Pakistan Security Brief

Reports differ on whether August 6 drone strike killed Uzbek fighters or Haqqani Network members; TTP Mohmand Agency threatens journalists; Reports claim militants present in Datta Khel and Shawal Valley; Pakistan rejects Afghan allegations of Pakistani involvement in militant attacks in Afghanistan and cross-border shelling; PTI advises members to resist police arrests,  besiege police station; Police cracks down on PAT supporters and activists; Militants fire on security forces’ convoy, killing two, in Turbat, Balochistan; IED injures eight in Chaman, Balochistan; Police conduct search operation arresting 37 suspects in Islamabad; militant group Junood al Fida announces the death of commander, Abdul Hafeez and  announces allegiance to al Qaeda.

North Waziristan Offensive

• On August 7, Pakistani officials gave different reports of the identities of those killed in a U.S. drone strike on August 6.  One official in Peshawar told The New York Times that the strike killed six people including four Uzbek militants and two Haqqani Network militants.  A North Waziristan government official said the strike killed seven militants, all members of the Haqqani Network.[1] 

• The leader of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan’s (TTP) Mohmand Agency chapter, Omar Khalid Khorasani, threatened journalists in a statement released on August 5.  Khorasani accused the advocacy groups Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists of acting as “war propagandists” and warned them of possible attacks against their groups and news media personnel.[2]

• On August 7, Tribal sources told The News that a majority of local and foreign militants based in North Waziristan allegedly moved to Datta Khel and the Shawal Valley after the start of ground operations in Mir Ali, Miram Shah and Boya.  The sources said that local and foreign militants still control parts of Datta Khel.  Tribal sources also alleged that the army has not targeted local Taliban chief Hafiz Gul Bahadur because a peace agreement between Bahadur and the army remains intact.[3]

Pak-Afghan Relations

• On August 7, Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesperson, Tasnim Aslam, rejected Afghan allegations of Pakistani involvement in militant attacks on Afghan soil and cross-border shelling.[4]

PTI March

• According to press reports on August 7, the leadership of Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has advised its members to remain unarmed but resist police detention and “besiege” police stations if the police attempts to arrest activists or impound their vehicles during the PTI’s Azadi March in Islamabad on August 14.  To counter the police and protect protestors during the march, the PTI’s Insaf Youth Wing has reportedly established a 3,000 member rapid response force called the Insaf Youth Special Services Group.  PTI Lahore president Abdul Aleem Khan said the August 14 March will start at Imran Khan’s Zaman Park residence, which will be guarded from August 11th to August 14th by PTI members.[5]

Dr. Tahirul Qadri

• On August 7, the Punjab Police cracked down on the Pakistan Awami Tehreek’s (PAT) leadership and activists in preparation for protests the PAT plans to hold on August 10 by arresting some of the PAT’s leadership. The PAT’s central Deputy Secretary Information Mushtaq Ahmad reported that the police arrested PAT Rajanpur district president Tariq Rahim and the president of the Tehrik-e-Minhajul Quran, Saeed Mughal. Punjab’s law minister said that the Punjab Police had arrested 32 PAT activists since August 6. A security official said that in Multan there were 56 arrested. Qadri’s spokesman, Qazi Faiz said that 538 activists have been arrested so far. Dawn reported that the Punjab Police has received Rs 70 million ($708,162) from the provincial government to challenge the PAT. Lahore’s police have bought large cargo containers to block roads. There are also reports that the Lahore police are impounding motorcycles. On August 6, police arrested PAT workers in Rawalpindi.[6]

• On August 6, the Punjab Police put up pickets along the routes toward the Minhajul Quran secretariat in Lahore and throughout Model Town. The pickets were established only a few hours after criminal charges were filed against Dr. Tahirul Qadri chief of the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT).[7]

Militancy

• On August 7, unidentified militants fired on a security forces’ convoy, killing two security personnel and wounding six in the Turbat area of Kech district in Balochistan. Two of the militants were shot when the security personnel returned fire but rest managed to escape.  In a separate incident, an unknown gunman killed a member of the Balochistan Constabulary near General Post Office Chowk in Quetta.[8] 

• On August 7, an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded in Chaman, Balochistan, injuring six pedestrians and two policemen. The IED was on a bicycle by the home of a government official near the jail in Chaman. .[9]

• On August 6, Islamabad police and Pakistan Rangers conducted a joint search operation and arrested 37 suspects, including 9 Afghan citizens, in Islamabad’s Bhara Kahu area.[10]  

• On August 3, Junood al Fida, a Baloch jihadist group that operates in southern Afghanistan announced the death of its commander, Abdul Hafeez. Hafeez, who was also known as Maulvi Abu Baseer, was reportedly active for four decades. The statement said that he died during Ramadan while leading a group of militants in attacks on three Afghan military camps but was unclear as to the specifics of Hafeez’ death. In the same statement Junood al Fida also affirmed its allegiance to al Qaeda.[11]