ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): The US State Department has confirmed its plan to move the US Consulate General operations from Peshawar to the US Embassy in Islamabad as part of its gradual closing process.
An official statement confirmed that the authorities made this decision to protect diplomatic personnel while they needed to conduct their work more effectively.
All consular and diplomatic operations for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will now take place at the Islamabad embassy. The United States maintained its existing relationship with Pakistan even after it reduced its operations in Peshawar.
The US Mission will maintain its close collaboration with federal and provincial officials as both parties work toward their shared goals of economic development and security, and regional peace.
Officials also reaffirmed that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s diplomatic outreach to the citizens will proceed through different diplomatic methods despite the decrease in official operations in the provincial capital.
The United States operates a complete diplomatic mission network throughout Pakistan which includes its embassy in Islamabad and its two missions located in Karachi and Lahore.
The Peshawar consulate has previously faced temporary closures due to security concerns, and analysts view the latest move as part of a broader strategy to centralize operations while maintaining diplomatic engagement in key regions.
Passport services resume
Earlier, the Pakistani diplomatic missions in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had restored their passport operations after they temporarily stopped their services because of technical problems at the Directorate General of Immigration and Passports headquarters in Islamabad.
The Embassy of Pakistan in Riyadh and the Embassy of Pakistan in Abu Dhabi announced in official notices that passport operations returned to normal on May 5, 2026.
The embassies now open their doors during specific times for applicants who want to obtain or renew their passports. The restoration follows a recent disruption that affected passport services at Pakistan’s foreign missions because the central system in Islamabad experienced both technical and maintenance problems.
During the suspension, the missions told applicants to choose between online applications and waiting for additional information while they confirmed that services would start again when the problem was fixed.
The embassy officials explained that the service resumption will enable them to process outstanding applications while they support Pakistani citizens who need passport services at international locations.
The embassy has informed applicants to verify the official embassy websites for their operating hours and all procedural information before they come to the embassy.
