Pakistan Security Brief

Drone strike in North Waziristan kills five, Pakistani ambassador denounces drone strikes; U.S. warns Pakistan against negotiations with TTP; Afghan Taliban dismiss trilateral meeting; Jamaat-e-Islami wants to negotiate with TTP; Jets kill eight in Orakzai; Over 2500 families displaced from Tirah Valley; Pakistan, CIA accused of torture; Four TTP members arrested; Report says dozens dead due to target killings; Attackers throw grenades at PAF Faisal base; Iran’s former Foreign Minister discusses Pakistan-Iran relations; TTP threatens Lahore bus drivers; India expresses concern over Chinese control of Gwadar port; PTI demands President Zardari’s resignation.

Drone Strikes

• On Wednesday, a U.S. drone fired six missiles at a house in Spin Wam subdistrict, North Waziristan, killing at least five people.  The attack completely destroyed the compound. On Tuesday during an interview with journalists in Washington, Sherry Rehman, the Pakistani ambassador to U.S., said that Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) drone strikes were “a clear violation of our sovereignty and a violation of international law.” During the interview, she stated that the notion that Pakistan has secretly supported the drone strikes but publicly denounced them fearing political backlash is false, and that Pakistan has made every effort to eliminate terrorists and their sanctuaries. Rehman also expressed concern over the outcome of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, fearing that Pakistan alone will have to deal with the volatile region. In response, White House spokesperson Jay Carney defended the strikes, saying “These strikes are legal, they are ethical, and they are wise.”[1]

Afghan and Pakistani Taliban Relations and Negotiations

• A report published by The News on Wednesday, states that U.S. officials have warned Pakistan government and military leaders against entering into peace negotiations with the Tehrik-e-Taliban (TTP). The report states that officials in Washington maintain that the peace negotiations are motivated by Mullah Mohammad Omar, the leader of the Afghan Taliban, to strengthen TTP support for the spring offensive in Afghanistan. Ehsanhullah Ehsan, a TTP spokesman, stated that Mullah Omar is accepted as the Taliban leader in Afghanistan and encouraged the TTP to stop operations in Pakistan and join the fight in Afghanistan. According to the report, Ehsan said that the TTP will send its militants to Afghanistan in March to support the Afghan Taliban. Although some Pakistani officials doubt that the TTP’s offer to negotiate is genuine, other officials urge the government to accept the short-term peace due to the fear that violence may disrupt upcoming general elections in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.[2]

• On Tuesday, officials from Jamaat-e-Islami stated that they would be part of the peace negotiations with the TTP  as long as it did not involve the President Zardari-led government. Talat Masood, a retired army general, stated that the TTP is trying to take advantage of Pakistan’s political instability by offering preposterous demands that would not be acceptable. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) spokesperson Mushahidullah Khan stated that the decision to participate in the negotiation will be placed on hold until PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif returns to Pakistan.[3]

• On Wednesday, Zabihullah Mujahid, Afghan Taliban spokesperson, dismissed the conclusion of a trilateral meeting between Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, and British Prime Minister David Cameron which sought to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table. Mujahid reportedly stated that an official response will soon be released. Victoria Nuland, the spokesperson from the U.S. Department of State, endorsed the conclusion of the joint summit stating the U.S. is committed to support the Afghan-led process. [4]

Pakistani-U.S. Torture Allegations

• In a report by the Open Society Foundations, a human rights watchdog organization, Pakistan is accused of cooperating with the CIA to torture and move suspected terrorists illegally.  The report said the Bush administration “authorised “extraordinary rendition” – the transferring of individuals without legal process — to allow US and foreign intelligence agencies to interrogate alleged extremists outside the protections ensured on US soil.”  Of the fifty-five countries explicitly labeled in the report, it specifically accused Pakistan, saying, “Pakistan captured, detained, interrogated, tortured, and abused individuals subjected to CIA secret detention and extraordinary rendition operations. It also permitted its airspace and airports to be used for flights associated with these operations.”[5]

Militancy

• Pakistani fighter jets struck three separate insurgent hideouts killing at least eight militants in Orakzai agency on Wednesday morning.  Orakzai’s assistant political agent Rafiq Mohmand stated that the jets struck hideouts in Upper Orakzai’s Arghanjo area, and reported no civilian casualties.[6]

• Over 2,500 families have been forced to evacuate the Tirah Valley in the last twelve days due to ongoing militant violence; Pakistani authorities are deliberating on whether to officially declare the valley a “war-hit zone.” Ongoing clashes between the TTP, Ansarul Islam (AI), Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) and a pro-government militia from Qamarkhel, pushed civilians out of the valley without food, shelter, or provisions against the cold.  People are fleeing to Peshawar, other parts of Khyber agency, Orakzai agency, and the Upper Tirah Valley for safety, though progress is slow and many are still left exposed and hungry.[7]

• Unidentified TTP Punjab members distributed fliers and pamphlets on buses in Lahore this week, warning drivers not to play obscene music or movies while driving or they would be harmed.[8]

• On Tuesday, two unknown suspects on a motorcycle threw two homemade grenades at the main gate of the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) Faisal base in Karachi, injuring one man.  Eyewitnesses claim the attack was more severe, saying unknown attackers in a car lobbed at least five grenades.  Police officials and explosives disposal teams are investigating.[9]

• The police’s Crime Investigation Department (CID) in Karachi arrested at least four suspected TTP members and confiscated a small arms cache on Tuesday.[10]

• In a weekly monitoring report from Islamabad, the Free and Fair Elections Network (Fafen) announced that more people were killed in target killings than any other type of violence last week.  The report says that at least 25 of the 73 target killings came from Karachi alone.  It went on to state that terrorist violence and terrorist attacks were the second leading killer, with at least sixteen deaths nationwide.[11]

• Two men on a motorcycle shot and killed a rickshaw driver in Dakkhana Chowk, Karachi, late Tuesday evening.  Police believe the attack was a targeted killing.[12]

• A local healer named Syed Zahid Ali Jaferi was shot and injured when two men on a motorcycle opened fire on him in his car on Tuesday in Saddar, Karachi.[13]

Pak-Iran Relations

• On Sunday, former Foreign Minister of Iran, Ali Akbar Vilayati, dismissed western media reports of Iran’s attempt to sabotage the Gwadar port, which was transferred to China last week. He stated that the reports are propaganda aimed at destabilizing the relationship between Pakistan and Iran. Vilayati said “Tehran supports Pakistan’s decisions,” and dismissed notions that Iran’s own Chahbahar port project was a source of rivalry between the two countries.[14]

• On Sunday, Ali Akbar Vilayati advised Islamabad not to give in to threats from U.S. regarding Pakistan’s decision to approve the Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline. Vilayati stated that Iran would provide technological support and help Pakistan overcome its energy crisis which does not concern the United States.[15]

Indo-Pak Relations

• On Wednesday, Indian Defense Minister A.K. Antony announced his concerns over China’s role in operating the strategically vital Pakistani port of Gwadar,  which was handed over to China’s state-run Chinese Overseas Port Holdings last week. Jay Ranade, of the Centre for Air Power Studies, stated that “having control of Gwadar, China is basically getting an entry into the Arabian Sea and the Gulf."[16] 

Domestic Politics

• On Wednesday, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan reiterated his party’s demand for the resignation of Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari stating that his position as co-chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) would interfere with his ability to oversee general elections impartially. Participants also voiced concerns over the ECP’s performance and demanded that four provincially appointed members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) be newly appointed.[17]