Remarks of American Ambassador David Hale on Deaths of Two U.S. Mission Employees

Remarks of American Ambassador David Hale on Deaths of Two U.S. Mission Employees

Islamabad, March 02, 2016 -- 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.

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.  He was instrumental in enabling the Government of Pakistan to eliminate poppy cultivation in several districts.    He was known for his great sense of humor, love of his work, and overall for being a wonderful person.  We join his wife, three daughters, and son in mourning his death.

Abid Shah joined the Consulate in Peshawar in 2009 as a Surveillance Detection Specialist.  When that program ended in 2012, he became a security escort and then joined the motorpool in 2014.  Abid Shah is one of eleven siblings, and leaves behind a wife and seven children.  Abid Shah was a family man of deep faith, always quick with a smile and a handshake.  We mourn his death, as well. 

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.  The entire Mission team, and all of the U.S. agencies represented here, at all four of our posts, Pakistani and American alike and equally, display an extraordinary commitment to the Mission family and our 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.