arabia, Cyprus and Oman after Iran retaliated for a US-Israeli attack.

The US State Department asked non-emergency government employees and family members of government staff at US consulates in Lahore and Karachi to leave Pakistan due to “security risks,” the US embassy in Pakistan said in a statement.

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