Pakistan Security Brief

NATO containers cross from Afghanistan to Balochistan; PTI to hold protests in Islamabad; Foreign Office spokesman calls for bilateral withdrawal from Siachen Glacier; Foreign Office spokesman to be appointed Foreign Secretary; U.S. has given Pakistan over $10 billion as part of War on Terror; Frontier Corps Inspector General held in contempt of court in missing persons case; Supreme Court says former Prime Minister illegally distributed funds; Army chief visits North and South Waziristan; One dead, 17 injured in Balochistan bomb blast; One policeman killed, one injured in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa clash; Bomb blast injures four Frontier Corps in Khyber agency.

NATO

• On Wednesday, as many as 20 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) containers carrying military equipment crossed from Afghanistan into Balochistan, before heading to Karachi for further shipment. On Tuesday, the U.S. voluntarily halted shipments of cargo leaving Afghanistan through the Torkham crossing in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in response to protests by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in the region.[1]

• On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State stated that the United States hopes the situation in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa will not have a long-term impact, as the northern Torkham route that passes through the province is the preferred route for the shipping of cargo out of Afghanistan. According to Marie Harf, the State Department’s Deputy Spokesperson, the U.S. favors the Torkham route because of the cost but nevertheless is flexible in its use of air, sea, and ground transit routes to move cargo out of Afghanistan. [2]

• On Thursday, members of the PTI will be holding a protest demonstration in the federal capital in front of the parliament house in Islamabad. In addition, the party plans to submit a petition against drone attacks in the National Assembly.[3]

India-Pakistan Relations

• On Thursday, Foreign Office spokesman Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry said that Pakistan’s position on the Siachen Glacier is that a bilateral troop withdrawal is the best option. He said that the larger Kashmir dispute should be resolved through dialogue, and that Kashmiri leadership should be represented at talks.[4]

• On Wednesday, The Institute for Science and International Security, an American think tank, stated that India is close to finishing a second gas centrifuge facility at its Rare Materials Plant in Mysore, Karnataka. India began construction on the second centrifuge plant in 2010, but it was unclear at the time whether the second facility would serve as a replacement for the first site or a supplement. Indian officials stated that uranium from Mysore would be used to fuel its new nuclear-powered submarines. The report stated that enriched uranium could allow India to build nuclear bombs with more power than India’s current plutonium-based arsenal.[5]

U.S. Drone Strikes

• According to a Thursday report in The News, the November 29 killing of an Islami Jamiat Tuleba (IJT) activist in a U.S. drone attack in North Waziristan agency has reinforced concerns about the alleged connections of the Jamaat-e-Islami’s student wing with al Qaeda-linked terrorists.[6]

Domestic

• On Thursday, the government failed to present the thirty remaining missing persons before the Supreme Court. According to the Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, the missing persons were not in the custody of the government, but that efforts were underway to find them. Asif also stated that he will try to present the missing persons in court tomorrow, or assure the court that they have at least been located. The Court also charged Inspector General Frontier Corps (Balochistan) Major General Mohammed Ijaz Shahid, who did not attend the hearing after being summoned, with being in contempt of court.[7]

• On Wednesday, army chief Raheel Sharif met with the Director General (DG) of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Lieutenant General Zaheerul Islam, to discuss matters of national security, particularly in the tribal areas. According to the article in the Express Tribune, ISI officials also commented on recent reports regarding Mullah Fazlullah’s alleged return to the tribal areas. The ISI believes that Fazlullah is still hiding in Afghanistan, but that the TTP announced his return to keep up the morale of the organization’s foot soldiers. General Raheel highlighted the importance of the ISI as a “strategic institution” working to protect Pakistan’s interests.[8]

• On Thursday, army chief General Raheel Sharif visited the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) to meet with troops. He went to Miram Shah, North Waziristan agency, and Wana, South Waziristan agency, where he praised the dedication and sacrifice of the troops.[9]

• The Pakistani government announced that Aizaz Chaudhry will replace Jalil Abbas Jilani as Pakistan’s next foreign secretary. Jilani will become the new ambassador to the United States. Ambassador to Germany Abdul Basit, who was previously named as the next foreign secretary, will instead assume another top Foreign Service position.[10]

• On Wednesday, Pakistan’s Finance Minister Ishaq Dar informed the Senate that the U.S. government had reimbursed a total of $10.775 billion though the Coalition Support Fund and the Kerry-Lugar Bill.[11]

• On Thursday, the International Commission of Jurists issued a report praising Pakistan’s Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry for pushing for judicial independence but criticizing him for leaving the Court open to accusations of political bias. The report also said that Chaudhry has been inconsistent in his rulings.[12]

• On Thursday, the Supreme Court issued a ruling saying that former Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf released development funds in an illegal manner which favored certain legislators.[13]

• On Thursday, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief General Zahirul Islam met with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to discuss security and the missing persons situation.[14]

Militancy

• On Thursday, a bomb blast killed one person and injured seventeen in Chaman, Qilla Abdullah district, Balochistan.[15]

• On Wednesday night, unknown militants killed one policeman and wounded another on the outskirts of Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.[16]

• On Wednesday, law enforcement personnel arrested two militants allegedly involved in kidnapping and target killings during a search operation in the Jalozai refugee camp in Nowshera district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.[17]

• On Wednesday, four Frontier Corps personnel were injured when the security forces’ vehicle struck an improvised explosive device (IED) in Jamrud sub-district, Khyber agency. Soldiers opened fire after the incident, injuring one.[18]

• On Wednesday, a bomb blast damaged a house in Suleman Khel, Orakzai agency.[19]