Internet Anthropologist Think Tank: Time line focus: Paki

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5 days, that is the 22nd, I believe. So Taliban say they will attack on the 22nd of July 08.

"We will attack the provincial government and the ANP leaders after five days if they do not quit," said Maulvi Omar, spokesman for Mehsud, based in the tribal area of Waziristan. "The provincial government is ... not sincere in the talks."

The ANP, which has pacifist roots, has pursued dialogue with Taliban groups in Swat and elsewhere. However, its talk of peace has come up against the hard reality of militants who are willing to give up very little and demand Islamisation and the retreat of the Pakistan army from their territory as the price for ending hostilities.

"This is open war," said Hassan Abbas, a research fellow at Harvard University. "This [ultimatum] will help the provincial government to see things more clearly. They can take direct action against Baitullah Mehsud because there is a direct threat."

Mehsud was reacting to Pakistan army actions. In Hangu, the army stepped in last week after Taliban surrounded a police station and killed 16 paramilitary troops. In Swat, the army was deployed last year to tackle militants who had taken over the valley, previously a tourist destination. Around the provincial capital of Peshawar, the army is flushing out Islamist militants -not allied to the Taliban - who were encroaching on the city.

"We want peace," said Hajji Adeel, vice president of the ANP, but added: "If they use force, we will also use force in reaction."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/19/pakistan.afghanistan

http://snipurl.com/31btf

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Paki Stock Market crash: 7 days running. Feeling the PAIN.

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Warden Notices

Warden Notice 11/2008

July 17, 2008

This Warden Message is to alert American citizens that the Consular Section at the U.S. Consulate in Peshawar will limit services to the public to emergency cases only from July 25 to October 15, 2008. Americans who require routine services such as applying for passports may contact Embassy Islamabad during this period for assistance at (92-51) 208-0000.

http://islamabad.usembassy.gov/wn-08071701.html

http://snipurl.com/309yi

UPDATE:

“The consular officer at the U.S. Consulate in Peshawar who normally handles American citizen services will depart Pakistan on a normal rotation in the near future, and there will be a gap of several weeks before that officer’s successor arrives. For that reason, consular services in Peshawar will be limited for the stated period. All other operations and staffing at the U.S. Consulate in Peshawar continue on a normal basis.”

Kay Webb Mayfield
Counselor for Public Affairs
U.S. Embassy Islamabad

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It is not unreasonable to expect a pre-emptive strike against the Taliban before the 22nd.
( I'm not sure when the taliban issued their 5 day ultimatum?)

Gerald

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