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The U.S. Department of State will permanently close the U.S. consulate in Peshawar, Pakistan—shifting consular services for Americans and others to the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad—according to a notification the department sent to Congress. The department said it plans to save $7.5 million per year and described the consulate as the closest U.S. diplomatic mission to the Afghan border and a key operations and logistics point tied to Afghanistan before, during and after the 2001 invasion.
The State Department’s plan, notified to lawmakers this week, said it would carry out the closure without adversely affecting core U.S. national interests in Pakistan or its ability to assist U.S. citizens. In the notification, the department also said it would continue oversight of foreign assistance programs, with those functions handled through the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad rather than the Peshawar mission.
According to the notification obtained by The Associated Press, the decision has been under consideration for more than a year and came as the Trump administration began downsizing federal agencies. The State Department said the change is not related to the Iran war and the protests it has sparked in Pakistani cities, including Karachi and Peshawar, where U.S. consulates temporarily suspended operations.
The document tied the consulate closure to a broader State Department reorganization and earlier cuts to the department. AP reported that the administration’s last year’s reductions included dismissing several thousand diplomatic personnel and nearly dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development.
The notification said the Peshawar consulate would be the first overseas diplomatic mission closed entirely because of the State Department’s reorganization. It listed staffing at 18 American diplomats and other government personnel, and 89 local staff.
The State Department said it would spend $3 million to close the consulate. It said $1.8 million of that total would go toward relocating armored trailers that had been used as temporary office space, while the remainder would be used to move the consulate’s motor pool fleet, electronic and telecommunications equipment, and office furniture to the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad and the remaining consulates in Karachi and Lahore.
Because of the consulate’s proximity to the Afghan border and Kabul, the mission has functioned as a key “jumping-off” facility for overland travel into Afghanistan. The consulate has also served as a point of contact for American citizens in northwestern Pakistan and for Afghan nationals seeking U.S. assistance, tasks the department said would continue through Islamabad.
The State Department said consular services for American citizens and others would be handled by the embassy in Islamabad, about 114 miles (184 kilometers) away. The notification added that, even after closure, functions involving advancing U.S. national interests, assisting Americans, and overseeing foreign assistance programs would continue to be performed by U.S. Embassy Islamabad.
In the notification, the department said: “The closure would not adversely affect the mission’s ability to advance core U.S. national interests, assist U.S. citizens, or to conduct adequate oversight of foreign assistance programs because all of those functions would continue to be performed by U.S. Embassy Islamabad.”