Pakistan Security Brief

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in Pakistan, meets with senior officials; New Indian Foreign Secretary hints at renewed peace talks with Pakistan; Pentagon applauds Pakistan’s efforts in the FATA, Khyber-Pakhtunkwa; Three  al Qaeda operatives reportedly killed in July 29 drone strike; 20 militants disguised as policemen attempt to infiltrate Islamabad Airport; Prison security increases after Dera Ismail Khan prison break; Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announces construction of Karachi-Lahore highway; Shelling from Afghanistan wounds three in South Waziristan; Pakistan condemns Indian detention of fisherman; Chinese hospital ship treats 500 patients in Pakistan; Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visits Karachi, meets with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister;  8 killed in Karachi; Militants assault Frontier Corps post in FR Kohat, killing two.

U.S.-Pakistan Relations

• U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday night.  On Thursday, he met with senior government officials including Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, President Asif Ali Zardari, the Prime Minister’s Advisor on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz, and Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani.  After his meeting with Aziz, Kerry announced Pakistan and the U.S. would resume the bilateral ”strategic dialogue” suspended following the May 2011 raid on bin Laden.  He added that he had extended an invitation to the Prime Minister to visit the U.S.  Aziz told the press that he had formally objected to U.S. drone strikes as a violation of Pakistani sovereignty, and informed Kerry that Pakistan would not conduct operations in North Waziristan.[1]

• On Thursday, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan met with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.  Khan urged Kerry to end U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan on the grounds that they are counterproductive because they fuel terrorism and militancy.  Khan also recommended a cautious, measured withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan for the sake of stability in Pakistan.[2]

• In an interview with Geo News, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry claimed terrorist groups were violating Pakistan’s sovereignty.  When asked to address sovereignty in terms of U.S. drone policy, Kerry insisted that drone strikes are necessary for U.S. national defense.  He also observed that terrorist activities occurred in Pakistan prior to the commencement of drone strikes, as well as outside target areas, suggesting it was inaccurate to attribute all terrorist violence in Pakistan to drone strikes.  Separately, Kerry said that he did not discuss Dr. Aafia Siddiqui with senior Pakistani government officials.  Siddiqui is a Pakistani national accused of terrorist links and currently serving an 86-year prison sentence in the U.S.[3]

India-Pakistan Relations

• Former Indian Ambassador to Germany Sujatha Singh took office today as India’s new Foreign Secretary.   In one of her first public statements, she has indicated that India is willing to resume peace talks with Pakistan, although she noted that such negotiations would require, “an environment free of violence and terror.”[4]

• On Thursday, Pakistan’s Acting Deputy High Commissioner in New Dehli condemned the July 23 Indian detention of a Pakistani fisherman near Sir Creek, noting that the arrest does “not bode well” for the normalization of relations between the neighbors.[5]  

Afghan-Pakistan Relations

• A woman and two children were injured on Thursday after shells fired from neighboring Afghanistan landed in Angoor Adda, South Waziristan. Pakistani diplomats met with Afghan officals on May 6 to discuss shelling in Pakistan, which has increased according to a Thursday Express Tribune article.[6]

Militancy

• According to a Thursday Express Tribune article, a 2013 Progress Toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan report by the Pentagon lauds the Pakistan Army’s efforts against militancy in Pakistan, noting that “The Pakistani military has made many sacrifices to achieve significant territorial gains against Tehreek-e Taliban (TTP) and other militant groups in FATA and K-P.”[7]

• According to an unnamed Taliban commander, Monday’s U.S. drone strike in North Waziristan killed three al Qaeda operatives as well as three others. The operatives had reportedly been looking at sites to set up a new training camp in Pakistan. The three have been identified as “Abu Rashid from Saudi Arabia, Muhammed Ilyas Kuwaiti from Kuwait and Muhammed Sajid Yamani from Yemen.”[8] 

• On Thursday, nearly twenty militants disguised as policemen attempted to enter Benazir Bhutto International Airport and Chaklala Air Force Base outside Islamabad, using vehicles resembling police cars. However, upon being stopped and questioned further by the Airport Security Force (ASF), the militants fled from the scene.[9]

• In the aftermath of Tuesday’s Dera Ismail Khan prison break, Pakistani authorities have moved high value prisoners to various locations throughout the country, and have begun an analysis of the flaws within Pakistan’s prison systems. The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has also formed an investigative committee to probe the jailbreak, which will be submitted in 15 days. The security at jails throughout Pakistan, including Haripur Jail in Haripur district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, has been heightened. According to an Express Tribune report on Thursday, prisoners were aware of the attack before it occurred, and were prepared to mobilize immediately.  Officials investigating the jailbreak have concluded that senior TTP leader Adnan Rashid orchestrated the plot.  In April last year, Rashid escaped from Bannu Prison in the Bannu district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.  He was previously convicted of involvement in an assassination plot against Pervez Musharraf.[10]

