The Embassy of the United States in Islamabad is the

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually den ...

of the United States in

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 ...

. The embassy in

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...

is one of the largest

U.S. embassies The United States has the second most diplomatic missions of any country in the world after Mainland China, including 166 of the 193 member countries of the United Nations, as well as observer state Vatican City and non-member countries Kosovo ...

in the world, in terms of personnel, and houses a chancery and complex of office buildings. The embassy complex also houses a contingent of military officials and intelligence personnel in addition to diplomatic and non-diplomatic staff.

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

also maintains Consulates 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 c ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th List of largest cities, most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is th ...

and

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

. The American diplomatic mission is headed by

Donald Blome Donald Armin Blome is an American diplomat serving as the United States Ambassador to Pakistan since 2022. He served as the United States Ambassador to Tunisia from 2019 to 2022. Early life and education Blome received a Bachelor of Arts and ...

, the '' Chargé d'affaires ad interim'' who has been overlooking the mission's objectives after the departure of David Hale in 2018. The first Embassy of the United States to Pakistan was located in the city of

, then the capital of Pakistan. The embassy was relocated to Islamabad after the city was made the new capital in 1960, and rebuilt in 1979. In 2015, a new embassy complex was completed at a cost of $736 million.

History

The first U.S. embassy in Pakistan was established on August 15, 1947 in Karachi, then-capital of Pakistan. When the capital was moved to Islamabad in 1960, a new embassy was constructed there. After being burned to the ground by

extremists Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied sha ...

in 1979, security at the rebuilt embassy was heightened. Security was again significantly increased in the wake of the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

in 2001. In 2011, the new complex began construction. On 9 August 2013, the

United States State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nat ...

evacuated most diplomats and all non-emergency staff from the consulate in Lahore, and U.S. citizens were warned not to travel there due to terror concerns. In August 2015, a new embassy complex was inaugurated in the Diplomatic Enclave which would house the embassy, replacing the previous building. The complex was built at a cost of $736 million, with $85 million invested into the local economy by the purchase of construction supply from Pakistan contractors and suppliers.US embassy: New building inaugurated
/ref> The embassy is reported to be the one of the most expensive diplomatic missions of the United States, second only to the Embassy of the United States in Baghdad. The embassy was designed to accommodate a staff of 2,500 people. Ambassador Paul W. Jones is currently the

Chargé d'Affaires A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassado ...

''ad interim'', as of September, 2018.

Gallery

File:U.S. Embassy in Islamabad.png, Former Chancery of the U.S Embassy in

File:OldUSConsulateKarachi.jpg, A view of the former US embassy and consulate in

, Pakistan (picture from 1979)

References

External links

Embassy of the United States in IslamabadVisa Information For USAConsulate General of the United States in KarachiConsulate General of the United States in LahoreConsulate General of the United States in Peshawar
{{Authority control

Pakistan–United States relations Buildings and structures in Islamabad

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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Rebuilt buildings and structures in Pakistan

History

See also

Gallery

References

External links