ISLAMABAD: US Ambassador David Hale on Wednesday expressed deep regret on the death of two US Consulate General Peshawar members in a terrorist attack.
“Yesterday we suffered a terrible loss. Two of our colleagues in Consulate General Peshawar, Abid Shah and Faisal Khan, died as a result of a terrorist attack. They were an integral and valued part of the Embassy and Consulate team and family. We are deeply saddened by their loss,” the ambassador said in a press release. Faisal Khan was the senior-most Pakistani employee in Peshawar. He joined the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) in 1998 and worked to reduce poppy cultivation in FATA and was instrumental in enabling the government of Pakistan eliminate poppy cultivation in several districts.
Abid Shah joined the Consulate in Peshawar in 2009 as a Surveillance Detection Specialist. When that programme ended in 2012, he became a security escort and then joined the motorpool in 2014. “These horrific killings remind us of the inherent dangers we all face in the course of our service, and especially of those faced by our local staff colleagues. We all know and accept these risks because of the importance of the work we do,” Hale said, adding that the entire mission team and all of the US agencies represented here, at all four of our posts, Pakistani and American alike and equally, display an extraordinary commitment to the Mission family and its work, despite these risks.
“That makes me very proud. Abid and Faisal were working for a better Pakistan. They, as well as all of the INL staff in Peshawar, faced constant danger in their work, and they knew it. Nonetheless, they were always enthusiastic and very proud of their achievements and contributions to Pakistan’s stability, made under the most difficult of circumstances. Our thoughts and hearts are with the families of Abid and Faisal,” said the ambassador.
