PESHAWAR, March 27: The heavily-protected US Consulate in Peshawar was closed on Monday due to security reasons, a senior police official confirmed to Dawn. The official, requesting he not be named, said that the consulate had been temporarily closed and its staff moved to Islamabad.

He however, declined to state the reason behind the closure of the consulate. “We have been told that it’s temporary,” the official said.

Home Secretary Badshah Gul Wazir expressed ignorance about the closure.

He said that security had been beefed up in the light of federal interior ministry’s directive amid public protests over blasphemous cartoons of Holy Prophet (PBHU).

“But there was nothing that seemed to suggest that there was any imminent threat to its security,” Mr Wazir said.

There was no word from the consulate itself. An attendant at the consulate that is located inside the heavily guarded military cantonment, said there was no-one inside to speak to.

But a private TV channel quoting sources from inside the consulate said that it had received phone threats from militants.