New Delhi: The US will shut its consulate in Peshawar in a phased manner, the State Department said Tuesday, citing safety concerns and a resource management move that marks the first time an overseas diplomatic mission will be closed as part of the Trump administration’s reorganisation plan.
The closure had been under consideration for about a year and was first announced in March 2026. It is unrelated to the West Asia war, which triggered protests across several parts of Pakistan, including in Karachi and Peshawar, temporarily forcing the suspension of consulate operations there, the Associated Press reported.
The State Department said in a statement that shutting the Peshawar consulate would save approximately $7.5 million annually without undermining Washington’s ability to pursue its national interests in Pakistan.
“This decision reflects our commitment to the safety of our diplomatic personnel and efficient resource management,” the State Department said, adding: “We will continue to engage meaningfully with the people and officials of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to foster economic ties, promote regional security, and advance the interests of the American people.”
For decades, the Peshawar consulate was Washington’s closest diplomatic outpost to the Afghan border, and a critical hub for logistics and operations before and after the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan.
The closure is the latest in a series of retrenchments at the State Department under the Trump administration, which last year dismissed several thousand diplomatic personnel and oversaw the near-total dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
Although the decision predates the recent unrest, it was announced a week after protests erupted in Pakistan on 1 March following the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in joint US-Israeli strikes.
Clashes between demonstrators and security forces near the US consulate in Karachi left at least nine people dead, according to local media. Two days later, the State Department ordered nonessential personnel and family members to leave its consulates in Lahore and Karachi, citing safety risks.
The Peshawar consulate has long operated in a volatile environment. It was repeatedly targeted by militants during the height of the insurgency in the early 2010s.
In 2010, militants attacked the facility, detonating explosives and attempting to breach its perimeter. The following year, Pakistani Taliban (TTP) bombed a US consulate convoy in Peshawar, killing one Pakistani national and wounding at least 10 others. It was the first strike against America in Pakistan since the killing of terrorist Osama bin Laden in a raid by US forces in Abbottabad on 2 May 2011. The TTP claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the bombing was retaliation for bin Laden’s death. Washington briefly shuttered its missions across Pakistan after the Abbottabad raid but resumed operations within days.