US missions in Pakistan to remain closed

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US missions in Pakistan to remain closed

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All US missions in Pakistan will remain closed on Friday because of protests.

21 September,2012 09:01 am

The spokesperson of the US State Department, Victoria Nuland has said that all the US missions in Pakistan will remain closed on Friday because of the national holoday announced by the Government of Pakistan as a sign of protest against a sacriligious movie on youtube.The Consulates remained closed on Thursday as well, she informed adding that the staff was safe and well-protected.As you likely saw on the news, there were large protests in Islamabad today involving some tens of thousands of people. There was some limited violence, but the protestors have been now pushed back away from the diplomatic enclave, she mentioned.The US administration, she revealed, was keeping a close eye on the situation. We are, obviously, continuing to monitor the situation closely. Cooperation with the Pakistanis on security has been good, and we will continue to work closely with Pakistani authorities to ensure the safety of our facilities and personnel, she stressed.When asked how close the protestors - bent upon going to the US embassy to protest before they were dispersed by law enforcement authorities- could reach in Islamabad during Thursdays demonstration, she said they couldnt enter the enclave. My understanding is that the Pakistani services did a good job keeping them pushed back from the diplomatic enclave, that they didn’t get very close, she informed.It may be mentioned here that the US has already issued a new travel advisory for Pakistan, whereby the US citizens have been advised against traveling to Pakistan because of the fear of attacks from extremists. The diplomatic staff and the US citizens residing in Pakistan have also been cautioned to avoid unnecessary exposure to public places.- Contributed by Awais Saleem, Dunya News correspondent in Washington, DC