U.S. Embassy in Islamabad Is Attacked
1979-11-21
The attack occurred amid danger to American missions across the region. The embassy in Tehran had been seized on 4 November, and the takeover of the Grand Mosque in Mecca on 20 November generated false reports of American involvement. As the Islamabad assault unfolded, Washington instructed its remaining channel in Tehran to demand an end to those allegations, warning that they could further inflame the crisis. [1]
Fire swept through the American embassy in Islamabad on 21 November 1979 after a mob attacked the compound. Four members of its staff died. Ambassadors elsewhere in the capital feared that their own staff could be attacked and began pressing Pakistan to improve protection. [2]
They met on 24 November, and their senior representative, West German ambassador Ulrich Scheske, delivered a formal protest to Pakistani officials the following day. The diplomats cited inadequate police protection, the late arrival of the army and fire brigade, and the absence of effective warning. [2]
The ambassadors insisted that Pakistan was responsible for protecting diplomatic missions and demanded immediate improvements, with confirmation that the measures had been carried out. [2]
The diplomatic corps acted on its own initiative; the American ambassador had not organized the protest. Scheske also withheld the aide mémoire's text from general circulation, fearing that publication of its sharp language would make a constructive Pakistani response harder. [2]
Related Diplomats
Sources
- Washington Rejects False Reports Linking the United States to the Mecca Seizure
FRUS 1977–1980, volume XIX, document 381, November 21, 1979, paragraphs 2–3 and footnote 2
- Embassy telegram on the diplomatic corps’ protest — FRUS, document 389
Deaths; meetings of 24–25 November; security failures and host responsibility
- U.S. Embassy Islamabad memorial garden
Staff killed in the 1979 attack
- 2017 Year in Review — incoming ambassadors, printed page 73
- Secondary ambassador chronology and biographical context
Related Reading
Cite This Article
U.S. Embassy in Islamabad Is Attacked. Chanceries Diplopedia. Record dd3e00c29946db3ea8eb. https://chanceries.org/research/history/embassy-attack-10c1af7bad/