Pakistan Security Brief

Violence breaks out in Lyari; MQM demands military involvement in Karachi; LoC violations continue; Azad Jammu Kashmir Prime Minister appeals to the UN to intervene in ongoing LoC dispute;  Minister for Privatization confirms there is no formal written agreement with the U.S. government regarding drone strikes; Afghan President  Hamid Karzai meets with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif again today; Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif accepts invitation to visit Afghanistan; Pakistan scheduled to receive $12 billion in aid from international institutions over the next three years; Interior Ministry’s Crisis Management Cell warns Sindh government MQM leaders might be targeted; TTP militants attack Pakistan Army camp in South Waziristan; Pakistan Army Lieutenant General Maqsood Ahmad appointed UN Military Advisor for Peacekeeping Operations.

Violence in Karachi

• Beginning on Monday and continuing into Tuesday, violence between two unspecified groups has rocked Karachi’s Lyari neighborhood.  Firearm and rocket attacks have killed four people and wounded approximately 25 others.  Media reports indicate security officials have not made any serious attempts to quell the attacks.[1]

• On Tuesday, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Altaf Hussain recommended that the Pakistan Army be granted administrative control over Karachi to restore law and order.  Hussain claimed that the Sindh provincial government, led by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), has failed to address the issue.  MQM leaders present in the National Assembly today insisted that summoning the army would be constitutional and staged a walk-out in protest against the deteriorating security situation.  They were accompanied by several Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) members and an Awami Muslim League (AML) leader.[2]

• Minister for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali became the first Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader to criticize the MQM’s demand for military involvement in Karachi.  Ali insisted the crisis would be resolved through political channels and that the Army would not be involved.[3]

• Opposition leader Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah opposed the MQM’s demand for Army control in Karachi on Tuesday.  Shah warned MQM leadership that the party’s demand for military involvement could undermine democratic institutions.[4]

Line of Control Dispute

• At a press conference on Tuesday, Azad Jammu Kashmir Prime Minister Chaudry Abdul Majeed appealed to the United Nations to dissuade India from violating the Line of Control (LoC) ceasefire.  Majeed claimed Indian forces were conducting operations in the following sectors: Nakyal, Lajwant, Rawalakot, Forward Kahuta, and Sialkot.  He demanded the Indian government withdraw the approximately 800,000 troops it has deployed to the region.[5]

• Three Indian soldiers were killed on Monday when Pakistani and Indian forces exchanged fire in the Kerala sector.[6]

• On Monday morning, Indian forces launched mortars and rockets at Pakistani targets along the LoC in the Lanjot sector, injuring four civilians.[7]

• On Monday, Indian forces fired across the LoC, injuring at least six civilians in the Turkandi area of the Nakial sector.[8]

• On Tuesday, Indian troops conducted shelling attacks in the Nezapir Keerni area of Forward Kahuta sector.  Early reports indicate at least one civilian has sustained injuries.[9]

• As of Tuesday, the Indian Army had allegedly kidnapped four civilians from Wadi Neelam.  No further details were immediately available.[10]

• According to a report in The News today, Pakistani officials released 25 Indian sailors on August 22.  The Coast Guard detained the crew members on April 20 on charges of violating Pakistan’s maritime territory without proper documentation.  These prisoners may have been released in addition to the 337 fishermen freed on August 23 in an effort to calm tensions with India regarding the ongoing LoC violations.[11]

U.S.-Pakistan Relations

• Minister for Privatization Khurram Dastagir told the National Assembly on Monday that the PML-N government does not have a formal agreement with the U.S. to permit drone strikes in Pakistani territory.  Dastagir said there is currently only a tacit understanding with U.S. officials regarding the drone policy, but claimed the PML-N intends to transcribe these verbal agreements. He also admitted that there are no official statistics available on drone strikes because the U.S. government does not acknowledge the program.  However, Dastagir said unofficial statistics count 339 drone strikes in Pakistan since 2004 that have killed approximately 400 civilians in the tribal areas.[12]

Afghan-Pakistan Relations

• Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met today to discuss prospects for regional peace and stability, particularly along the Afghan-Pakistan border.[13]

• On Tuesday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif accepted an invitation from Afghan President Hamid Karzai to visit Afghanistan.  The dates of Sharif’s visit have not yet been determined.  Karzai extended the invitation as he concluded his two-day visit to Pakistan.[14]

Domestic

• Finance Minister Ishaq Dar revealed during a press conference on Monday that Pakistan would receive approximately $12 billion over the course of three years from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB), and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB).[15]

• The IMF has agreed to postpone an increase in interest rates until its Executive Board convenes on September 4 to discuss the government of Pakistan’s request for a $6.6 billion assistance package.  In exchange, the IMF will triple the amount of currency it expects Pakistan to reduce from the market as it augments its reserve of foreign currency.[16]

• The Finance Ministry revealed on Tuesday that new tax legislation has led to a 25 percent increase in revenue since the new fiscal year began in July.  The announcement is good news because the IMF has linked its provision of aid to the Pakistani government’s success at combating tax evasion and generating revenue.[17]

• PTI leader Imran Khan announced on Tuesday that he will consider dissolving the Khyber-Pukhtunkhwa Assembly and call for new elections if his party’s mandate is doubted.[18]

Militancy

• On Monday, the Interior Ministry’s Crisis Management Cell sent a memo to the Sindh provincial government warning of a possible militant attack against specific MQM leaders.  Sindh government officials have reportedly instructed police to increase security for the alleged targets during travel and at their residences.[19]

• TTP militants attacked a Pakistan Army camp in the Sara Rogha area of South Waziristan, Federally Administered Tribal Areas, on Tuesday.  In addition to unspecified heavy weaponry, the militants also deployed one suicide bomber who successfully detonated his device.  In addition to the suicide bomber, three other militants died in the attack when security forces returned fire.  Two soldiers died, and nine other security personnel sustained injuries.[20]

• Security officials defused eight bombs throughout Jacobabad, Sindh province, on Monday.  Authorities have detained one suspect, Gul Sahib Khan.  Khan claims he is a member of the Frontier Constabulary.[21]

• A blast occurred on Monday afternoon at the construction site of a boys’ school in the Dorhi Bhanda area of Hangu, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.  The explosion caused minor structural damage, but no casualties have been reported.[22]

• On Tuesday, officials recovered the corpses of four torture victims found shot to death in various parts of Karachi.  Separately, another man was shot to death today.[23]

• On Monday, four people – including three political activists – were shot to death in various locations throughout Karachi.[24]

• An Islamabad police official claimed on Monday that Malik Sikander, the gunman responsible for the August 15 attack in Islamabad, trained in Kashmir in 1996.  The official also said that Sikander initially intended to take a hostage in order to secure his demands, but his effort was disrupted by a police cordon.[25]

United Nations

• On Monday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appointed Pakistan Army Lieutenant General Maqsood Ahmad as the UN’s Military advisor for Peacekeeping Operations.  Ahmad previously served as the Corps Commander of Pakistan’s IV Corps in Lahore.[26]

Iran-Pakistan Relations

• Speaking to the press on Monday, Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that the government of Pakistan will continue its pursuit of a $1.5 billion gas pipeline project with Iran, despite the threat of possible U.S. sanctions.  He also added that the government is taking unspecified steps to raise money for the pipeline’s construction.[27]

China-Pakistan

• Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Sun Weidong provided $1.5 million in economic assistance for flood victims to the government of Pakistan in a ceremony on Monday.[28]