Islamabad, March 4 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 attempted to storm US consulates and the embassy after the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a joint US-Israeli air strike.
"The Department of State has ordered non-emergency US government employees and the family members of US government personnel from US Consulates in Lahore and Karachi to leave Pakistan due to safety risks," the US Mission in Pakistan said in a statement.
It said that the status of its embassy in Islamabad remained unchanged.
The advisory noted that "there is an ongoing threat of drone and missile attacks from Iran, as well as 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, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Oman, and recently, Cyprus, according to statements posted on X.
At least 10 protestors were killed in Karachi on March 1 when they attempted to breach the security perimeter around the US consulate. Similar protests were held in Lahore and Islamabad.