POST CONVENES EAC ON NOVEMBER 16, 2008

S E C R E T PESHAWAR 000514 NOFORN E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/17/2018 TAGS: ASEC CASC PTER AMGT PK SUBJECT: POST CONVENES EAC ON NOVEMBER 16, 2008 REF: A) PESHAWAR 511 B) PESHAWAR 508 CLASSIFIED BY: Lynne M. Tracy, Principal Officer, U.S. Consulate Peshawar, Department of State. REASON: 1.4 (d) ¶1. (S) Post convened an Emergency Action Committee meeting at 19:30 (local) on November 16 for further review of post's security posture in light of specific, credible threat information targeting Consulate personnel. PO, RSO, RAO, ODRP/101st, ODRP/SOCCE, USAID, IPC, MGT, POL, CONS, PAS, and NAS attended the meeting. Principal Officer also held an all-hands meeting that same evening with American personnel to cover the nature of the threat reporting and impact on the Consulate. ¶2. (S/NF) Based on the ongoing threat to U.S. Consulate personnel (Ref A) and the current level of security provided by host government to Peshawar's University Town area, the EAC determined that the Consulate will remain on mission essential travel only until further notice. All local staff will return to work on Tuesday, November 18. PO will hold a townhall meeting with local staff later in the week. ¶3. (S/NF) In consultation with Embassy Islamabad, the EAC determined that a temporary re-location of some Consulate personnel to Islamabad was prudent while the Consulate builds up additional security and logistical resources necessary for operating under Peshawar's heightened threat conditions. Consulate will also use this period to re-position some housing in the University Town area to strengthen our residential security posture. Post is finalizing the list of personnel to be re-located (we estimate approximately ten) and will provide in a follow-on message. Re-location will be phased over the week to manage volume of movement and will begin o/a November ¶19. ¶4. (C) A warden notice was published November 14 that the Consulate would remain on mission essential travel only until further notice. Post is reviewing with Embassy Islamabad any further required warden language. Comment -------------- ¶5. (C) A senior local official outlined to PO on November 16 measures the government intends to take in University Town to strengthen security (reported septel). However, as noted in Ref A, additional robust police support is unlikely to materialize in the immediate term from the Northwest Frontier Province's existing security forces which have been stretched by other demands and operations. TRACY