US to permanently close its consulate in Peshawar, says report

ISLAMABAD: The United States has decided to permanently close its consulate in Peshawar, according to a report by The Independent cited by Dawn on Thursday.

The consulate, which has served as the US' closest diplomatic mission to the Afghan border, played a significant role as a primary operations and logistics hub during the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. The closure decision was communicated to Congress by the US State Department, which stated that shutting down the consulate would result in annual savings of $7.5 million without compromising the advancement of US national interests in Pakistan.

The Independent reported that a copy of the official notification regarding the closure was obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday. According to the British publication, discussions about closing the consulate had been ongoing for over a year, beginning when the Trump administration initiated a downsizing of nearly all federal agencies. The report emphasized that this decision is not connected to the ongoing conflict involving Iran.

The joint US-Israeli military action against Iran, which began on February 28, has led to protests in several cities and prompted the US Consulate in Karachi to suspend its operations, according to The Independent. However, the permanent closure of the Peshawar consulate is not related to these recent events.

The Peshawar consulate has historically been a strategic location for US diplomatic and operational activities in the region, particularly due to its proximity to Afghanistan. The State Department's notification to Congress underlines that the closure is part of broader cost-saving measures and administrative downsizing, rather than a response to recent geopolitical developments.