Pakistan Security Brief

Pakistani Army test fires two short range nuclear missiles; India executes Afzal Guru, tensions rise, protesters killed; U.S. drone strike kills nine, including 2 al Qaeda men; U.S. Senate considering special court for drones; Released Taliban prisoners rejoin the Taliban; Bomb in Kuchlak kills one, police find 25kg IED; PAF jets kill eight militants in the Tirah Valley; U.S. begins drawdown of forces through Pakistan; Khyber agency police find weapons cache; TTP threatens shop owners not to sell obscene films or Viagra; U.S. Ambassador advises on U.S.-Pakistani relations; Swiss government will not reopen Zardari corruption case; Mortars in Quetta kill 7, cause blackouts.

Drones

• On Friday, a U.S. drone strike killed nine militants, among them seven members of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and two members of al Qaeda, Abu Majid Al Iraqi and Sheikh Abu Waqas Al-Yaman in the Babar Ghar area of South Waziristan.  U.S. officials anonymously reported that only militants were killed in the attack on the compound on Friday evening.[1]

• Deputy National Security Adviser John Brennan testified on Thursday in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee saying that locals in al Qaeda infested areas welcomed drone strikes.  In the debate, Senator Dianne Feinstein announced that she and some of her colleagues are working on proposing a special court system to regulate drone strikes.[2]

 Pakistan Test Fires Short Range Missile

• The Pakistan Army’s Inter Service Public Relations (ISPR) announced in a Monday press release that the army had successfully test-fired two Short Range Surface to Surface Missiles Hatf IX (NASR).  The missiles are capable of carrying nuclear warheads, and can be fired from a mobile platform, which now gives the army the ability to fire nuclear missiles at a target and immediately move, avoiding counter-fire.[3]

Indo-Pak Relations

• On Saturday, Indian prison authorities hanged Mohammad Afzal Guru, a man convicted of helping plan the 2001 attacks on the Indian parliament.  After Guru was hanged, Indian police in Kashmir imposed a curfew, in order to prevent demonstrations and rioting. Between Saturday and Sunday, protests across the region injured at least 40 people (including security officers) and killed at least two.  Tens of thousands of police deployed across Kashmir, where they set up barricades, and attempted to dispel protests with teargas, batons, and in some cases, live rounds.  On Monday, a young boy succumbed to his injuries and died in hospital after being shot by Indian police in protests against Guru’s execution on Sunday.[4]

Freed Taliban Rejoin

• According to a report published by The Washington Post on Monday, several Pakistani, Afghan, and U.S. officials believe that some Taliban fighters released by Pakistan as part of attempts to aid Afghan peace talks may have rejoined the Afghan Taliban on the battlefield.  According the report, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) failed to consult with the Afghan High Peace Council when freeing the prisoners. Officials from the U.S. military reportedly stated that the military is trying to track down the whereabouts of any former prisoners that may have returned to the Afghan Taliban. During the recent summit between Afghan, Pakistani and British leaders in London, officials from Pakistan and Afghanistan reportedly set up new coordination measures that will be implemented before releasing any additional Taliban prisoners. [5]

Militancy

• On Saturday, a bomb detonated killing one person and injuring at least three in Kuchlak, Balochistan. Police cordoned and searched the area finding a 25kg improvised explosive device (IED) planted inside a parked car. The bomb squad defused the secondary device and also found two cans of gasoline near the vehicle.[6]

• The Pakistani Air Force conducted bombing raids in Khyber agency’s Tirah Valley, killing at least eight militant and injuring several others on Saturday. The strikes targeted members of Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) in Bazaar Zakha Khel and Aka Khel areas of Khyber Agency.[7]

• On Sunday, Pakistani security forces recovered a cache of weapons, ammunition, and explosives during a raid in Lower Dir district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). The cache included Pakistani and Afghan army uniforms as well as mines, hand grenades, three kg of explosives, 46 fuses, six detonators, and at least three weapons.[8]

