Pakistan Security Brief

Foreign Office spokesman expresses hope that peace talks between India and Pakistan will resume soon; Pakistani Prime Minister formally invites Indian Prime Minister to visit Pakistan; Pakistan’s Punjab Chief Minister visits Indian Prime Minister in New Delhi; Pakistan may give India Most Favored Nation status; U.S. Congressmen express concern over Pakistan’s support for terrorist groups; Balochistan’s Chief Minister speaks with Iran’s Ambassador to Pakistan about improved trade relations; Officials in Qatar and Pakistan will hold talks regarding LNG imports; U.S. pledges $15 million to Central Asia-South Asia electricity transmission project; Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources says Iran will not pay Pakistan $500 million to help finish gas pipeline; Former President Muhsarraf summoned to court in treason case; likely to challenge Supreme Court ruling that declared new tax unconstitutional;  Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves at lowest level since November 2001; President says country will consider “other options” if diplomatic talks with the Taliban fail; IMF to deliberate on $550 million loan to Pakistan; Two policemen shot to death in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa; Polio worked killed in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa; Gunmen kill eight, injure 14 in attack on bus in Balochistan.

India-Pakistan Relations

• On Thursday, Pakistan’s Foreign Office Spokesman, Aizaz Chaudhry, expressed his hope that peace talks between India and Pakistan will resume soon. Chaudhry’s comments follow Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s visit to India and the meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the Indian high commissioner to Pakistan, both of which were intended to improve relations with India.[1]

• On Thursday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif extended to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh a formal invitation to visit Pakistan, which Singh accepted. The invite follows recent efforts and statements by Pakistani leaders to improve relations with India. On Thursday, Pakistan’s Punjab Chief Minister, Shahbaz Sharif, traveled to New Delhi, India to visit with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, where Sharif emphasized Pakistan’s desire to establish friendly relations with India.[2]

• According to a Thursday report in The News, Pakistan is weighing the possibility of granting Most Favored Nation (MFN) status to India after Indian elections are due to be held in the spring of 2014. India granted MFN status to Pakistan in 1996.[3]

U.S.-Pakistan Relations

• At a U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Wednesday, Congressmen from both parties voiced their concerns about Pakistan’s support of terrorist groups. Special Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan James Dobbins expressed hope that Sharif’s government can change the trajectory of Pakistan’s relations with its neighbors, but he cautioned that Sharif has limited influence over the military and security matters.[4]

• According to a Friday report in The News, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) released a statement criticizing U.S. Ambassador Cameron Munter’s claim that the ISPR and religious parties are responsible for anti-American sentiment in Pakistan.[5]

Iran-Pakistan Relations

• On Thursday, Abdul Malik, Balochistan’s Chief Minister, spoke with the Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan, Alireza Haghighian, about improving trade and economic relations between Iran and Pakistan. Malik accepted an invitation from the Iranian Ambassador to soon visit Iran to explore enhanced cooperation in agriculture and trade.[6]

Energy

• A Friday article in The News reported that officials of the Qatar Gas Company and Pakistan State Oil (PSO) will hold talks next week regarding a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) supply contract between the two countries. Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, also stated that Pakistan will receive 400 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) of LNG from Qatar by November 1, 2014.[7]

• On Thursday, the U.S. pledged to contribute $15 million towards the Central Asia-South Asia electricity transmission project (CASA-1000). An official from the U.S. Department of State expressed hope that U.S. support would encourage other donors, including the World Bank, to support the project, which would help connect Central and South Asia through a regional energy grid.[8]

• According to a Friday report in The Express Tribune, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Abbasi has confirmed previous reports that Iran has backed out of paying a promised $500 million to Pakistan to fund the completion of the Iran-Pakistan pipeline. Abbasi said that possible American sanctions have derailed the project, but that Pakistan remains committed to completing it.[9]

Domestic

• On Friday, former President Pervez Musharraf was summoned to a court on December 24 for the treason case relating to his imposition of a state of emergency in November 2007.[10]

• A Friday article in The Express Tribune reported that the government of Pakistan will likely challenge a recent decision by the Supreme Court that declared the imposition of an additional nine percent general sales tax (GST) on compressed natural gas (CNG) unconstitutional. [11]

• According to data cited in a Friday article in The Express Tribune, Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) have dropped to $2.9 billion, their lowest level since November 2001. A research analyst quoted in the article stated that the sharp decline in reserves is partly due to Pakistan’s International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan repayment, which amounted to $1.9 billion since the beginning of the fiscal year. The analyst also added that the decline in reserves is also due to a trade deficit.[12]

• On Thursday, Pakistan’s army chief, General Raheel Sharif, said that Baloch representation in Pakistan’s Army has increased significantly since 2010.[13]

• According to a Friday article in The News, Pakistan’s President Mamnoon Hussain will consider “other options” if diplomatic talks with the Taliban fail. Hussain also commented that Karachi has benefited from targeted operations on the city’s criminal elements.[14]

• On December 19, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is planning to review Pakistan’s progress and determine whether to release a $550 million loan to Pakistan.[15]

• At a Friday press conference in Multan, former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said that authorities can arrest him whenever they want to, but questioned whether Pakistan’s judiciary is an independent institution. According to a Friday article in the Express Tribune, Gilani claimed that Article 248 of the Constitution grants him immunity. He is being investigated for illegally appointing the chairman of the National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) and then transferring a director of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), who was looking into the appointment.[16]

• On Friday, army chief General Raheel Sharif and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met in Islamabad to discuss national security issues.[17]

Militancy

• On Friday, gunmen killed two policemen in Swabi, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The policemen were providing security to a polio team.[18]

• On Friday a gunman killed a polio worker in Jamrud, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.[19]

• On Wednesday, gunmen attacked a bus in Kalat, Balochistan, killing eight people and injuring 14. The bus was en route to Quetta.[20]

• On Thursday, unidentified gunmen killed two people in Turbat, Kech district, Balochistan.[21]