US, British embassies reopen in Pakistan
Pakistan Times Punjab Bureau Report

ISLAMABAD: The US and British embassies in Pakistan resumed full operations Thursday after security at diplomatic missions was fortified in the wake of recent threats.

The Saudi consulate in Karachi, however, was again closed to the public due to security reasons.

"The High Commission is open for full service," British High Commission spokesman Tim Handley said.

The US embassy, which resumed its visa service yesterday, was also working normally. "Both visa section and the embassy are open today (Thursday)," an embassy official confirmed.

The recent threats forced staff to cancel a Fourth of July celebration at the US Embassy, which like the British mission is located in the high-security diplomatic enclave of Islamabad.

Anonymous telephone calls threatening rocket attacks triggered the simultaneous shutdown of US and British missions on Monday, while the visa section of the Saudi consulate in Karachi was briefly closed.

The US and British missions had also received several threatening e-mails over the last month, a Pakistani security official said Wednesday.

The Saudi mission in Karachi was again closed to the public today despite remarks by President Pervez Musharraf that shutting embassies was unnecessary and played into the hands of the extremists.●