• Prisons throughout Sindh have been placed under high alert due to threats from extremists groups, according to a Thursday The News report. Increased security has been undertaken in light of the massive jailbreak at Dera Ismail Khan on Tuesday.[11]

• In Manghopir, Karachi on Wednesday, an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated, wounding two Rangers personnel. Officials believe the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is behind the blast, as they may have had prior knowledge of the Rangers personnel movement.[12] 

• Eight people were killed in Karachi on Wednesday in separate shooting incidents. Two MQM activists were killed, one in Dua Chowk and another in New Town Karachi. A Kutchhi Rabita Committee (KRC) member was also shot and killed in Mari Chowk. One man was killed in Ganna Mandi by men on motorcycles, while another man was killed in Orangi Town. An airline worker was shot in Malir, while a body was also found near New Karachi.[13]

• Five men were injured in Karachi on Wednesday, after unknown perpetrators threw a grenade in the midst of a textile factory in SITE.[14]

• Five people were killed on Tuesday in Shikarpur, Sindh when unknown gunmen opened fire at a tractor trolley they were riding in. One person was also wounded in the incident.[15] 

• On Wednesday in Multan, Punjab, six would-be terrorists were arrested during a Youm-i-Ali procession. The men have been shifted to an undisclosed location.[16]

• A suspected suicide bomber was arrested in Charsadda, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday. The man was caught with a suicide vest, pistol and hand grenade on his person.[17]

• On Thursday, security officials raided a home in Badaber, Peshawar. During an ensuing firefight, police killed one suspected militant and arrested two others.[18]

• In Frontier Region Kohat on Wednesday, dozens of militants attacked a Frontier Corps security post, killing two FC personnel. Eight militants were also killed in the attack when the FC personnel returned fire.[19] 

• On Wednesday, six bodies bearing gunshot wounds were found in Bara, Khyber Agency.[20]

•  A tribal elder, along with two of his associates, was shot and killed by unknown gunmen in Quetta on Wednesday. Four by-standers were also injured. In a separate incident, a rocket was fired in the surrounding areas of Quetta; no casualties were reported.[21]

• Unknown gunmen attacked a NATO container moving from Chaman to Karachi near Mastung on Wednesday. The driver escaped unharmed; the container was torched and destroyed.[22]

• Police conducted a raid in Lahore on Thursday, killing one suspected criminal and arresting another.[23]  

Sino-Pakistani Relations

• At a press briefing on Thursday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced the construction of a major highway between Lahore and Karachi.  The project was included in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Sharif signed during his June visit to China.  Separately, Sharif revealed that Chinese officials have confirmed four energy projects in Gadani, Lasbela district of Balochistan province, that will boost the economy.[24]

• A Chinese naval hospital ship Peace Ark arrived in Pakistan on July 29 as part of China’s Mission Harmony outreach program.  On Thursday, Chief of the Pakistani Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Asif Sandila has visited the ship to meet the Chinese commanding officer and receive a briefing about Mission Harmony.  The hospital staff has treated approximately 500 patients since its arrival on Monday.[25]

Domestic

• Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visited Karachi on Thursday for his first official visit since taking office.  Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Information Minister Pervaiz Rasheed accompanied him.  Sharif assured his audience that the government was working on a policy to maintain security in the region, but warned a good policy requires time to formulate.[26]

• On Wednesday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak at the Prime Minister’s office, where they discussed the Dera Ismail Khan jailbreak and the necessity of cooperation between the federal and provincial governments to prevent these incidents.[27]

• A meeting of unspecified Interior Ministry officials was held today to update Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on the progress of his directives.  Among other issues, Khan was informed that recommendations regarding Dr. Aafia Siddiqui had been finalized and would be presented at an upcoming Cabinet meeting.  [28]

• Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government Spokesman Shaukat Yousafzai announced on Thursday that the provincial government had rejected the federal government’s power tariff increase because it increases taxes rather than supply.  His announcement follows the Council of Common Interests’ approval of the new national energy policy yesterday[29]

• Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Muhammad Asif defended his decision to raise power tariffs on Thursday, noting that Pakistan’s diminishing circular debt would increase again if electricity rates were not increased and subsidies removed. Furthermore, Asif noted that citizens consuming fewer than 200 units of electricity a month would not be subject to increased tariffs.[30]

•  On Thursday, PTI Chairman Imran Khan revealed he would appear in person before the Supreme Court on August 2 to respond to his contempt of court notice.  Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry issued the notice to Khan yesterday for remarks criticizing the court on its decision to re-schedule the presidential election from August 6 to July 30.[31]

• Residents of Joseph Colony in Lahore have demanded that President Asif Ali Zardari dispense promised compensation money before his tenure ends to the victims of anti-Christian riots in March.  Some residents have accused the government of providing compensation to Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) workers while ignoring non-PPP activists.[32]