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U.S. ordering personnel out of Pakistan

Hospital staff transport a casket containing the body of one of two Americans killed in a church attack Sunday in Islamabad.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The State Department has ordered all non-essential government personnel and family members of diplomats to leave Pakistan, citing threats against American interests, the spokesman Philip Reeker said Friday.

The decision followed the closure of the U.S. embassy in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo on Thursday due to "unverified" threats, said Reeker.

The U.S. embassy in Islamabad and consulates elsewhere in Pakistan also were closed to the public Friday and will remain shut down through Monday.

Threats discerned from "ongoing intelligence" in and out of Pakistan prompted a "heightened level of concern" and Friday's decision, a senior State Department official told CNN.

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Five people, including the wife and daughter of a U.S. diplomat, died in a grenade attack Sunday on a church near the U.S. Embassy. Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped in January and later killed by his captors.

White House officials and Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, have said these incidents are likely in reaction to his decision to support the U.S.-led war against terrorism. Recent threats are coming from Islamic fundamentalists, U.S. officials said.

While the threats were "not specific to time or date," the official said "an accumulation of intelligence ... makes you feel it's more than random."

"There's a full monty of people out there" that might endanger Americans, said the official.

Reeker said Secretary of State Colin Powell called Musharraf on Friday to explain the U.S. decision and to stress the move did not reflect a lack of U.S. confidence in the Pakistani leader.

"We really appreciate the efforts of President Musharraf and his government," said Reeker. "We believe the war against terrorism in Pakistan is far from over and that we will be able to carry it on with greater focus if our dependents are not present in U.S. facilities there."

'About face' from previous directives

The recommendation to remove non-essential U.S. personnel from Pakistan came days after U.S. Ambassador Wendy Chamberlain decided such a move was unnecessary.

Following the grenade attack, Chamberlain approved "authorized" departures -- allowing state employees and their families to leave Pakistan temporarily at the U.S. government's expense.

The State Department had issued a similar policy in effect from September 18, 2001, through January 29, 2002, for non-essential U.S. employees and their dependents in Pakistan, Yemen, Turkmenistan and Indonesia. Officials estimate 500 people chose to leave their posts.

U.S. officials made an "about face" this week after few people responded to Chamberlain's latest directive, according to a senior State Department official.

Chamberlain

The return of employees and their dependents in recent months and the deployment of an unspecified number of "temporary duty officers" to U.S. missions since the U.S. military campaign in Afghanistan began has raised the U.S. profile in Pakistan, officials said.

Islamabad was "more peaceful" for Americans, but the security situation in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi was "far more dangerous," the senior State Department official said. Pearl was abducted in Karachi, where American officials usually travel with armed guards.

Sunday's attack on a church could signal a shift in tactics, officials said. Now that security at official U.S. facilities has increased, officials expressed concern that terrorists may attack other places frequented by Americans, such as clubs, restaurants, places of worship, schools and outdoor recreation events.

The decision to close the U.S. embassy in Bosnia followed threats "date specific" for Thursday, a State Department official said. Officials will decide this weekend whether to reopen the facility on Monday, said Reeker.

"We were unable to obtain additional information to enhance the credibility" of the Bosnia threat, the official said. "However, in light of what happened on Sunday in Pakistan, the embassy decided to play it safe."

-- CNN State Department Producer Elise Labott contributed to this report.