Pakistan Security Brief
Police arrest Musharraf, Senate calls for treason case, U.S. claims neutrality in case; U.S. Secretary of State stresses need for cooperation despite differences with Pakistan; IED injures three in Peshawar; Attackers injure polio team members; Air strikes kill eight in Khyber and North Waziristan; Militants fire rockets at political rally; Assailants blow up pipeline to Punjab; Six killed, child injured in Karachi violence; Zardari condemns security situation for candidates and parties; ECP moves to allow eexpatsto vote overseas; Army calls for aid to support additional earthquake relief.
Musharraf’s Arrest
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On Friday, police in Islamabad arrested former President Pervez Musharraf from his farmhouse near the city after another officer failed to submit the papers necessary to permit his house arrest. The Islamabad High Court ordered his arrest on Thursday, though he quickly left the court and was escorted back to his farmhouse by police and his security team. The Pakistani Senate later on Friday unanimously voted to try Musharraf for treason based on article six in the constitution. Retired army general Hamid Khan, said the army had not supported Musharraf’s return and had in fact warned against it, so “the army is staying out of [the case].” The United States Embassy made a statement expressing its neutrality towards the case, claiming to take “no position” on the case.[1]
U.S.-Pakistan Relations
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On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry testified in front of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, where he explained that while certain aspects of the U.S.-Pakistan relationship are strained and disagreeable to either or both parties, such as the imprisonment of the doctor involved in the Osama bin Laden manhunt, the overall need for cooperation overwhelms those issues. Kerry cited cooperation over nuclear weaponry, transportation routes to and from Afghanistan, and intelligence cooperation as key examples of successful collaboration between the two countries that could not be sacrificed to push specific contentious issues.[2]
Militancy
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On Friday, unknown militants detonated an improvised explosive device (IED), injuring three people in Adezai on the outskirts of Peshawar.[3]
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On Friday, unknown attackers assaulted and injured two members of a polio team in Gomal area, near Tank, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.[4]
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On Thursday, jets and helicopters attacked militant hideouts in Darra Adamkhel, Orakzai and Bara sub-district of Khyber agency, destroying a number of hideouts and killing several militants.[5]
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On Thursday, helicopters attacked militants in Mir Ali, North Waziristan, killing four militants and injuring eight others.[6]
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On Friday, militants fired four rockets at a crowd of people rallying for Naseer Ahmed, an independent candidate for parliament, in Wana Bazzar, South Waziristan, injuring two.[7]
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On Friday, unknown militants destroyed a gas pipeline to Punjab from Sui, Balochistan after detonating a bomb in Kashmor, Rajanpur in the Punjab.[8]
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On Friday, six people died in various targeted violence across Karachi. One man was killed when militants shot him in Baldia Town. Another man died when he was shot to death in Surjani town. Three people were fatally wounded in an attack by armed motorcyclists on Akbar Road, Sher Shah. Separately, a man was tortured and killed in Jahanabad area in Lyari. In a separate event, a child was injured after a bomb exploded in Sohrab Goth, apparently unsuccessfully targeting a businessman there.[9]
Domestic Politics
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On Thursday, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari told the Chief Election Commissioner Justice (Retired) Fakhruddin G Ebrahim during a phone conversation that he is concerned with the security situation for political candidates and their respective parties and constituencies.[10]
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On Thursday, the Election Commission Council approved an ordinance allowing over four-million eligible overseas Pakistanis the right to cast votes from outside the country in the upcoming May 11 general elections. The final draft of the “ordinance will be sent to the Law Ministry within two days.”[11]
Earthquake
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On Wednesday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon extended an offer to send support for relief efforts for areas affected by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck southern Pakistan on Tuesday. Secretary General Ban offered help from the UN “if asked to do so,” as did U.S. aid agencies, after the earthquake devastated the Mashkhel area of Balochistan. According to reports, the earthquake destroyed 20,000 peoples’ homes, killing between fifteen and eighty people, depending on the source. The Pakistan Army called for support from relief agencies on Thursday to supplement the helicopters, trucks full of supplies and equipment, and hundreds of soldiers they have already deployed to the area.[12]
