US Shuts Pakistan Consulate After Threat - Wall Street Journal

ISLAMABAD—The U.S. temporarily shut its consulate in the Pakistani city of Lahore evacuated most of its staff evacuated due to a terrorist threat, American officials said, as a wave of extremist violence rocked the country. The threat that prompted the action in Lahore is unrelated to the recent closure of U.S. embassies in the Middle East, U.S. officials said. Diplomats based in Lahore were moved to the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, though a skeleton staff remains in the city. The consulate won't open on Monday and officials said there was no date for it to reopen. "We received specific information regarding our consulate in Lahore," said Meghan Gregonis, a spokeswoman for the U.S. embassy in Islamabad. "As a precautionary measure, we have undertaken a drawdown of all but essential personnel in Lahore." The American embassy in Islamabad wasn't among the 19 American diplomatic missions that were closed this week, following what officials described as intercepted communications indicating that al Qaeda was planning an attack. Pakistan is awash with local extremist groups linked to al Qaeda that oppose the government's alliance with the U.S. The vast majority of their victims, however, are fellow Pakistani Muslims. On Friday, gunmen opened fire on worshipers leaving a mosque in the western city of Quetta, killing 10 people who had come to offer prayers for the Eid al-Fitr festival marking the end of the Ramadan month of fasting. Police said the intended target appeared to be a politician present at the site, who escaped unhurt. Pakistani militants unleashed a vicious wave of killings during Ramadan, as the new government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif struggled to get a grip on the security situation. Mr. Sharif, who took office in early June, vowed Thursday to show the militants an "iron fist," as his government announced that its counterterrorism policy would be ready next week. On Thursday in Quetta, a suicide bomber attacked the funeral of a police officer killed by militants. The bombing killed at least 30 people, including 21 police personnel. Some of the city's most senior police officers perished in the attack. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for Thursday's attack, saying it was in revenge for a previous police raid on an allied group. "These people are enemies of Islam, enemies of humanity, enemies of Pakistan," Baluchistan provincial police chief Mushtaq Sukhera, told a news conference after Thursday's attack. "This country has no other option. We have to unite and fight them and defeat them." But not all share this determination. On Friday in Lahore, the man regarded internationally as one of the most dangerous terrorist leaders, Hafiz Saeed, openly led Eid prayers in the centrally located Gaddafi Stadium, with around 1,000 worshipers in attendance. Mr. Saeed, who founded the extremist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, has a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head. India accuses him of masterminding the 2008 terrorist attack on Mumbai, which killed more than 160 people. At a time of severe tension between India and Pakistan following the death of five Indian soldiers at the border that Delhi blames on Pakistan, the appearance of Mr. Saeed set off anger in the Indian media. Unlike the Pakistani Taliban and their close allies, Lashkar-e-Taiba usually directs its violence at other countries, especially India. Indian officials believe the group was responsible for this month's bombing attack on the Indian consulate in the Afghan city of Jalalabad. via Top Stories - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNHiwu-iF3RKBiqcPWaPQ03m6uUEow&url=http://stream.wsj.com/story/latest-headlines/SS-2-63399/SS-2-297815/

Put the internet to work for you. via Personal Recipe 2953939