PNN – The US State Department announced that it will close its consulate in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network; The US State Department announced on Wednesday that it will close its consulate in Peshawar, the capital of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northwestern Pakistan, due to concerns for the safety of its staff.
The closure will be phased in, after which responsibility for diplomatic engagement with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be transferred to the US Embassy in Islamabad, according to the Hill.
Pakistan witnessed violent clashes between protesters and security forces in the city of Karachi in early March. The protesters demonstrated a day after the Israeli and American attacks on Iran and attempted to storm the US consulate. In these clashes, 22 people were killed and more than 120 others were injured.
The Hill news agency, close to the US Congress, wrote that these demonstrations were held in support of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, who was assassinated by the US and Israel on February 28. After the martyrdom of Ayatollah Khamenei, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said in a statement: Pakistan stands with the Iranian people in this moment of grief and sorrow and shares their grief. Pakistan has acted as a mediator between Iran and the United States in recent months and has hosted several rounds of negotiations.