Pakistan Security Brief

Nominee for U.S. ambassador to Pakistan Richard G. Olsen says he will continue “further squeezing of the Haqqani network,” ISI chief Lt. Gen. Zahirul Islam lands in Washington to meet with CIA Director General David Patraeus; U.S. State Department annual report on terrorism criticizes Pakistan for ineffectiveness against Haqqani Network and Lashkar-e-Taiba; Pakistan’s ambassador to China urges increase in Sino-Pakistani- military cooperation; India to allow foreign investment from Pakistan; Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry says public officials are not immune if charged with contempt of court; Interpol rejects Pakistan’s request for red warrant for former President Pervez Musharraf; TTP Leader Hakimullah Mehsud calls for increase in attacks targeting Punjab province; Police foil terrorist attack in Multan. 

U.S.-Pakistan Relations

• Speaking at a confirmation hearing before the Senate foreign relations committee on Tuesday, Richard G. Olsen, President Obama’s nominee to become the new ambassador to Pakistan, said that his top priority as ambassador would be to continue “further squeezing of the Haqqani network.” Echoing the opening remarks of the committee’s chairman Senator John Kerry, Olsen also stressed the need to reassure Pakistan that the U.S. would not completely abandon them when U.S. and NATO troops pull out from Afghanistan in 2014. Olsen, who is currently stationed in Kabul, also praised the Pakistani government for their cooperation in helping to defeat al Qaeda.[1] 

• On Tuesday, Inter-services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt. Gen. Zahirul Islam arrived in Washington, where he is expected to meet with CIA Director General David Petraeus to discuss issues related to counterterrorism and drone strikes in Pakistan.[2] 

• The recently released U.S. State Department annual report on terrorism criticized Pakistan for its ineffectiveness in rooting out the Haqqani network and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). Though the report lauded Pakistan for its cooperation in fighting al Qaeda, it also criticized Islamabad for its inability to break remaining ties between the country’s security organizations and the Haqqani network.[3]

• U.S. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher wrote a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday requesting information related to a Baloch man who went missing in June 2009. Congressman Rohrabacher has raised the issue of missing persons in Balochistan on several occasions, saying earlier this year that the U.S. should “bring an end to its partnership with the ISI in repressing the Baloch people.”[4]

International Affairs

• Speaking at the graduation ceremony of the 2nd Aviation Industry Corp.- Pakistan Air Force Officer Development Program in Beijing, Pakistan’s ambassador to China Masood Khan urged for an increase in exchanges between the two militaries for the purpose of strengthening strategic ties and further boosting a “all-weather and time-tested friendship between the two countries.”[5]

• On Wednesday, India formally announced that it will allow foreign investment from Pakistan. In a statement, the Indian commerce ministry said that the government of India has “decided to permit a citizen of Pakistan or an entity incorporated in Pakistan to make investments in India.” The ministry added that any future investment propositions from Pakistan must be brought to the attention of the Indian government first. India initially decided to overturn the ban on foreign direct investment from Pakistan at a meeting between trade ministers of the two countries in New Delhi in April.[6]

Domestic Politics

• While hearing petitions against the new “Contempt of Court Act 2012” on Wednesday, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said that the public offices laid out in the bill were not immune from prosecution in contempt of court cases. Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja added that while parliament was responsible for lawmaking, the court maintained the authority for interpreting those laws. The statements of the justices come a day after the federation’s counsel said protecting Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf from the same fate that befell former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani could have been a possible motive in promulgating the new contempt bill.[7]

• On Wednesday, Interpol rejected Pakistan’s request that the international organization issue a red warrant against former President Pervez Musharraf, citing the failure of Pakistani authorities and the Federal Investigation Agency to provide sufficient documentation as to the cause. The Pakistani Anti Terrorism Court (ATC) issued an arrest warrant for Musharraf due to his alleged role in the 2007 assassination of Benzir Bhutto in Rawalpindi, but Musharraf has not attended any of the court proceedings. Local authorities in Pakistan responded to Interpol’s rejection of the request by sending additional documentation, including investigation reports, copies of Musharraf’s emails to Bhutto, statements made by ISI chief Javed Iqbal Cheema and former Intelligence Bureau chief Ejaz Shah, and copies of the ATC orders.[8]

Militancy

• According to a Pakistani intelligence report, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leader Hakimullah Mehsud recently held a meeting in North Waziristan agency’s Asad Khel village, during which he called for an increase in the number of terrorist attacks carried out in Punjab province. The report found that Mehsud met with several prominent Taliban commanders and allocated over $260,000 to fund attacks against government targets in the area, including the ISI, the Military Intelligence, the Intelligence Bureau, and the Counter Terrorism Department.[9]  

• On Wednesday, two Pakistani security personnel were injured following a clash with militants in the Alikhel area of Dabori, Upper Orakzai. Security forces initially targeted the area as part of an operation but were met by militant fire. In response, security forces engaged in retaliatory fire, allegedly killing four militants.[10]    

• Separate incidents of firing in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province left five people dead on Tuesday. Unknown motorcyclists killed two people in the Stadium area of Sabzi Mandi in Hangu district. Meanwhile, three people were shot dead in separate incidents in the Dewlai area of Kabal sub-district in Swat district. Three bullet-ridden bodies were found in Bazikhel village in Darra Adamkhel. Separately, police arrested two militants following a raid in the Chuharkhel village of Darra Pezu town in Lakki Marwat district. Unknown assailants also threw a grenade at a tent occupied by nomads in the Hayatabad area of Peshawar on Tuesday, injuring three people.[11]   

• On Wednesday, local police prevented a terrorist attack in Multan, Punjab province. Following a tip-off, police set up a special barrier near Ghazi Ghat Bridge to intercept the suspect, who was allegedly a Tehrik-e-Taliban Punjab member. The suspect threw a grenade at the police, who responded with retaliatory fire, killing him.[12] 

• Six people were injured in Balochistan on Tuesday. Grenade attacks in the towns of Panjgur and Dalbandin injured four civilians. Meanwhile, two people, including a policeman, were injured in Quetta after unknown gunmen fired on them in separate incidents. Elsewhere in Quetta, masked armed men attacked the Sariab Police Station with hand grenades, though no casualties were reported.[13]      

• On Tuesday, armed assailants targeted and killed two Rangers personnel in the Banaras area of Karachi’s Orangi Town. Following the killings, Rangers personnel conducted a targeted operation in the area and arrested over 24 suspects. Two civilians, including a Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) activist, were also killed in incidents of firing in Karachi’s Bohra Pir and Guru Mandir Chowrangi.[14]