The Consulate General of the United States in Karachi; sd, آمريڪي قونصل خانو، ڪراچي is located in the

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

province in Pakistan and represents the interests of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

government in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

and nearby surrounding areas. It is the United States' largest Consulate General, and is larger, in terms of both personnel and facilities, than many U.S. Embassies. Technically a part of Mission Pakistan, and reporting through the Embassy of the United States in Islamabad.

History

The international, historical, and cultural bilateral relationship between the

Islamic Republic of Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

and the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

. Roughly two months of its independence after the departure of the subcontinent by Great Britain, the United States established relations with Pakistan on 20 October 1947. The consulate was formerly the embassy of

built in 1955. The Karachi CG operates with a significant degree of autonomy when compared to other U.S. Consulates. This is due in part to several large U.S. government regional centers housed within the Consulate, which provide support in the areas of security, construction, and financial matters to a number of other U.S Diplomatic posts located throughout

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

Location

Previously the consulate was located at Abdullaha Haroon Road near Karachi Marriott Hotel. Due to security reasons US government purchased 20 acres of land from the

Karachi Port Trust The Karachi Port Trust (KPT) ( ur, ) is a Pakistani federal government agency under the administrative control of the Federal Maritime Secretary that oversees the operations of the Port of Karachi, one of South Asia's largest and busiest de ...

in 2005 and ground breaking took place in May 2008. After two years of construction work consulate shifted to the bigger place located at New TPX Area, Mai Kolachi Road.

Consul General

Mark Stroh is currently serving as Consul General of Consulate General of the United States in Karachi.

Attacks

There have been a series of attacks on the U.S. consulate in Karachi,

. The attacks occurred intermittently from June 2002 to March 2006, due to regional instability caused by the start of the War on Terrorism. The US consulate has been described as a tempting target for

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

June 2002 attack

On the morning of June 14, 2002, a truck with a fertilizer bomb driven by a suicide bomber was detonated outside the United States

Consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth coun ...

in Karachi, Pakistan. Twelve people were killed and 51 injured, all Pakistanis. A group called al-Qanoon claimed responsibility for the attack. However, the incident is believed to have been connected with

al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

and the US

War on Terror The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international Counterterrorism, counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campa ...

although no conclusive links were proven. Several people were arrested in the aftermath of the attack, and were reported to be members of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, a large insurgent organisation. In November 2004, the alleged mastermind of the attack, Naveed-ul Hassan, was arrested in Pakistan.

February 2003 shooting

On February 28, 2003, gunmen killed two police officers and wounded five other officers and a civilian in front of the consulate. The attack was conducted from motorcycles, and was deliberately aimed at the paramilitary rangers who have taken over guard duties at the consulate from the Pakistani police.

March 2004 bomb plot

On March 15, 2004, there was another attempt to blow up a van in front of the consulate. A grey van was stolen the day before after the driver was shot in the leg. The same van with different plates was later found parked in front of the US Consulate at 7:15 am. When the driver of the parked van was questioned by the police, he claimed that the van had broken down. Soon after, the man was picked up by another car. The police investigated the van and discovered a large blue tank filled with nearly 200 gallons of

liquid explosive A liquid is a nearly incompressible fluid that conforms to the shape of its container but retains a (nearly) constant volume independent of pressure. As such, it is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, gas, an ...

s hooked up to a

timer A timer is a specialized type of clock used for measuring specific time intervals. Timers can be categorized into two main types. The word "timer" is usually reserved for devices that counts down from a specified time interval, while devices th ...

and two

detonator A detonator, frequently a blasting cap, is a device used to trigger an explosive device. Detonators can be chemically, mechanically, or electrically initiated, the last two being the most common. The commercial use of explosives uses electri ...

s. The device was deactivated.

March 2006 bombing

On March 2, 2006, a suicide car bomb killed four people and injured thirty outside the

Marriott Hotel Marriott Hotels & Resorts is Marriott International's brand of full-service hotels and resorts based in Bethesda, Maryland. As of June 30, 2020, there were 582 hotels and resorts with 205,053 rooms operating under the brand, in addition to 160 ...

in Karachi, which is about 20 yards from the consulate. Among the dead was David Foy, an American diplomat and three Pakistanis. It appears that Foy was the direct target of the bomber, who detonated his vehicle in the car park behind the consulate as Foy arrived. The bomb was reported to be the most powerful attack of its kind in Karachi, and it left a two-metre crater in the car park and destroyed at least ten nearby cars.

Notes

References

External links

United States Consulate General in KarachiOfficial Facebook Page of Consulate
{{coord missing, Karachi

Pakistan–United States relations