Embassy, consulates suspend services till March 6 after unrest, Karachi consulate breach amid regional conflict
Security personnel stand guard outside the US consulate in Karachi on March 1, 2026. PHOTO: AFP
ISLAMABAD/KARACHI/LAHORE:
The US Embassy in Islamabad and the Consulates General in Lahore and Karachi have canceled all visa appointments through Friday, March 6 amid the worsening security situation in Pakistan, the US Embassy announced on X Tuesday.
Due to the current security situation, the US Embassy in Islamabad and the Consulates General in Lahore and Karachi have canceled all visa appointments through Friday, March 6.
— US Embassy Islamabad (@usembislamabad) March 3, 2026
The cancellations follow protests that erupted across the country after Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, was killed in a joint US-Israeli strike last weekend. According to an AFP tally published on Monday, the death toll from the protests reached at least 25.
The situation became particularly volatile in Karachi on Sunday when protesters breached the outer wall of the US consulate. Two US officials told reporters on Monday that US Marines opened fire on protesters during the storm – a rare use of force at a diplomatic post.
The officials cautioned, however, that it remained unclear whether rounds fired by the Marines hit or killed anyone, and they did not know if shots were also fired by others protecting the mission, including private security guards and local police.
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The latest cancellations are an extension of previous disruptions. On March 2, the US had also canceled all visa and American Citizen Services appointments at its embassy in Islamabad and consulates in Karachi and Lahore.
A day earlier, on March 1, the US mission in Pakistan issued a security alert saying it was monitoring ongoing demonstrations at the Lahore and Karachi consulates, as well as calling for further protests outside the embassy in Islamabad and the consulate in Peshawar. US government personnel were asked to limit their movements until further notice.
Read more: Pakistanis return via Balochistan borders
Meanwhile, the broader US-Israel conflict with Iran shows no signs of abating. US CENTCOM said in a post on X that US forces have destroyed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps facilities, air defenses, missile and drone launch sites and military airfields.
Two drones also struck the US embassy in Riyadh early Tuesday, causing a minor fire and minor property damage, according to Saudi officials. No one was injured and the building was believed to be largely empty at the time. The US Embassy subsequently issued shelter-in-place notices for Riyadh, Jeddah and Dhahran and restricted non-essential travel to military installations in the region.
