Pakistan Security Brief

Pakistan Army forces reportedly deploy in tribal areas; Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa JI leader condemns airstrikes in tribal areas; Interior Minister says government has given up on peace talks with the TTP; TTP spokesman says TTP still interested in peace talks if government declares ceasefire; TTP Shura still willing to participate in talks; Tension over kidnapped Iranian border guards not stopping Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline from being built; Foreign Office denies that Pakistan will send troops to Saudi Arabia; Police arrest suspect in Peshawar cinema bombing; Police defuse two bombs in Karachi; Bomb Disposal Squad defuses bomb on railway in Punjab.

Military Operations in the Tribal Areas

• According to a Friday report in The News, Pakistan Army infantry forces, particularly those of the army’s Special Services Group, have entered the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) to seek out militant hideouts in preparation for potential military operations in North Waziristan and Khyber agencies.[1]

• On Thursday, Mohammad Ibrahim, the leader of the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa criticized the military’s recent strikes in North Waziristan and Khyber agencies, saying that it would mostly impact innocent civilians.[2]

Talks with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan

• On Thursday, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar announced that the government has given up on peace talks with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) due to the terrorist violence that occurred during the talks. He said that continuing talks with the TTP would be disrespectful to the victims of its attacks.[3]

• On Friday, TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said that the TTP is still willing to participate in talks with the government, despite the military strikes in North Waziristan agency, which he said exposed the government’s insincerity. He said that the government should initiate a ceasefire. He also criticized the Pakistani Constitution for not being Islamic enough.[4]

• On Thursday, the TTP Shura indicated that it is still interested in peace talks, and added that six other militant groups have contacted the Shura to say that they would also participate in talks.[5]

• According to a Friday report in The News, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif plans to keep parliament informed of developments regarding talks with the TTP.[6]

Iran-Pakistan Relations

• On Friday, meetings continued between Pakistani and Iranian officials on the abduction of five Iranian border guards. Both sides agreed on the need to address cross-border militancy.[7]

• On Thursday, a Foreign Office spokesperson denied that the cross-border dispute with Iran is blocking the construction of the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, saying that the pipeline is a separate issue.[8]

Saudi-Pakistan Relations

• On Thursday, a Foreign Office spokesperson called reports that Pakistan will send troops to Saudi Arabia “outlandish” and said that Pakistan does not have the troops to spare.[9]

India-Pakistan Relations

• Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid met in the Maldives on Thursday. They discussed the future of the India-Pakistan relationship and agreed that both sides should work to strengthen ties.[10]

Militancy

• On Thursday, police arrested a suspect in the February 14 Peshawar cinema bombing. The suspect, identified as Hasan alias Israr, was living in Peshawar, but had previously lived in Khyber agency.[11]

• On Friday, a Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) defused two bombs in a house in Musharraf Colony, Mauripur Karachi. The police had discovered a car full of explosives and a weapons cache in the same house on Thursday. The car was reportedly being prepared to target political figures or police personnel.[12]

• On Friday, police in Karachi arrested 67 people in targeted operations throughout the city. The operations were reportedly a response to the deaths of five people in the Orangi Town neighborhood on Thursday.[13]

• On Friday, a Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) defused a bomb planted on a railroad in Kot Mithun, Rajanpur district, Punjab.[14]

• According to a Friday Geo News report 97 police and Frontier Corps personnel have been deployed to the Charsadda Sub-Jail due to security concerns regarding possible militant attacks on the jail.[15]