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| India-Pakistan | |
| Diplomats ready to flee Islamabad | |
| 2008-07-09 | |
| FOREIGN diplomats based in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, were reportedly preparing plans yesterday for an emergency evacuation as alarm grows over a resurgence of suicide bomb attacks by militants linked to al-Qa'ida and the Taliban. In the wake of Sunday night's devastating bomb blast in the heart of the capital, two of the country's leading newspapers said diplomats - already operating under heavy guard in a fortified diplomatic enclave - were discussing plans for emergency evacuations, should the need arise. For most countries represented in Islamabad, including Australia, the city is already a 'non-family' diplomatic post. A red alert was in force in Islamabad and other leading Pakistani cities last night, with strategic buildings and government offices under increased guard. Reports said plans for the emergency evacuation of diplomats were drawn up when 'Western embassies noticed unusual night-time activities of militants, some of whom had left messages against the foreigners and the Pakistani security forces in graffiti chalked on walls warning of (imminent) attacks'. Several foreign missions have significantly reduced staff, while others have abandoned their embassies and moved into heavily fortified hotels. Confirming the heightened security measures, one diplomat said: 'We have been advised to avoid going to market places, public parks, restaurants and other places.' Security officials blame Sunday night's bombing on the dominant Pakistan Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud. Optimism that the March election would usher in a new democratic spring of peace and reconciliation for Pakistan has been replaced by despondency, with many believing the situation is worse now than previously.
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| Posted by:3dc |
| #16 From Orbat.com Incidentally, Pakistan has three separate major intelligence agencies: the ISI, Army intelligence, and the civilian police Intelligence Bureau. Each has their own agenda. Doubtless they cooperate when ordered. But they are independent and do their own thing. We noted yesterday that according to a dispatch filed by Mandeep Singh Bajwa, this attack was the work of Army intelligence. the attack being on the Indian Embassy in Afghanistan. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2008-07-09 21:26 |
| #15 Thanks, John. I vaguely remember this stuff. (In 1972 I was dealing with the Baader-Meinhof gang and their BS, so was a little preoccupied, but do remember the jist.) Go, India! :-D |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2008-07-09 21:04 |
| #14 John Frum: Thanks for the history lesson. |
| Posted by: Charles 2008-07-09 20:31 |
| #13 One might expect more from the sixth largest county in the world. |
| Posted by: Knuckles Phinemble9190 2008-07-09 19:53 |
| #12 The last time Pakistan got India really mad, that would be in 1972, this is how it ended: The military dictator of the moment, that would be Gen. Yahya Khan, was sitting in a hole just dug behind the commander in chief`s house at army headquarters in Rawalpindi with a couple of sandbags over his head to protect him against Indian bombs. He had only one companion, Sultan Khan, his foreign secretary, and he asked his chief diplomat when he thought the Americans, led by his friend Richard Nixon, would come to save them. Nixon loved Yahya Khan, a gruff, Scotch-drinking man who liked to tap a cavalryman`s crop agaist his leg, and had helped the American president make the contacts that led to his historic trip to China to meet with Mao Tse-tung. But, of course, the Americans never came. Neither did the Chinese, who were pledging undying loyalty to Pakistan. They meant verbal and diplomatic loyalty, but Khan misunderstood. In fact, Khan misunderstood most everything, including what happened just before he climbed into his earthy new bomb shelter. He had been meeting with the U.S. ambassador, who was trying to tell him he was on his own, when the ambassador was literally pulled away by his military attache. That would be the famous pilot and Air Force general Charles (Chuck) Yeager. ``We`ve got to get out of here right now,`` said Yeager. Why? Yeager explained that for some fool reason Khan had ordered a few of his planes to attack airfields in India. Probably Khan thought a few explosions would persuade Nixon to send in the Marines. Now, said Yeager, the Indians are going to send in bombers and the Pakistanis were going to send up their entire air force to dogfight. When the Pakistanis landed to refuel, the Indian bombers would turn for home, but a second Indian wave would arrive and destroy Pakistan`s air force while it was all on the ground with empty gas tanks. And that`s what happened. Pakistan, which is to India as Canada is to the United States, lost half its country in a couple of weeks. What is now Bangladesh used to be East Pakistan, but the Indians invaded, capturing hundreds of thousands of Pakistani troops sent from Rawalpindi, in West Pakistan, to reverse the result of elections in which East Pakistani separatists had predictably won every seat in the national Parliament, giving them political control over both wings of divided Pakistan. |
| Posted by: john frum 2008-07-09 16:01 |
| #11 Ambassador: [over the phone] I can hear the sound of explosions from the north east. The sky is very bright. All lit up. [phone melts and high pitched whining sound starts] - Failsafe, 1964 Don't be caught holding the phone, boys. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-07-09 14:03 |
| #10 We should ask the Indians if they need any help. |
| Posted by: Vinegar Flomonter3636 2008-07-09 11:33 |
| #9 Optimism that the March election would usher in a new democratic spring of peace and reconciliation for Pakistan has been replaced by despondency, with many believing the situation is worse now than previously. Awwwwww geez. And we all thought this time would be different... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-07-09 11:15 |
| #8 bwak, bwak, bwak... |
| Posted by: mojo 2008-07-09 11:10 |
| #7 Pakistan is an infestation. Cover it with plastic and pump it full of DDT and wait for the cockroaches to die. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2008-07-09 10:14 |
| #6 A couple more suicide bombings aimed at Indians targets and I wouldn't want to be near ground zero either. Diplomats don't like living in glowing green glass houses. The Dips probably grasp the Indians have far less patience than the Americans. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-07-09 09:44 |
| #5 As long as they are killing each other instead of focusing their attention on us. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2008-07-09 09:29 |
| #4 No loss. Dog whispering fails miserably when confronted with rabies. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2008-07-09 09:16 |
| #3 the only real argument is who gets to be in charge That's always the issue, Doc. The Paks just don't seem to be very good at settling the issue. |
| Posted by: Spot 2008-07-09 08:15 |
| #2 Packing list: 1. Striped pants, four (4) pair 2. Collar starch, one (1) spray bottle 3. Beluga caviar, two (2) cases 5. Home movies, flash drive, keys to the liquor cabinets, assorted |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2008-07-09 00:42 |
| #1 Islamabad is heavily militarized. The fact that Taliban has the capacity to threaten it, is a testament to the suicidal effects of indulgence of the frontier terrorists. Mushy chose to deal with those devils; now he finds that the devil breaks deals. Americans should be promoting civil war between Punjabis and Pashtos. |
| Posted by: McZoid 2008-07-09 00:39 |