• On Monday, police were ambushed by two assailants near Sharkpur Sharif in Sheikhupura district while transporting a suspect accused of kidnapping for ransom. The two attackers, believed to be accomplices of the accused, were killed when Police returned fired. The man in custody was also killed during the incident.[9] 

• The Pakistani Taliban’s Khyber branch, going by the Tehrik-e-Taliban (TTP) Khyber, threatened shopkeepers in Karkhano market, Peshawar against selling “obscene films” and male enhancement drugs on Monday. Shopkeepers reportedly found pamphlets containing warnings of retaliation.[10]

• A man and his son were killed on Sher Shah Suri Road in Peshawar on Saturday when unidentified assailants opened fire. Another man was injured in the attack.[11]

• On Sunday, seven people were injured from shrapnel when a mortar was fired on Khuda-e-Dad Road in Quetta, Balochistan. Another mortar round damaged the power supply, causing blackouts in the area.[12]

• On Monday, a man was killed and his bodyguard injured when unidentified assailants opened fire in Joria Bazar located in the Old City Area of Karachi.[13]  

• A man was killed in a shooting incident in the Sherpao Colony area of Landhi, Karachi on Monday.[14]

• On Monday, a man was killed during an attack in Bin Qasim area, Karachi.[15]

• Two people were killed in a shooting incident in the Garden area of Karachi on Sunday.[16]

• On Monday, three people were killed and two others injured in a shooting incident in the Ahsanabad area of Karachi.[17]            

• On Sunday, protestors attacked a police checkpoint in north Karachi in response to a shooting incident that injured three people.[18]

• A man was killed when unidentified assailants opened fire on Monday in Chakro village, Larkana, Sindh.[19]

• Four bodies of victims in a shooting incident were recovered in Samar Bagh in Peshawar on Saturday.[20]

• A blast injured three police officers on the Grand Trunk Road near Nishtarabad Bridge in Peshawar on Sunday.[21]

 U.S.-Pakistan Relations

• On Saturday, U.S. military material began journeying across the border from Afghanistan to Pakistan in southern Balochistan and northwestern Khyber agency  as a part of the drawdown of U.S. forces from Afghanistan.  Trucks carrying a total of fifty containers crossed the border over the weekend, as part of the effort to get U.S. ground forces out of Afghanistan by 2014.[22]

• On Friday, former U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter wrote an Op-Ed in The Atlantic with his suggestions for how to move forward U.S.-Pakistani relations .  His advice included ensuring that U.S. maintains a focus on Pakistan regarding militants and terrorism that is independent from concerns in Afghanistan, rethinking civilian and economic assistance between the two nations in light of lessons learned in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan .  Munter stressed that, while bilateral cooperation between the Pakistani and U.S. governments are necessary and good, whenever possible the nations should consider a regional view and agenda. Furthermore, Munter wrote that  cooperation beyond the political realm (business, tourism, etc…) would be crucial for a strong relationship  that would replace suspicious, negative narratives with positive, peaceful, and trusting ones.[23]

Switzerland Will Not Reopen President Zardari Case

• On Sunday, Pakistani officials announced that Swiss authorities had sent a letter explaining that the Swiss government will not reopen a corruption case against President Zardari on the grounds that Zardari has international immunity, and because the case had become “time barred.”  Swiss authorities had previously been investigating claims that Zardari and his wife, former Prime Minister Bhutto, had embezzled $12 million dollars from Swiss inspection companies, and was closed in 2007.[24]

New Tax Laws

• Pakistan seeks to deploy a scheme aimed at reducing tax evasion. According to a report by CNN, only 800,000 people of the 180 million residents pay taxes. Pakistan is seeking to place every citizen in a multi-biometric database that will reduce tax evasion as well as serve as a platform to pay out benefits and alleviate ID fraud.[25]

Florida Terrorism Case

• On Monday, the first of 11 defense witnesses in the case against Florida resident Hafiz Khan, who is on trial for funding the Pakistani Taliban, will testify via live video from Islamabad. Defense lawyers will be able to ask questions in Pakistan while prosecutors will cross examine witnesses via live video. [26]