TOI correspondent from Washington: The US State Department on Monday announced closure of its consulate in Peshawar, a move that underscores a striking contradiction in the Trump administration’s Pakistan policy: warm rhetoric and gushing praise at the top, but a steady drawdown of diplomatic infrastructure on the ground.
The decision, framed by officials as a matter of “safety” and “efficient resource management,” will transfer responsibility for engagement in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to the US embassy in Islamabad, roughly 114 miles away. The closure comes even as Trump has publicly praised Pakistan’s leadership, lavishing unusual accolades on the country’s “field marshall,” (sic) whom Trump has taken a fancy to, for his help as an intermediary with Teheran.
