The under-construction “protection wall” around the United States Consulate in Peshawar was demolished by officials of the Peshawar Cantonment Board on Friday.
“It was illegal… was encroachment, therefore, had to be demolished,” said one of the official.
The wall, construction of which had begun a day ago on Khyber Road was being built to further tighten the security of the consulate.
The official said the Cantonment Board was going to lift all barricades blocking roads and routes connecting to the US Consulate with the rest of the city.
Over two dozen workers of the Peshawar Cantonment Board, equipped with construction and destruction tools, demolished the wall.
“There is no resistance from the US Consulate,” the officer said, adding that earlier one US Consulate official came and questioned the workers about the demolition but “he was informed that all these barricades and protection walls being built without any permission had to be demolished”.
The official said the destruction process took half an hour. However, the task proved to be a little hard as the material being used to build the wall was high quality. Before leaving the site, the officers said they would lift the remaining slabs and other barricades very shortly.
So far no statement has been issued by the US Consulate in Peshawar. High-ups in the civilian administration were also tightlipped about the incident.