Australian honorary consulates shut down in Lahore, Karachi

Australia issues special instructions to citizens, diplomats in backdrop of Davis controversy.

ISLAMABAD: The Australian government shut down its honorary consulates in Lahore and Karachi on Monday citing security concerns, reported Express 24/7 correspondent Sohail Chaudhry.

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade also advised diplomats in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan to move to safer places. They further advised their citizens and diplomats in the country not to take pictures of sensitive installations in the country and stressed that they should follow Pakistani laws under all circumstances.

The department expressed concerns that due to the situation in the country riots can break out any time and therefore citizens and diplomats should be careful, adding further that they should not travel on the constitutional avenue in Islamabad due to fear of attacks.

The department warned Australian citizens in Pakistan that in case of a crime like murder or rape, they would not be able to get their citizens or diplomats out of prison, reports Sohail.

This move comes in the backdrop of heightened diplomatic tensions between Pakistan and the US on the issue of Raymond Davis, a US consular employee accused of killing two Pakistanis in Lahore. The US has been pressurising Pakistan to release Davis as he had diplomatic immunity and shot at the two men in self-defence. Pakistan has so far refused to comply to these demands stating that the law should be allowed to take its course as the case is currently subjudice. The Davis issue has drawn strong anti-American reactions from the public.