Pakistan Security Brief

PTI and government continue dialogue, PTI proposes prime minister resign for 30 days, government refuses; Imran Khan threatens nationwide strike if demands not met; Former election commission official alleges May 2013 polls were rigged ; Government doubles security in Red Zone; Former President Zardari expresses support for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif; PML-N and allied parties stage country-wide protests in show of solidarity with government; Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif denies resignation rumors;  Indian, Pakistani border forces  trade fire near Sialkot, four civilians killed; Hand grenade attack kills one and injures 16 in Quetta; Two killed in attack on NATO oil tanker in Khyber; Two Christians injured in South Waziristan blast; Eight militants killed in clashes Orakzai Agency clashes; IED kills militant commander in Khyber Agency; Bomb on train injures three in Sibi, Balochistan; Frontier Corps kill 16 militants in Turbat, Balochistan; Former spokesman for Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) found dead in Khyber; Three Swat militants die in security forces’ custody in Kohat; LI executes tribesman for spying; Former President Musharraf asks for delay in treason trial against him; Five army three-star general set to retire; Rupee continues to depreciate.

Politics

• On August 23, the third round of talks between Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) delegates and the government ended in a stalemate as protestors continued their sit-in in front of Parliament House. The PTI proposed that the prime minister resign for a period of 30 days during which a judicial commission would independently determine whether the May 2013 elections were rigged. The government rejected this demand, saying it was ready to accept all remaining demands of the PTI save that involving the prime minister’s resignation. On August 24, PTI chief Imran Khan threatened to launch a nationwide strike and declared that his party activists would stay in Islamabad until Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif resigned. [1]

• On August 24, Afzal Khan, a former additional secretary of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), controversially alleged that the May 2013 parliamentary polls underwent widespread rigging. He claimed that former Justice Riaz Kayani and former Chief Justices of the Supreme Court Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and Tassaduq Hussain Jillani were also responsible for undermining the authenticity of elections. He made the allegations in an interview to a private television channel. [2]

• The government doubled security in the Red Zone on August 23. According to a government spokesperson, the increased security is aimed at preventing terror attacks on the protests and to prevent possible violence by the two parties holding protests in the area. [3]

• On August 23, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-Chairman and former President Asif Ali Zardari expressed his support for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and declared that his party would not let democracy be derailed. [4]

• On August 24, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party and its allied parties staged country-wide rallies to show solidarity with the government and protest against the PAT and PTI’s anti-government sit-ins.[5]

• On August 24, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif denied reports that he had resigned in order to end the political crisis.[6]

Indo-Pak Relations

• On August 23, Indian and Pakistani border forces traded gunfire near Sialkot in Punjab which faces the southern border of Indian-administered Kashmir, killing two villagers on each side and injuring several others. Both sides allege they were fired on unprovoked. Rejecting Indian allegations of ceasefire violations, Sartaj Aziz- advisor on National Security and Foreign Affairs, suggested holding an urgent meeting of two countries’ Directors of General Military Operations (DGMOs) to discuss the situation and halt firing along the Line of Control (LoC). Cross-border firing has increased since August 18 after India called off bilateral talks with Pakistan which were scheduled to be held this week.[7]

Pakistan Army Promotions

• Four top Pakistan Army generals are scheduled to retire in the months of October and November. The outgoing officials include Corps Commander Peshawar Lt. Gen. Khalid Rabbani, Corps Commander Karachi Lt. Gen. Sajjad Ghani, Corps Commander Mangla Lt. Gen. Tariq Khan, Corp Commander Gujranwala Lt. Gen. Saleem Nawaz and the Director General of the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence Lt. Gen. Zahirul Islam.[8]

Militancy

• On August 25, one man was killed and 16 injured when unknown assailants attacked a hotel with a hand grenade in Quetta, Balochistan. No group claimed responsibility for the attack.[9]

• On August 25, unidentified militants attacked an oil tanker near Karkhano check post in the Wazir Dhand area of Jamrud sub-district, Khyber Agency, killing the tanker’s two occupants. The tanker was transporting goods for NATO forces in Afghanistan.[10]

• On August 23, two Christians were injured in a bomb blast at a bus stand in Wana bazaar in South Waziristan Agency.[11]

• On August 23, eight militants were killed and two injured in a clash with members of anti-Taliban militia in Sepah village, Orakzai Agency.[12]

• On August 25, an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) killed a commander of an unidentified militant group in front of his house in the Tirah Valley, Khyber Agency. [13]

• On August 25, a remote-controlled bomb exploded on a Quetta-Rawalpindi passenger train at the railway station in Sibi, Balochistan. Three people were injured in the blast. [14]

• On August 22, Frontier Corps (FC) troops reportedly killed 16 militants in clashes in the Dasht area of Turbat in Kech, Balochistan. The FC also recovered arms and ammunition during the operation.[15]

• On August 23, Zar Khan Afridi, a former spokesman for militant group Lashkar-e-Islam (LI), was found dead in Bara sub-district, Khyber Agency. He was reportedly kidnapped by unidentified people three weeks ago. [16]

• On August 23, three alleged militants from Swat district died of “cardiac arrest” in the custody of the security forces in Kohat district. The men were arrested in the military operation against the militants in Swat in 2009. Numerous militants from Swat have died of alleged “cardiac arrest” in military custody over the past several months.[17]

• On August 22, Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) militants in the Tirah Valley, Khyber Agency executed a tribesman they “convicted” of spying against them.[18]

Musharraf Trial

• On August 25, former President Pervez Musharraf’s chief counsel filed a petition to adjourn his trial for two weeks in the special court constituted to try him for treason. The application cited the prevailing political unrest as the prime reason for the petition. [19]

Economy

• On August 25, the rupee continued its significant depreciation against the dollar owing to heavy debt repayments to the International Monetary fund (IMF) and the instability caused by Pakistan’s ongoing political crisis.[20]