Pakistan Security Brief

Prime Minister creates four-member committee to facilitate TTP peace talks; Pakistani government urges TTP to observe a cease-fire; TTP spokesman welcomes offer for negotiations; PPP Chairman criticizes TTP talks; Government considers several options for military action in North Waziristan; Pakistani officials say Afghan Taliban more likely to negotiate following Afghan elections; Pakistan releases Afghan Taliban Commander Mullah Dadullah; Pakistani national security adviser says U.S.-Pakistan relationship is improving, meets with U.S. Secretary of Defense, calls for continued Coalition Support Funding for Pakistan; Indian Prime Minister to visit Pakistan in March; India proposes meeting resolve Kashmir trucker standoff; Villagers continue to flee homes in North Waziristan, fearing military action; Gunmen kill Frontier Constabulary officer in Hangu district; Two separate attacks, including a suicide blast, kill four and injure four in Karachi; Militants attack two pipelines in Dera Bugti, Balochistan.

Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Peace Talks

• On Wednesday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced the creation of a four-member committee that will facilitate peace talks with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). While speaking to parliament, Sharif urged the TTP to observe a cease-fire, stating that acts of terrorism must stop in order for peace talks to begin. Despite a recent surge in TTP attacks, the Prime Minister said he still believes negotiations are necessary for establishing peace in Pakistan. [1]

• On Wednesday, TTP Spokesman Shahidullah Shahid stated that the TTP welcomed the government’s offer for negotiations, and has convened a Shura to assess the formation of the committee.[2]

• On Wednesday, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), criticized the government’s decision to hold peace talks with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) leader Farooq Sattar has also expressed concerns over the negotiations, questioning which TTP faction the government would approach for talks. [3]

• On Tuesday, government officials stated Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the military were considering several options for military action in North Waziristan agency in response to a recent surge in TTP attacks on civilians and military personnel.  Sharif officially authorized the use of force at a January 24 meeting that had been organized following several high-profile attacks on security personnel in Bannu and Rawalpindi.[4]

Afghan Reconciliation Process

• On Wednesday, the Advisor to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on National Security and Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, stated that the Taliban will be more willing to negotiate with a new government in Afghanistan, which will come into power following the April elections. President Hamid Karzai has insisted on his government’s involvement in the peace talks, which Aziz said has hindered progress on the U.S.-backed effort to begin negotiations due to the Taliban’s reluctance to engage directly with Karzai.[5]

• On Monday, Pakistan released senior Afghan Taliban commander Mullah Mansoor Dadullah from prison. His current whereabouts are unknown. Dadullah was captured by Pakistani security forces in 2008.[6]

U.S.-Pakistan Relations

• On Tuesday, Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, said that Pakistan’s relationship with the U.S. is improving, in part due to the U.S. being more sensitive about Pakistan’s positions on regional issues. He called for stronger economic ties between the two countries.[7]

• On Tuesday, Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, met with U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey in Washington D.C. to discuss cooperation between the U.S. and Pakistan on security matters.[8]

• On Monday, Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, called for continued Coalition Support Fund (CSF) aid to Pakistan from the U.S., even after American forces withdraw from Afghanistan in 2014, because of Pakistan’s vulnerability to cross-border attacks. According to a Wednesday report in The News, the U.S. is planning to create a framework for such an extension of CSF aid to Pakistan.[9]

Indo-Pakistan Relations

• A Wednesday article in Dawn reported that Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh plans to visit Pakistan in March to resume dialogue between the two countries. Singh’s trip will follow Parliament’s budget session and precede India’s general elections, which are expected to begin in April.[10]

• In a meeting with a Pakistani delegation in New Delhi on Tuesday, Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said that both sides need to take a fresh approach to solving their mutual problems.  He added that he believes that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s efforts to improve Pakistan’s relations with India are sincere.[11]

• On Tuesday, an Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesman said that India has proposed a meeting of the Joint Working Group on Kashmir to resolve the dispute between Pakistan and India over India’s detention of 48 Pakistani truck drivers in Indian-administered Kashmir.[12]

• On Wednesday, Minister for Commerce Khurram Dastgir Khan said that Pakistan will not give Most Favored Nation (MFN) status to any country, including India, without reciprocation.[13]

Military Operations in the Tribal Areas

• A Tuesday article in Reuters reported that thousands of villagers have continued to flee their homes in North Waziristan, fearing military operations against TTP militants. While the government claims that all those killed in military air strikes were militants, local villagers claim civilians have been killed as well. The charity wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami has reportedly been providing food and blankets to the refugees.[14]

Militancy

• On Tuesday, unidentified gunmen killed a Frontier Constabulary officer in Tora Warai, Hangu district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.[15]

• On Wednesday, two separate attacks targeting security personnel in Karachi killed four people, including three Rangers, and wounded four. In the first attack, two improvised explosive device (IED) blasts killed four and injured three in Karachi’s North Nazimabad neighborhood; in the second attack, a suicide bomber detonated his explosive device at the entrance of the Rangers’ headquarters, killing three and injuring one, also in North Nazimabad.[16]

• On Wednesday, unknown militants attacked two gas pipelines in the Pir Koh area of Dera Bugti, Balochistan.[17]