Russia orders 'partial evacuation' of embassy staff

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW, OCT. 4. Fearing serious destabilisation in Pakistan, Russia today decided to evacuate a part of its embassy personnel from the country and launch more spy satellites to monitor the situation in the region.

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced ``partial evacuation'' of families of diplomats and other Russian nationals from Islamabad and Karachi in view of ``the aggravation of the situation''.

Simultaneously, the commander of the Russian space forces, Gen. Anatoly Perminov, said the country would shortly launch several spy satellites and deploy mobile missile warning stations. Military sources said Russia needed additional electronic spying facilities to keep an eye on the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

``The military sees the situation in Pakistan getting out of control, with nuclear warheads falling into the hands of extremists as the main threat arising from the `reprisal operation' in Afghanistan,'' the Vremya Novostei daily said on Thursday.

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Section  : International
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