US pulls diplomats from Lahore
US officials warn Americans not to travel to Pakistan and withdraw staff from Lahore because of a specific threat.
The state department said the presence of several foreign and Pakistan-based terrorist groups posed a potential danger to US citizens across the country.
The essential US staff who have to remain in Lahore have been told to limit their travel within Pakistan.
The move is precautionary and unrelated to the recent closures of numerous US diplomatic missions across the region, two US officials said.
“We received information regarding a threat to the consulate. As a precautionary measure, we are undertaking a drawdown of all except emergency personnel,” said a Meghan Gregonis, spokeswoman at the US embassy in Islamabad, where staff are being evacuated to.
Earlier this week, the UK evacuated its embassy staff from Yemen, and 19 US diplomatic outposts in 16 countries in the Middle East and Africa were closed to the public through to Saturday.
Non-essential personnel were evacuated from the US embassy in Yemen after intelligence officials said they had intercepted a recent message from al-Qaeda’s top leader about plans for a major terror attack.
None of the consulates in Pakistan or the US embassy in Islamabad were affected by the earlier closures.