Pakistan closes its Consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif after woman tries to enter building with hand grenade

Islamabad: Pakistan on Sunday closed its Consulate in Afghanistan's Mazar-e-Sharif city after a woman tried to enter the building with a hand grenade hiding in her bag, the Foreign Office said. Mazar-e-Sharif is the capital of Balkh province.

"Today, the Pakistan Consulate General in Mazar-e-Sharif was closed when an Afghan woman was caught trying to sneak a hand grenade into the Consulate in her personal bag," the FO said in a statement. It said the woman was arrested by the police and investigations are on to find the perpetrators of the failed attack.

The Embassy of Pakistan in Kabul urged the Afghanistan Foreign Office to provide fool-proof security to its Consulate General in Mazar-e-Sharif and to share the findings of its investigation at the earliest.

Pakistan Consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif will remain closed for visa services till the provision of fool-proof security by the authorities in Mazar-e-Sharif to prevent any untoward incident in the Consulate General, according to FO.

Last year, Pakistan's Consulate in Jalalabad remained closed for several weeks due to security reasons.