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The only 'specific threat' in Pakistan is this one
Americans warned not to travel to Pakistan and non-essential staff withdrawn after specific threat to consulate in country's second-largest city

The US state department has pulled out diplomats from its consulate in Lahore, Pakistan, and warned citizens against travelling to the country.

Washington said it had received a specific threat to its diplomatic mission in Pakistan's second-largest city and said it had ordered non-essential staff to leave.

In a travel warning, the state department said the presence of several foreign and indigenous terrorist groups posed a potential danger to US citizens throughout Pakistan.

The personnel drawdown at the Lahore consulate was a precautionary measure and not related to the recent closures of numerous US diplomatic missions in the Muslim world, two US officials said.

The consulate in Lahore was scheduled to be closed for the Eid holiday from Thursday through Sunday and no reopening had been scheduled, one of the officials said.

The officials were not authorised to discuss the order by name and requested anonymity.


Comment: This is CIA-speak for 'we're making this stuff up to spook people'.


A spokeswoman at the main US embassy in Islamabad, Meghan Gregonis, said: "We received information regarding a threat to the consulate. As a precautionary measure we are undertaking a drawdown of all except emergency personnel."

The US was evacuating staff to Islamabad, said Gregonis. Emergency personnel would stay in Lahore and embassy officials did not know when the consulate would reopen. The US would continue to evaluate the threat, which Gregonis said was specific to Lahore.

Earlier this week 19 US diplomatic outposts in 16 countries in the Middle East and Africa were closed to the public through Saturday and non-essential personnel were evacuated from the US embassy in Yemen after US intelligence officials said they had intercepted a recent message from al-Qaida's top leader about plans for a major terror attack.

None of the consulates in Pakistan or the US embassy in Islamabad were affected by the earlier closures.