US closes Peshawar consulate despite soft stance on Pakistan

TOI reporter in Washington: The U.S. State Department announced on Monday it was closing its consulate in Peshawar, a move that underscored a glaring contradiction in the Trump administration’s Pakistan policy: warm words and gushing praise from the top, but the diplomatic infrastructure there has been steadily shrinking.The decision, which officials said was motivated by “security” and “efficient resource management,” will shift responsibility for involvement in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, about 114 miles away. The shutdown came as Trump publicly praised Pakistan’s leadership and gave the country’s “field marshal” (sic) the unusual accolade. Trump favors him for his help as a go-between with Tehran. The State Department cited a familiar set of reasons: cost savings, restructuring, changing logistical needs and security concerns for closing the Peshawar consulate. Officials also noted that the outpost’s strategic role has diminished since the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, when Peshawar was a key logistics hub. Security concerns were also raised, with recent unrest in the area increasing the risk to personnel. The closure of Peshawar is the first permanent closure of a U.S. diplomatic mission abroad during Trump’s second term. In the Middle East and South Asia, several U.S. consulates have temporarily suspended operations due to regional tensions, particularly in the wake of military escalations involving Iran and the “Global Warning” advisory issued earlier this year. Meanwhile, visa services are limited for many positions due to expanded restrictions and “extreme vetting” policies.Behind these operational shifts lies a deeper shift: the systematic downsizing of America’s diplomatic ranks. More than 200 career diplomats were laid off on Monday, including about 246 foreign service officers, in the latest phase of sweeping “force reductions.” These cuts disproportionately target departments responsible for refugees, human rights and democracy promotion. The administration has publicly justified this by deeming these offices “vulnerable to ideological capture,” signaling a deliberate departure from the traditional pillars of U.S. diplomacy.The upheaval has been exacerbated by the dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), long a cornerstone of American soft power. Many of the State Department’s roles were deemed redundant as its functions were reduced or absorbed.In recent days, employees have reportedly come to work with instructions to bring passports and government equipment and be prepared to hand them over at short notice, a process that has fueled what one insider described as a “quiet atmosphere of panic.”The layoffs coincide with a significant shift in the administration’s approach to high-stakes diplomacy. Key negotiations — especially those involving Iran’s nuclear program — no longer rely primarily on career diplomats and subject matter experts, but are increasingly being handled by political loyalists and informal envoys, including Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.None had formal diplomatic training or deep technical expertise in nuclear nonproliferation, an area that typically requires years of professional experience.As a top diplomat, Marco Rubio is dealing with an unusually wide range of affairs. In addition to serving as secretary of state, he has multiple overlapping responsibilities for national security and policy coordination, raising questions about the administration’s bandwidth and strategic coherence. On Tuesday, he spoke in place of White House Press Secretary Carolyn Leavitt, who is on maternity leave. There were no meaningful pauses in a raucous briefing. “Guys, this is so confusing,” Rubio said at one point while dealing with the raucous media.