Pakistan Security Brief

Two bombs kill at least 12 in Hyderabad, India; Supreme court adjourns hearing on Quetta bombing; Malik blames provincial governments for Quetta attacks; Anti-Terrorism Bill unanimously passed in National Assembly; Targeted operations against Lashkar-e-Jhangvi will continue; IED kills one and wounds 17 in Peshawar; PAF bombs militants in Orakzai killing 29; Several dead in Karachi; U.S. Ambassador reiterates U.S. commitment to Pakistan; Afghanistan to extradite Taliban commander; Pakistani clerics boycott Afghan Ulema Conference; Pakistan Army general says army supports transparent elections; Zardari urges bilateral trade between Pakistan and Iran; Iran and Pakistan will build oil refinery in Gwadar Pakistan State Oil may default on payments; Hafiz Khan says he sent money to poor not Taliban; Senator Graham 4,700 killed in drone strikes.

Bombing in India

• On Thursday, two bombs detonated in Hyderabad, India killing at least 12 people and injuring another 57. Indian officials said that two bombs had been placed on bicycles parked 150m (500ft) apart in crowded market. No group has yet taken responsibility for the attack.[1]

Quetta Bombing Aftermath

• On Thursday, during a Supreme Court hearing on the recent Quetta bombingChief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry stated that intelligence is to be shared with law enforcement agencies and not the courts, in response to recent Inter-Services Intelligence reports submitted to the court on the Quetta bombing. He also inquired about measures taken to prevent another attack. The Supreme Court asked Balochistan’s Inspector General of the Frontier Corps General Obaidullah Khattak to submit a reply by February 26th and adjourned proceedings until then.[2]

• In a senate meeting held on Wednesday, Interior Minister Rehman Malik stated that if the provincial government of Punjab fails to eliminate Lashkar-e-Jhangvi sanctuaries in the province, the federal government will take action into its own hands. In response to the bombing in Quetta, Malik blamed the Baloch provincial government for the recent attack  stating that intelligence agencies warned the Baloch government on three separate occasions of imminent threats to the Hazara community, but the government did not take any precautionary actions to stop the attacks. Malik also passed on blame to Pakistan’s National Assembly, stating that they are partially responsible for terrorist attacks because they have yet to pass a major anti-terrorism bill. He stated that there is evidence indicating cooperation between al Qaeda, the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. [3]

• Meanwhile, the National Assembly on Wednesday unanimously passed the Anti-Terrorism Bill 2013 which will allow government officials to freeze financial assets of people suspected to be involved in terrorism. Analysts from the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency believe that the bill is limited in scope and is only a small part of curbing terrorism.[4]

• Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira announced on Thursday that targeted operations against the leaders of LeJ responsible for the attacks on the Hazara community will continue until they are brought to justice. Kaira said that Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf had stated that the government will go to any extent to protect the lives of Pakistani citizens while a three member cabinet will be set up to monitor the implementation of the agreement made between the government and leaders of the Hazara community.[5]  

Afghan-Pakistan Relations

• According to an Associated Press report on Thursday, a Pakistani intelligence official stated that “at least half the Afghan Taliban recently freed from Pakistani prisons have rejoined the insurgency.”  The official speculated that the Taliban are biding their time until the United States withdraws from Afghanistan in 2014, which corresponds with the conclusion of Afghan president Hamid Karzai’s term.  The Afghan Taliban have long stated they are unwilling to negotiate with Karzai.[6]

• On Thursday, Officials from the Afghan Government assured Pakistan that they will extradite Maulvi Faqir Muhamamd, a senior TTP commander who was capture in Nangarhar province on Tuesday. [7]

• On Thursday, five Pakistani clerics announced that they will not be attending preliminary talks for the Afghan reconciliation process that is scheduled for Thursday in Kabul. Mufti Abu Hurraira Mohiuddin, one of the clerics boycotting the conference, stated that Pakistani clerics will not attend because of anti-Taliban remarks made by the Afghan Ulema Council. The Afghan Ulema Council, however, denies making any statements against the Taliban.[8]  

Militancy

• On Thursday, a bomb detonated at a mall in Peshawar, killing one person and wounding seventeen more. Police said the Pakistani Taliban was targeting mobile phone stores with the remotely-detonated bomb, which weighed approximately two kilograms and destroyed ten shops.  According to police officials, intelligence suggests there are twelve suicide bombers currently in Peshawar, adding that police had heightened security accordingly.[9]

• On Wednesday, Pakistani Air Force (PAF) jets launched two attacks in Upper Orakzai and Khyber agencies, killing 29 insurgents and destroying seven militant hideouts.  PAF jets launched the first attack in Arghanjo, Saparsok, and Tanboh areas of Orakzai, killing nine militants, injuring several others, and destroying three of their dens.  The second attack in Dawatoi, Khyber agency, killed 20 militants, including a commander, and destroyed four hideouts.[10]

