Pakistan Security Brief

U.S. designates eight leaders of LeT as terrorists; ISAF General’s meeting with Kayani postponed; Acting U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan says U.S. makes no “demands” of Pakistan; treaty would allow U.S. to invest in Pakistani defense, nuclear sectors; Christian girl’s bail hearing  postponed; Pakistan and Iran move forward on gas pipeline; President Zardari and Tajik president discuss bilateral relations; U.S. officials confirm Haqqani leader’s death; Lashkar-e-Jhangvi leader arrested; Security forces kill 18 militants in Bajaur Agency; Shi’a judge shot in Quetta; LHC high court to hear contempt of court petition against Zardari; EU observer says Pakistani military will not interfere in elections; KP government directs Afghan refugees to return home

U.S.-Pakistan Relations

• The U.S. government has designated eight leaders of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) as terrorists as a result of their participation in the 2008 Mumbai attacks and attacks on coalition forces in Afghanistan. The designated members are Sajid Mir, Abdullah Mujahid, Ahmed Yaqub, Hafiz Khalid Walid, Qari Muhammad Yaqoob Sheikh, Amir Hamza, Abdullah Muntazir and Talha Saeed.[i]

• ISAF Commander General John Allen’s meeting with Pakistani General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani today to discuss increased border defense coordination and standard operating procedures was postponed.[ii]

• Acting U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Richard Hoagland stated that the U.S. “cannot make a demand” of Pakistan, only “strong requests.” His comments followed reports of a joint U.S.-Pakistan military operation in North Waziristan, which prompted thousands of locals to flee. Pakistani Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani denied that such an operation is underway.[iii]

• The bilateral investment treaty (BIT) under discussion between the U.S. and Pakistan would give the U.S. unlimited power to invest in the Pakistani defense and nuclear industries. The BIT may also permit U.S. investors to appoint non-Pakistanis to senior management posts without obtaining no-objection certificates from Pakistani security forces.[iv]

Blasphemy Case

• A Pakistani court Friday decided to postpone the bail hearing of a Christian girl accused of blasphemy until September 1 to verify a medical report cited by the defense.  The defense argued that the girl should not be held in an adult prison given the assessment of an independent medical board that she is 14 years old and that her mental abilities are below her age level. The prosecution questioned the authority of the medical examination since it had been ordered by local authorities and not the court.[v]

Iran-Pakistan Relations

• An official in Pakistan’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources confirmed that Pakistan and Iran will move forward with the construction of a gas pipeline from MP 250, a stop along the Iran-Pakistan border, to Nawabshah in Sindh province. Iran will provide the funding and a majority of the materials needed as well as increase the amount of gas exported to Pakistan from 750 million cubic feet per day to one billion cubic feet per day.[vi]

Tajikistan-Pakistan Relations

• President Asif Ali Zardari and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon met today to discuss bilateral relations and collaboration in the trade and energy sectors. President Zardari lauded the increased trade between the two countries and expressed optimism about future economic cooperation. The two leaders also discussed the Central Asia-South Asia project, in which Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan would supply Pakistan with 1000 megawatts of electricity via  Afghanistan.[vii]

Militancy and Violence

• U.S. officials have confirmed that Badruddin Haqqani, the operational manager of the Haqqani Network, was killed by a drone strike last week. Afghan security officials confirmed Haqqani’s death earlier this week. Haqqani, who is believed to have orchestrated the September 2011 attacks on the U.S. Embassy and NATO headquarters in Kabul, is reportedly the highest-ranking member of the Haqqani Network killed to date.[viii]

• Pakistani police have confirmed that Malik Ishaq, leader of the Sunni extremist group Lashar-e-Jhangvi and who is suspected of having links to al Qaeda, was arrested in Lahore today for inciting sectarian violence. Ishaq, who was released in 2011 after serving a 14-year sentence, has also been accused of planning the 2009 assault on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore..”[ix]

• Pakistan security forces reportedly killed eighteen Taliban militants, including two commanders that controlled the Swat Valley in 2009, in Bajaur Agency on Thursday.[x]

• Shi’a Muslim judge Zulfiqar Naqvi was shot and killed, along with his driver and police bodyguard, in Quetta on Thursday in a suspected sectarian attack. The gunmen reportedly sprayed Naqvi’s vehicle with bullets before fleeing the scene. Senior police officer Wazir Khan stated that “the target of the attack was the judge and it appeared to be a sectarian incident.” No group has claimed responsibility for the killings.[xi]

Domestic Politics

• The Lahore High Court (LHC) will hear a contempt of court petition against President Asif Ali Zardari on September 5 for not “ending his political activities as advised by the court.” Advocate AK Dogar stated, “Directions issued by the court were not obeyed nor did he [Zardari] stop misusing the presidency for his political purposes.”[xii]

• EU representative Michael Gahler concluded that Pakistan’s military will not interfere in upcoming elections after a two-day visit in Pakistan. Gahler claims that the military is too busy with defense matters nor feels threatened by the current or future government.[xiii]

• The Home and Travel Department of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has instructed all “unregistered and illegal Afghan refugees to leave the country by Friday, August 31 or face legal action.” Local law enforcement officials have been deporting refugees living in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in accordance with the “14 Foreign Act,” according to the District Coordination Officer of Peshawar.[xiv]