August 10, 2002	Saturday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 30,1423

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ISLAMABAD, Aug 9: The United States consulate general in Karachi will not reopen until a “mutually agreeable” settlement on the consulate’s security is reached.

“The US consulate general in Karachi is closed until the consulate and Sindh government can arrive at a mutually agreeable way to address the consulate’s security needs without causing inconvenience to Karachi motorists,” the secretary for cultural affairs, Linda Cheatham, told Dawn.

The US authorities had closed down the consulate on Monday, following a decision of the Sindh government to allow traffic on the Abdullah Haroon Road which had been partially closed after a car-bomb attack near the consulate on June 14.

The issue came up at the State Department’s briefing in Washington on Monday.

The deputy spokesperson of the State Department, Philip Reeker, had said that the consulate closure was linked to the opening of two-way traffic on the Abdullah Haroon Road.

Mr Reeker had said that the northbound lanes of that road had been closed following the June 14 car-bomb attack that had wounded many consulate employees and killed many innocent Pakistani bystanders.

He had also said that talks with the Sindh government had been going on but the consulate would remain closed until a mutually accepted agreement could be reached with the provincial government to provide security measures that would be sufficient for the consulate.