Terror threat closes British High Commission
A terrorist threat forced the British High Commission in Pakistan to close and the US Embassy to postpone a reception marking American Independence Day, officials said.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Masood Khan said Pakistan was giving “full protection” to the diplomatic missions in the capital, Islamabad.
He declined to give details of the nature of the threat.
“Security around these two missions has been beefed up,” Khan told a news conference. “There’s no cause for worry. All the precautionary steps have been taken.”
He said the British mission had been temporarily closed. It was not immediately clear when it would reopen.
A US Embassy official said the threat was against the diplomatic enclave in the capital where most foreign missions are based, rather than against a particular embassy.
The official said a reception for foreign diplomats and Pakistani government officials scheduled at the US Embassy’s high-security compound was postponed today – a day after Independence Day.
The embassy was closed for the holiday today.
Pakistan is a key ally of Washington and the UK in the war on terror, and US diplomatic facilities have been targeted in the past, particularly in the volatile southern city of Karachi.
