Pakistan Security Brief

U.S., Pakistan to cooperate making new fertilizer useless for IED’s; Policeman protecting polio workers killed; Protests following Shikarpur shrine bombing; Men kidnapped and killed in Balochistan; Five die in Karachi targeted violence U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to take bids on counternarcotics center in Karachi in April; National Assembly passes new anti-terrorism bill; closing arguments heard in Florida terrorism case; Abu Dhabi Real-estate deal terminated;  PTI accuses PLM-N of receiving support from extremists; Kayani says army supports “free and fair” elections; Pakistani Interior Minister calls for Indian apology over Hyderabad accusation; Pakistan repays IMF loan.

U.S.-Pakistan Relations

• The United States and Pakistan will begin working together to develop a new formula for Calcium Ammonium Nitrate (CAN) fertilizer in an attempt to reduce the effectiveness of fertilizers used as the raw material in improvised explosive devices (IED). The agreement to develop the product was finalized last week when officials from the Fatima Group, a fertilizer manufacturer that owns the only factories in Pakistan producing CAN fertilizer that can be used in the construction of IEDs, met with U.S. government officials. Previously the Pakistani government had prevented the Fatima Group from negotiating directly with U.S. officials and Fatima Group had been, according to U.S. officials, much less helpful in combating the proliferation of CAN fertilizer. According to a report by CNN, the Fatima Group is also working on making the fertilizer more visible and has reportedly suspended sales of the explosive fertilizer to 228 dealers in the Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces.[1] 

• An article published by The News states that Pakistani officials are upset at claims made by U.S. officials stating that the Taliban prisoners recently released from Pakistan have returned to the battlefield. The News also reported that Pakistan is not likely to release Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar after the Afghan government refused to extradite Maluvi Faqir Mohammed, a commander in the Pakistani Taliban who was captured last week.[2]

• On Tuesday, according to a report by Dawn, the US Army Corps of Engineer will begin taking Requests for Proposals (RFP) to build a Tactical Command and Operations Centre, a center for counter narcotics and smuggling task forces in Karachi and Islamabad, by April 1, 2013. The winner will have one year to construct the operations center after the notice to proceed (NTP) is issued.[3]

U.S. Declares CNG and Malang Wazir Terrorists

• On Monday, the U.S. Department of State officially designated the Commander Nazir Group (CNG), a branch of the Pakistani Taliban headed by the late Taliban leader Maulvi Nazir, and one of its leaders, Malang Wazir, as Specially Designated Global Terrorists, which makes them targets of U.S. action, blocks the CNG from interacting with U.S. entities and prevents U.S. citizens from interacting with the CNG.  Despite Nazir’s death in January, the group continues to support al Qaeda, to run training camps, and send suicide bombers and other fighters to attack in Afghanistan.  Wazir was named the new commander of the group following Nazir’s death, and is notorious for running training camps and for coordinating attacks on targets in Afghanistan and Pakistan.[4]

Militancy

• On Tuesday, a police officer guarding a polio vaccination team was shot and killed by unidentified assailants in Ghalla Dher near Mardan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province. Polio vaccination staff remained uninjured.[5]

• The National Crisis Management Cell (NCMC) released a threat alert stating that a female suicide bomber had entered Punjab Province traveling from Bhabra, Bajaur agency. The threat alert instructed the Home Secretary of Punjab, Inspector General of Police and Director General of the Punjab Rangers to adopt appropriate security measures to prevent an attack in the province.[6]

• In Balochistan, unidentified assailants killed one man in a firing incident in Turbat district on Monday. A man was also kidnapped by four unidentified assailants in Kohlu district on Monday.[7]

• Violent protests were reported following an explosion at the Dargah Pir Hajan Shah Huzoori Shrine in Shikarpur, Sindh on Monday.  [8]

• In Karachi, one person was killed and another injured in a shooting incident in Orangi town on Tuesday. One person was also shot and killed in Surjani town and another in Garden area. Protests erupted in response to the incidents. Protestors marched towards the Karachi Supreme Court’s registry demanding action be taken against the attackers.[9]

Domestic Politics

• On Tuesday, a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) spokesman accused the Pakistani Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) of drawing support from extremist groups, citing an incident Sunday when Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat’s (ASWJ) leader Maulana Mohammad Ahmed Ludhianvi reported that the PML-N had approached him about seat adjustments.  The PTI spokesmen said that the PML-N’s cooperation with extremist groups endangered innocent lives, and referenced Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s statement in 2010 that PML-N’s ideology mirrors the Taliban’s. [10][11]

• In a conversation with the press on Sunday, Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani confirmed that he, and the army, support “free, fair, and transparent elections”, independent of who is elected.  He added that the constitution obligated the army to support free, general elections, and that a look to his and the army’s actions was evidence of their support of democracy.[12]

• On Monday, the Pakistani government introduced an anti-terrorism bill in the National Assembly. The new bill will implement restrictions on reviving political groups under new names that continue similar activities and court bails for people accused of crimes punishable by death or over 10 years in prison. [13]

Indo-Pak Relations

• During a press release on Monday, Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik strongly condemned Indian authorities for blaming the Hyderabad Deccan bomb blasts on deceased Pakistani lawmaker Manzar Imam, and demanded an apology.  On Sunday, an Indian news channel accused the Indian Mujahideen (IM)  of mastermining the attack, but accidentally used  Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) legislator Manzar Imam’s picture, despite the fact that Imam was murdered in January. Malik warned that the Pakistani government will “lodge [a] protest with [the] Indian high commissioner.”[14]

Florida Terrorism Case

• On Tuesday, closing arguments were heard in the case against Hafiz Khan, a Muslim cleric that is accused of providing financial support to the Pakistani Taliban. The prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sivashree Sundaram, reiterated the evidence against Khan quoting passages from FBI intercepts of Khan’s conversations. Khan’s attorney in his closing arguments said that Khan was simply speaking out about the political situation in Pakistan and the prosecution failed to provide evidence of money received by the Taliban. U.S. District Judge Robert Scola, the judge presiding over the case, denied defense requests to acquit Khan of charges due to lack of evidence and said “more than sufficient evidence” existed.[15]

IMF Loan

• On Tuesday, the Pakistani Government repaid $391.8 million due to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on time, its tenth repayment to date. Pakistan still owes over $4.9 billion ( the dollar equivalent of its due in Special Drawing Rights worth 3,239 million).[16]

Abu Dhabi Deal Terminated

• On Tuesday, Abu Dhabi royal Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak al-Nahyan terminated the $45 billion deal between Abu Dhabi Group and Pakistani real estate businessman Malik Riaz Hussain that the two signed just two weeks ago.  Mubarak cited no details as to why the deal was canceled, only saying “It is…unfortunate that discussions between the parties could not reach any conclusion and the Memorandum of Understanding has been cancelled.”[17]