Pakistan Security Brief

New details emerge on Gilani-Karzai meeting; Top DOD, CIA position rotations to be announced; Dissolution of unity among militant groups in NWA; Afghan and Pakistani border clashes; LI militants killed in Bara; Seven militants killed in Hangu; Navy bus attacked in Karachi; ‘Target killings’ continue in Karachi; Passenger train attacked in Balochistan.

Gilani Proposes Partnership with Afghanistan and China

• New reports have surfaced about the April 16 meeting in Kabul in which Prime Minister Gilani reportedly told Afghan President Karzai that the U.S. had failed both Pakistan and Afghanistan and that Karzai should form a long-term partnership with Pakistan and China in order to negotiate a peace deal with the Taliban. An Afghan official stated that, “There was a mention of China in the meeting, China as a country, as an emerging economic power, and that maybe we should reach out to a new global economic power….You couldn’t tell exactly what they meant, whether China could possibly be an alternative to the United States, but they were saying it could help both countries.” The New York Times additionally reports that Gilani had proposed that “members of the Haqqani network, a Taliban ally based in Pakistan, be given a share of government power” in Afghanistan. However, Afghan government sources have denied that the request had been made. Meanwhile, the Express Tribune reports that Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir is set to visit China on April 28 and 29. The media outlet cites government sources who confirmed that Bashir’s visit to China “was prompted by the recent rise in tensions between Pakistan and the United States.”[i]

Top DOD, CIA Position Rotations

• On Thursday, President Obama is expected to announce the new appointments of Leon Panetta as Secretary of Defense and General David Petraeus as the incoming CIA director. In addition, Lt. Gen. John Allen is anticipated to replace General Petraeus as the head of International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan and Ambassador Ryan Crocker to replace Ambassador Karl Eikenberry as U.S. envoy to Afghanistan. Various media outlets havereported that the shift is viewed as a part of a wider revolution in the roles of the military and CIA in special operations and intelligence gathering. While the CIA has functioned “more than ever in its history, as an extension of the nation’s lethal military force,” military officers and private security contractors have increasingly conducted secret intelligence missions.[ii]

Attack on Military Personnel in Karachi

• On Thursday, a passenger bus carrying Pakistani navy employees to work in Karachi was attacked, killing five people. The Pakistan Taliban has claimed responsibility for the latest attack, which comes two days after navy buses were similarly attacked in the city. Taliban spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan said, "We are attacking the Pakistan army as it is supporting America against us." Meanwhile, five political activists were killed on Wednesday in the most recent wave of ‘target killings.’ Four of the victims were members of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), while the fifth was an Awami National Party (ANP) worker.[iii]

FATA

• The Associated Press reports that the recent dissolution of unity among militant groups in North Waziristan could provide the Pakistan army with an opportunity to conduct a limited offensive against the Pakistani Taliban in Mir Ali. Because the Haqqani group will most likely not be targeted by the operation, the media outlet argues that “If the Haqqanis and other militant groups in North Waziristan cooperate with a military assault against the Pakistani Taliban, that would give the army more options.” The report describes fractures among the militants, which were evident in the killing of Colonel Imam in February; despite pleas by the leaders of the Afghan Taliban and Haqqani network, members of the Hakimullah Mehsud-led Taliban executed the former intelligence officer. A Pakistani intelligence official declared, "We always thought that the Afghan Taliban had a sway over these groups, but Col. Imam's killing shows that no one is in control of anyone there. His death was a shock for us."[iv]
• Media reports have provided new information on Wednesday’s border clashes between Afghan and Pakistani troops. One Frontier Corps (FC) officer and at least twelve Afghan National Army troops were killed, while three FC troops were also wounded. A statement released by the Pakistani military said that the Afghan officers fired mortar shells at the Angoor Adda area of South Waziristan without any provocation, resulting in retaliatory fire by the Pakistani military. However, the security commander of Paktika province, Daulat Khan, placed the blame on the Pakistani military for the incident, stating that they had “resorted to ‘unprovoked shelling’ with heavy weapons in the Shagin area of Paktika on Wednesday.”[v]
• The bodies of three alleged militants belonging to the Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) group were discovered in Bara sub-district of Khyber Agency on Wednesday. Meanwhile, a kidnapped employee of the Tribal Electric Supply Company (TESCO) was released by his captors, almost four months after he had been abducted with five other linemen.[vi]

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa

• Seven militants were killed in Hangu on Thursday during a shelling by security forces. Meanwhile, a man was arrested in Hangu for allegedly desecrating the Quran. Saiful Malook was fired upon by unidentified people who witnessed the act, before he was taken into police custody.[vii]

Balochistan

• A passenger train was attacked in Jacobabad on Wednesday. Unidentified militants had planted a bomb on the tracks and detonated the device when the train passed through the area. A section of the track was damaged, derailing the engine and four cars. No casualties were reported in the incident. Meanwhile, two gas pipelines were attacked in Dera Bugti, disrupting gas supply to the Sui plant. A spokesperson for the Baloch Republican Army (BRA) claimed responsibility for the attacks.[viii]