US resumes ‘regular’ consular services in Karachi, 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 in the wake of anti-US protests following attacks on Iran.

Consular services in the provincial capitals were suspended in March after violent anti-US protests erupted following US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Protesters breached the outer perimeter of the consulate in Karachi, where US Marine security guards opened fire, resulting in the deaths of at least 10 protesters, according to local officials, prompting the US mission to suspend routine consular operations due to security concerns.

In a post on X today, the US Embassy in Islamabad said the consulates in Lahore and Karachi will reopen for regular consular services, including US citizen services and non-immigrant visa processing, from July 20.

In a video message attached to the post, an embassy official warned against paying outside sources for visa interview appointments or applications and encouraged citizens to apply through the embassy’s website.

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

The US State Department had asked non-emergency personnel and family members of government personnel from 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 Peshawar and transferred responsibility for diplomatic engagement in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to the US Embassy Islamabad.