Pakistan Security Brief

Pakistani officials underscore the government’s commitment to negotiations with TTP; Pakistan DGMOs meeting scheduled for December 24; Iranian firm may be willing to pay for Iran-Pakistan pipeline; ISAF commander meets with Pakistani army chief; Rangers arrest 21 in Karachi raids; Police foil TTP plot to attack polio workers in Karachi; Multiple casualties in Kurran agency blasts; Bomb targets Frontier Region Lakki Marwat checkpost; Bomb targets security forces’ convoy in North Waziristan; Militants attack fuel tanker in Khuzdar district, Balochistan; Militants fire on a truck in Musakhel, Balochistan, injuring four; Bomb blast injures three in Pindi-Gujran.

Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan Talks

• On Tuesday, senior government officials reiterated that Pakistan will pursue peace with the Tehrik-e-Taliban (TTP) through negotiations, ruling out the possibility of military action against the militants. One official cited in a Reuters article stated that while the TTP is putting up a tough front, back channel contacts reveal that there is interest among the group for negotiations. TTP Spokesman, Shahidullah Shahid, said he anticipated Pakistani military operations against the organization. However, a Tuesday Cabinet Committee on National Security meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to negotiations with the TTP and reconciliation talks with the Afghan government and Afghan Taliban, underscoring previous statements that military operations would only be used as a last resort.[1]

India-Pakistan Relations

• According to a Monday report in Dawn, the United States asked India to allow civilian diplomats to participate in planned talks between the Indian and Pakistani Directors General of Military Operations (DGMO) to strengthen Pakistan’s civilian government. Indian officials declined, stating that the Line of Control (LoC) “was a military issue.” According to a Tuesday report in The News, the meeting of DGMOs will occur on December 24 at the Wagah border crossing.[2]

Iran-Pakistan Relations

• According to a Tuesday report in the Express Tribune, Jahanpars Engineering and Construction, an Iranian firm, has indicated that it may be willing to pay the full $1.8 billion price for constructing the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline.[3]

Domestic

• On Monday, the commader of International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), General Joseph Dunford, met with Pakistan’s army chief, General Raheel Sharif, in a routine visit, where the two generals discussed U.S.-Pakistan relations and matters of mutual interest. The ISAF commander also met with the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Rashad Mahmood. According to an article in The News, talks between the ISAF commander and the army chief focused on issues relating to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.[4]

Militancy

• On Tuesday, police killed one Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant and injured another while preventing an attempted attack on a polio vaccination team in Karachi.[5]

• On Tuesday, Pakistani Rangers conducted several raids throughout Karachi, arresting 21 criminals and recovering a variety of weapons.[6]

• On Tuesday, a landmine blast killed two tribesmen and injured another in the Pewaar area of Kurram agency. In a separate event, an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) struck a police van on Kohat road in Yousaf Khel, Peshawar, injuring one.[7]

• On Tuesday, two separate bomb blasts killed a total of two people and injured four in Kurram agency. The first blast occurred in Pewaar, killing two and injuring three.

• On Monday, a bomb blast in the Wargarah area of Frontier Region Lakki Marwat destroyed a Khassadar force checkpost building. There were no reported casualties.[8]

• On Tuesday, a bomb blast targeted a security forces’ convoy in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan. There were no reported casualties.[9]

• On Tuesday, militants attacked a fuel tanker in Khuzdar district of Balochistan. A related article in the Express Tribune reported that the trailer was empty, but was possibly headed for Chaman from Karachi to transport North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military goods. [10]

• On Monday, unknown militants fired on a truck in Musakhel district, Balochistan, injuring four.[11]

• On Monday, a blast injured three people in Pindi-Gujran village, Punjab province.[12]