US withdraws personnel from Lahore consulate

(Vatican Radio) The U.S. State Department has warned Americans not to travel to Pakistan and ordered nonessential government personnel to leave the U.S. Consulate in Lahore because of a specific threat to that diplomatic mission. The US State Department said that the precautionary measure being taken was due to the presence of several foreign and indigenous terrorist groups posing a potential danger to U.S. citizens throughout Pakistan.
The closure of the consulate in Lahore comes as Pakistan celebrated the Eid holiday.
A spokeswoman at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad said the U.S. was evacuating staff to Islamabad and that emergency personnel will stay in Lahore.
It is not known when the consulate will reopen.
Officials noted the personnel drawdown at the Lahore consulate wasn't related to the recent closures of numerous U.S. diplomatic missions in the Middle East and Africa due to threats of a major terror attack. Listen