The US Department of State announced on Wednesday that non-essential American government employees and their families stationed at the US consulates in Karachi and Lahore have been instructed to leave Pakistan due to security concerns. The directive was confirmed in a statement released by the US Embassy in Pakistan.

According to the embassy statement, the decision applies specifically to personnel at the consulates in Lahore and Karachi, while operations at the US Embassy in Islamabad remain unchanged. The embassy emphasized that the move was taken as a precautionary measure in response to unspecified security risks.

No further details were provided regarding the nature of the threats or the duration of the departure order, and the State Department did not indicate any change in its diplomatic presence in the Pakistani capital.