Woman sneaking a grenade into Pakistani consulate in Afghanistan arrested

KABUL: Pakistan on Sunday closed its consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif after a woman was caught trying to sneak a hand grenade into the consulate, said the Foreign Office spokesperson.

He said,”The woman was arrested by the police and is under investigation to find perpetrators of the failed attack.”

The spokesperson said that the Pakistan’s embassy in Kabul demanded the Afghan officials to provide foolproof security to its consulate General in Mazar-e-Sharif and to share the findings of its investigation at the earliest.

He said that Pakistani consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif would remain closed till the provision of fool-proof security by the Afghan authorities.

Earlier, Pakistan had closed its Consulate General in Jalalabad city in Nangarhar province of Afghanistan over meddling in the diplomatic office’s internal affairs by local officials on August 31.

“The Embassy wishes to inform that the Consulate General will remain closed until the security arrangements are complete to the satisfaction of the embassy,” the Pakistani embassy in Kabul had said in a press release.

The embassy had said the decision had been made in reaction to provincial governor Hayatullah Hayat’s intervention in activities of the consulate.

“The Embassy of Pakistan in Kabul deeply regrets undue intervention of Governor Hayatullah Hayat in the functioning of the Consulate General of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in Jalalabad, which is complete violation of the Vienna Convention of the Consular Relations 1963.”