Pakistan Security Brief

Doctors to decide if Musharraf will go abroad for treatment for heart disease that may need by-pass surgery, says lawyer; Sources allege Musharraf will be sent to Saudi Arabia; Information Minister dismisses link between Saudi Foreign Minister’s visit and Musharraf’s court case; Pakistan’s Defence Minister and army chief meet with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif; JUI-S leader Maulana Samiul Haq requested meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister; militants kill ASWJ leader; More than 50 insurgent camps operating in Balochistan; Family of kidnapped American development worker seek evidence he is alive; Pakistani Army searches Peshawar Central Prison; blast in Karachi injures two; explosion damages school in Charsadda district; Security forces recover mine in Hangu; Blast near Islamabad damages buildings.

Musharraf Treason Trial

• According to report on Friday article, former president Pervez Musharraf’s attorney was quoted as saying that doctors will decide whether Musharraf must go abroad for medical treatment. Rumors have been circulating that Musharraf was trying to leave the country to avoid appearing before a court to face treason charges.[1]

• On Friday, Musharraf’s attorney told reporters that Musharraf’s medical tests indicate he is suffering from heart disease. The former president’s legal team promised to produce his full medical report to the special treason court by January 5. According to a Friday article in Dawn, Musharraf may need an angioplasty or by-pass surgery, procedures that may take place in Dubai or London.[2]

• According to a Friday article in the Express Tribune, sources close to Musharraf alleged that the former president will be sent to Saudi Arabia under a “secret deal” in the same way the incumbent Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was exiled to Saudi Arabia in 2001. Legal experts cited in the article believe that Musharraf cannot leave the country without the permission of the court in which he is to face treason charges, as the government cannot lift the travel ban against him.[3]

• According to a Friday article in The News, Pakistan’s Information Minister Senator Pervaiz Rashid stated that the government is not under pressure to send Musharraf abroad and dismissed attempts to link the forthcoming visit of the Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal to Musharraf’s court case. The Foreign Office’s spokeswoman, Tasneem Aslam also stated that the Saudi Foreign Minister’s visit was part of a “routine interaction” between the two countries, and had nothing to do with the treason case against Musharraf. Musharraf is not under arrest, as the special court granted him a one-day exemption due to his sudden illness.[4]

High Level Meetings

• On Friday, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif and army chief General Raheel Sharif each had separate meetings with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, where they discussed Musharraf’s health situation and treason trial. The army chief also informed Prime Minister Sharif of the decisions made at the corps commanders meeting in Rawalpindi.[5]

• On Thursday, army chief General Raheel Sharif held the 168th Corps Commanders’ Conference at General Headquarters in Rawalpindi to discuss matters relating to national security.[6]

Taliban Peace Talks

• According to anonymous sources quoted in a Friday article in the Express Tribune, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Sami (JUI-S) leader Maulana Samiul Haq asked for a meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, after which Haq stated the government had tasked him with engaging the Pakistani Taliban in peace talks. Previous reports stated that the government sought out Haq to initiate peace talks.[7]

Militancy

• On Friday, unknown militants killed the General Secretary of the Ahl-e-Sunnat-Wal-Jamaat’s (ASWJ) Islamabad chapter, Mufti Muneer Muawiya and Qari Asad Mahmood, a member of a Sunni Muslim group, in Islamabad’s I-8 sector.[8]

• On Friday, the Inspector General of the Frontier Corps (Balochistan) Major General Ejaz Shahid stated that there were more than 50 insurgent camps targeting security forces and important installations in Balochistan.[9]

• On Thursday, the family of the kidnapped U.S. development expert Warren Weinstein released a statement asking for “date-specific” confirmation that Weinstein is still alive. Last week, in his first video appearance since September 2012, Weinstein appealed to President Barack Obama in a video to negotiate his release.[10]

• On Thursday, the Pakistan Army searched the Peshawar Central Prison for more than 16 hours after receiving information that jackets laden with explosives had been delivered to a Taliban prisoner.[11]

• On Thursday, a blast in North Nazimabad, Karachi injured two.[12]

• On Thursday, an explosion damaged a state-run girls’ school in Charsadda district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP).[13]

• On Thursday, security forces recovered and defused a 10-kilogram anti-tank mine that had been concealed in a handcart in Thall sub-district in Hangu, KP.[14]

• On Thursday, an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded near the office of a food outlet along the GT highway near Islamabad, damaging the outer wall of the food outlet. There were no casualties.[15]