Bush wants Musharraf to hold elections, but it may already be too late for that.
“Pak losing territory to pro-Taliban rebels,” from the Times of India (thanks to James):
ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI: Pakistan is fast losing chunks of its territory to pro-Taliban rebels. On Wednesday, it lost yet another town in the picturesque valley of Swat to the rebels with which, say officials privately, as much as 70% of the valley”s 94-km stretch is under the control of Mullah Fazlullah’s band of automatic-toting militants.
Reports said that the militants have taken control of key towns like Matta, Khazakhela, Madyan and Charbagh.
According to one agency report, the town of Kalam, too, has fallen to the militants after dozens of paramilitary troops and policemen surrendered their weapons. Before capturing Kalam, the militants captured Bahrain, a strategic town poised over the raging Swat river.