Pakistan Security Brief
Prime Minister Ashraf asks British Prime Minister for British weapons and equipment in Afghanistan; Indian Prime Minister says India concerned with security in Pakistan, considering boosting military; TTP and AI clash in Tirah Valley; UN Secretary General calls for India-Pakistan dialogue; CID announces TTP involved in IED attack on gas company in Karachi; NATO strike kills TTP militants in Afghanistan; Several dead in Karachi.
Indo-Pak Relations
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On Tuesday, Mansoor Ahmed, a specialist from Quaid-e-Azam University’s Department of Defense and Strategic Studies, said that the surface to surface ballistic missiles Hatf-IX (Vengance-IX)/Nasr (Nasr) Pakistan tested on Monday are “evidence that Pakistan is leaning more heavily on its nuclear deterrent…relative to arch-rival India.” He explained that the Nasr missiles were designed to avoid all counter-measures and be especially accurate and mobile, which, combined with their ability to carry nuclear warheads, is indication of a clear attempt to “maintain a semblance of deterrence stability” in the face of growing disparity in conventional capabilities between the two countries.[1]
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Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said during a press release on Tuesday that India is very concerned with the “security situation” in Pakistan, and “India needed to improve its forces to meet the new security challenges in the region.” Singh went on to say that, while India is committed to peace with Pakistan, conflicts like the Kashmir violence across the Line of Control (LoC) in January are antithetical to that process.[2]
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On Tuesday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s spokesperson Martin Nesirky announced that Ban “called for a dialogue between India and Pakistan to ease the tensions in Indian-held Kashmir.” Tensions are high in Kashmir after India executed Kashmiri militant Afzal Guru over the weekend, which caused riots and protests that killed three and injured dozens more.[3]
U.K.-Pakistan Relations
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On Tuesday, Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf and British Prime Minister David Cameron met in London, where Ashraf asked Cameron to consider giving the leftover military equipment British troops will leave behind in Afghanistan to the Pakistani military. Ashraf explained that Pakistani troops need night vision goggles, tanks, and other equipment to effectively fight the war on terror, and questioned Cameron on why the British signed an expensive deal to withdraw through Uzbekistan, instead of the comparably cheaper Pakistani route.[4]
Militancy
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On Tuesday, six Ansarul Islam (AI) and 13 Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) fighters were killed during clashes to gain control of the Darra Stanai checkpoint in the Tirah Valley, Khyber agency. AI spokesman Sadat Afridi claimed that AI captured the Darra Stanai checkpoint from the TTP, but that TTP left behind planted explosives which injured several AI fighters. [5]
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On Wednesday, officers from the Sindh Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) announced that their investigation concluded the TTP’s Swat and Mehsud groups were involved in the improvised explosive device (IED) attack on Sui Southern Gas Company that took place on Monday.[6]
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An Afghan member of parliament, Haji Sakhi, stated that the NATO airstrike in Afghanistan on Wednesday killed two Pakistani Taliban fighters.[7]
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On Wednesday, three bodies were recovered in different areas of Karachi. A body showing signs of torture was found in Peerabad, and another in Qasba colony. A gunshot victim was recovered in Allahrakha Park at Kharadar. [8]
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Unidentified assailants injured two people when they opened fire in Karachi on Wednesday.[9]
