Pakistan Security Brief

Defense Committee of the Cabinet meets, offers conditional peace talks to Pakistani Taliban; Punjabi Taliban leader welcomes peace talks; Pakistani soldier killed by Indian firing across LoC; Indian planes violate Pakistani airspace; TTP commander with al Qaeda ties killed in South Waziristan; Gunman affiliated with Afghan Taliban attacks polio workers in Karachi; Save the Children CEO claims no involvement in Abbottabad raid; By-elections ongoing throughout Pakistan, TTP threatens female voters.

Pakistani Taliban Peace Talks

• The Defense Committee of the Cabinet, consisting of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and the Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz among other senior officials, met on Thursday to discuss counter-terrorism, ultimately deciding that no peace talks will be offered to militants until they are willing to disarm. The Committee also restructured the National Security Council that is to be responsible for responding immediately to national security issues.[1]

• In a statement released on Thursday, Asmatullah Muawiya, the leader of the Punjabi Taliban, welcomed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s offers of peace negotiations in his national address on Monday, noting that Sharif’s offer of talks “demonstrated political maturity.”[2]

Line of Control Violations

• On Thursday near Rawla Kot, Kashmir, Indian troops allegedly fired across the Line of Control (LoC), killing a Pakistani soldier. Pakistani officials claim the firing was unprovoked. The incident came just hours after the National Assembly passed a resolution condemning an Indian cross-border firing incident on Wednesday, which killed a Pakistan Army captain.[3]

• On Wednesday, Indian spy planes reportedly violated Pakistani airspace for several minutes, flying across Naykal, Azad Kashmir before moving back to Indian airspace after Pakistani aircraft pursued them.[4]

• After the Times of India on Wednesday reported that Pakistani militants might be using  Sri Lanka as a safe haven to attack India, the Sri Lanka Chief of Defence Staff General Jagath Jayasuriya called the claims “baseless.”[5]

Militancy  

• A Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commander with al Qaeda ties, Ghulam Jan, was killed on Thursday after his convoy ran over a road-side bomb near Wana, South Waziristan. Four of the commander’s associates, including his uncle and close aides, were also killed; no group has claimed responsibility for his death. Jan had reportedly harbored Uzbek and other Central Asian militants, and was against Pakistani Taliban commander Mullah Nazir’s pro-government operation against foreign militants in Waziristan in 2008 and 2009. After being pushed out from Nazir’s group, Jan returned to South Waziristan last year before Nazir was killed by a drone strike this January.[6]  

• In light of the August 22 by-elections, the TTP on Wednesday issued a warning to women in Hangu to refrain from voting. The TTP disseminated leaflets throughout the Hangu bazaar, threatening to kidnap or kill any female voters.[7]

• After the U.S. Treasury on Tuesday designated the Jamia Taleemul Quran and Sunnah Ganj madrassa a breeding ground for terrorists, its administrator Muhammad Ibrahim called the allegations “baseless.” According to Ibrahim, “US authorities should visit the seminary and see for themselves that it has nothing to do with militancy.”[8]

• Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan announced on Wednesday that the first draft of the proposed National Security Policy for Counter-Terrorism is complete. He did not give any word on its official release, which was supposed to occur in mid-August, but has been pushed back.[9]   

• On Wednesday in Karachi, a gunman believed to be affiliated with the Afghan Taliban attacked several polio vaccinators in Gulshan-e-Maymar. Police arrested the attacker, and the vaccinators escaped unscathed. A contrary report in the Express Tribune indicates the man is associated with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).[10]  

• A Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf worker and polling agent for NA-254, was shot and killed in Pehlwan Goth, Karachi on Wednesday by gunmen on motorcycles.[11]

• Nine people were killed throughout Karachi on Wednesday in separate firing incidents across the city.[12]

• A Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader, Mumlikat Khan, was shot and killed on Wednesday evening in Nowshera, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa by armed gunmen.[13]

• 12 suspected militants were arrested on Thursday in Hangu, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in raids by security forces. Police also discovered a cache of hand grenades and rifles during search operations.[14]

• Security at the Mansehra prison in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa was increased on Wednesday, after authorities received a tip on a possible attack on the prison. The Elite Force has been deployed to the prison.[15]    

• After police recovered over 100,000kg of explosives in a factory in Quetta on Wednesday, police also arrested Mir Maqbool Ahmed Lehri, a provincial Pakistan Peoples Party leader on Wednesday evening. Lehri reportedly owns the premises.[16]

• In a Senate panel meeting on Wednesday, Senator Fateh Mohammad Hasni announced that the Pakistani government must explore the possibility that Afghanistan and India are funding separatist forces in Balochistan. The panel also explored the troublesome law and order situation throughout Pakistan.[17]

Abbottabad Commission Report

• In a meeting with the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister on Wednesday, Save the Children CEO Carolyn Mile claimed that Save the Children never had any involvement in the Abbottabad raid on May 2, 2011. Rather, Miles claimed, Dr. Shakil Afridi falsely used the organization’s name to run a false vaccination campaign.[18]

 Economy

• According to Philippe Le Houerou, the vice president of the World Bank, the World Bank will provide a $1.5 billion loan to Pakistan to stabilize its economy. Houerou also noted that foreign investors are interested in investing in Pakistan, particularly in its energy sector.[19]   

• During a meeting with Taro Kimura, the Special Envoy of the Japanese Prime Minister, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif noted that Japan is a valuable trade partner, and asked Japan to invest in development and increase the current $2.1 billion in trade between the two nations.[20] 

By-Elections

• Elections are occurring in 41 different constituencies today, August 22, for 15 National Assembly seats and 26 provincial assembly seats. According to the Express Tribune on Thursday, the elections will not drastically change the composition of the Pakistani government, but will serve as an indication of changes in voters' party loyalties since the May 11 elections.[21]

• According to acting Chief Election Commissioner Tassadaq Hussain Jillani, the Pakistan Army has been granted judicial powers to punish illicit activity around polling sites for the by-elections today, August 22.[22]

Missing Persons Cases

• On Wednesday, the Sind High Court announced that it has formed a task force to locate and retrieve all missing persons throughout Pakistan.[23]