• Bomb squads in Bangashkhel, outside of Bannu, found and defused thirteen bombs around a school on Thursday morning.  A local resident saw militants placing the bombs, which ranged from one kilogram to ten kilograms each, outside the girls’ primary school and called the bomb squad.[11]

• Three suspected militants were arrested and their drugs and arms confiscated in Orangi Town, Karachi on Thursday, after police received information from an arrested Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) activist.  Further, police arrested four suspects on Wednesday accused of kidnapping over 50 people and holding them for ransom.  Police found two grenades and various pistols on the suspects at the time of arrest.[12]

• At least five people died in various acts of violence across Karachi on Wednesday.  Two men were shot in separate incidents in Orangi town, when armed motorcyclists opened fire on them outside their houses.  In Pak Colony, motorcyclists shot and killed another young man.  Later Wednesday night, motorcyclists in Ranchhore lines area shot and killed another man.  In addition to the killings, a shootout between two unidentified groups in the Kharadar area terrified local residents, but there were no known injuries or deaths.  A hand grenade exploded outside a Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) office. [13]

• On Wednesday, two unidentified motorcyclists shot and killed two people, including a former peace committee activist, at a bazaar in Tank district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.[14]

U.S.-Pakistan Relations

• In a speech on Wednesday, U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Richard Olson reiterated the U.S.’s commitment to stability and peace in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.  Olson said he wanted to be clear that the U.S. has every intention of remaining engaged in the region, and that the nature of that engagement will change in 2014’s security transition, where the U.S. will withdraw its troops from Afghanistan.[15]

Iran-Pakistan Relations

• On Wednesday, Pakistan’s President, Asif Ali Zardari, announced that terrorism was a common enemy of Pakistan and Iran. The president also stated that Pakistan will accept Iranian technical and financial support for upgrading the Quetta-Taftan rail system. Zardari urged the Pakistani population to invest and trade with Iran, and called for removing trade barriers between the two countries. He also expressed his satisfaction over the recent signing of Security Cooperation Agreement aimed at stopping counter terrorism and criminal activity.  [16]

• Pakistani Petroleum Advisor Dr. Asim Hussain held a press conference on Thursday after meeting with Iran’s Minister of Oil Rostam Qassemi, where Hussain announced that Iran plans to build an oil refinery in Gwadar.  The refinery should process 400,000 barrels of oil daily, which, combined with the gas pipeline Iran and Pakistan will finalize plans for soon, should address issues of Pakistan’senergy crisis.[17]  

Taliban Negotiations

• Former chief minister Akram Khan Durrani, leader of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), announced on Thursday that the JUI-F was willing to play a role in peace negotiations between the government and Taliban militants.[18]

Drone Strikes

• On Wednesday, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham was quoted in saying that the U.S. has killed 4,700 people in drone strikes.  This is the first time a U.S. official has given an actual body count, including civilian casualties, militants, and other victims.  Graham went on to defend armed drones as “a weapon that needs to be used.”[19]

Domestic Politics

• In an announcement on Thursday, Major General Asim Salim Bajwa said in a press release that the army supports “free, transparent and timely elections.”  He stressed that the army has supported democracy for the last five years, and has no reason to change that now.  Bajwa went on to discuss the decision to deploy the army to Balochistan in the wake of Saturday’s massive bombing in Quetta, saying that “the decision to deploy the army would be made by the government.”[20]

• A blasphemy case was registered against Pakistani Ambassador to the U.S., Sherry Rehman, on Thursday. The businessman who filed the charges claimed that Rehman made blasphemous comments on a television show in 2010 and went to the Supreme Court after police rejected to register case.[21]

• Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan stated on Thursday that peace cannot be established until the issue of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) is resolved. He said that the causes of targeted killing differed in Karachi and Balochistan. Khan said that the Pakistani army should be called into Quetta if the provincial government failed to perform their duties.[22]

• Pakistan State Oil (PSO) said on Thursday it may have to default on its payments to international energy suppliers, a move which threatens major power outages, unless state-run companies pay long overdue bills to PSO. PSO owes $1.23 billion and is owed over $1.5 billion by domestic and state-run companies.[23]

Florida Taliban Supporter Case

• On Wednesday, cleric Hafiz Khan said in his testimony in Miami, FL, that he lied to an undercover FBI agent about wanting to send money to support the Taliban, and instead sent the money to the poor.  Khan allegedly tried to get $1 million from the FBI agent, and, when pressed, defended saying “I did the right thing.”[24]