US consulates in Lahore, Karachi to resume services from July 20

ISLAMABAD: The United States will restart regular consular operations at its consulates in Lahore and Karachi from July 20, 2026, the US Embassy in Islamabad said in a statement on Wednesday.

According to the embassy, the two missions will resume services for US citizens and will also process non-immigrant visa applications. Consular operations at both posts had remained suspended since March after violent protests linked to the outbreak of the US-Israel war with Iran.

In Karachi, 10 people were killed on March 1 when protesters clashed with law enforcement near the US Consulate on Mai Kolachi Road. Police used teargas and baton-charge to disperse the crowd, while US Marines were reported to have opened fire on protesters. Similar protests were also held in Islamabad, where at least two protesters were killed and more than 30 others were injured in clashes with law enforcement near the Diplomatic Enclave.

After the unrest, the US State Department on March 4 ordered non-emergency personnel at the Karachi and Lahore consulates, along with their family members, to leave Pakistan over security concerns. In May, the department also announced the phased closure of its consulate in Peshawar and said its functions would be shifted to the embassy in Islamabad. At the time, The Independent reported that the move had been under consideration for more than a year as part of a wider downsizing of US federal agencies and was not linked to the Iran war.