Pakistan Security Brief

TTP establishes a base in Syria; Nawaz Sharif visits Interior Ministry, discusses terrorism; SRAP James Dobbins praises PML-N role in peace talks; MQM leader claims MQM being targeted by extremists; Uptick in violence in last two months; Senate to address Abbottabad Commission leak; Gunmen kill Superintendent Crime Branch in Karachi; Three explosions in Hyderabad, no casualties; IED explosion in Kohat kills 2; Gunmen kill off-duty police officer in Swat district; Large bomb defused in Hangu, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province; Nawaz Sharif forms anti-theft group for electricity; British Parliament hosts discussion regarding targeted violence against Shias in Pakistan; IHC makes case against Musharraf for 2007 Lal Masjid case.

U.S.-Pakistan Relations

• According to U.S. special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan James Dobbins in a Senate hearing on Thursday, the new PML-N government has been instrumental in encouraging  peace talks in Qatar. However, Dobbins also noted that Pakistan’s internal security problems are “more acute” than those in Afghanistan, and that more civilians are currently being killed in terrorist attacks in Pakistan than in Afghanistan. [1] 

Militancy

• A Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) official informed the BBC on Friday that the group has established a base in Syria in order to collect information about the situation and “assess the needs of the jihad.”  In addition to the warfare and information technology experts it has already dispatched, the TTP claims it has dozens of militants ready and willing to fight in Pakistan; however, the group has chosen not to deploy its fighters yet since opposition groups have enough manpower at the moment.[2]

• On Friday during a visit to the Interior Ministry, Nawaz Sharif declared that Pakistan has to, “win the war against terrorism at all costs.” During his visit, Sharif also discussed intelligence sharing and other national security policies with Interior Ministry officials. Sharif also ordered the ministry to fast-track an anti-terrorism plan, and assured that adequate funds would be provided for an anti-extremism program.[3]

• On Friday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met with Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal to discuss the security situation in Balochistan, as well as law and order in Pakistan.[4]

• According to a study released on Friday by the Centre for Research and Security Studies, there has been a surge in casualties by militant violence throughout Pakistan in May and June , with 634 and 619 dead respectively, compared to just 500 dead in April, indicating that despite popular belief, extremists are not soft on a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) or Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in comparison to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).[5]

• Following Wednesday’s assassination of Bilal Sheikh, President Asif Ali Zardari’s chief of security, Zardari has been advised by security agencies to restrict his movement for at least a month, according to a Friday report by The News.[6] 

• Two blasts occurred in Hyderabad, Sindh province, early Friday morning.  The first blast damaged the boundary wall of the office for the Senior Superintendent of Police, Hyderabad.  A second explosion was heard by the railway tracks in Hussainabad.  Geo News reports that a third blast occurred at the railway tracks a short time later.[7]

• Unidentified gunmen injured retired Police Superintendent, Crime Branch Maqsood Ahmad in an apparently targeted attack in the Lines Area of Karachi on Friday; Ahmad previously filed a petition with the Supreme Court against out-of-turn police promotions.[8]

• Police seized four firearms and detained seven people during three separate raids in Karachi yesterday; the suspects also possessed large quantities of drugs and alcohol.[9]

• Four people were injured in four separate shootings in the Malir-Saudabad, Star Gate, MA Jinnah Road and Mai Kolachi areas of Karachi on Friday.  Additionally two bodies were found: one in Old Haji Camp and the second in Defence Phase 2 area.[10]

• One man was injured early Friday morning during a firefight between an unnamed political party and a gang near the Karachi airport.[11]

• An improvised explosive device  blast on Thursday killed two people and injured five others outside a mosque in the Kacha Pakka area of Kohat, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.  Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governor Engineer Shaukatullah Khan strongly condemned the bombing.[12]

• On Friday, unidentified gunmen shot and killed an off-duty police officer in the Mingora area of Swat district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.[13]

• On Tuesday, security forces found and defused a bomb in Shahu Waam, Hangu district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province; the IED consisted of approximately 20kg of explosives and shrapnel hidden inside a gunny bag.[14]

• According to a security official, an improvised explosive device (IED) placed on a roadside in Hangu province, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, was defused by bomb disposal officials on Thursday.[15]

• On Friday, a former assistant director general of the Intelligence Bureau of Pakistan was shot and killed in Dhaki Nalbandi, Peshawar by unknown gunmen.[16]

• Unidentified gunmen opened fire in Turbat, Balochistan province, on Friday; the attack killed one man, the nephew of spokesman for Balochistan’s Chief Minister.[17]

Abbottabad Commission

• The Senate’s Defense Committee will discuss the leaked Abbottabad Commission report on July 16, according to the Chairman of the Defense Committee Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed. Reportedly the committee will discuss security and intelligence reforms in a two-day session.[18] 

• On Thursday, Dr. Shakil Afridi met with his family at the Central Prison in Peshawar; prison authorities had banned meetings after an interview with Fox News detailing his mistreatment in Pakistani detention was released last year.[19]

Saudi-Pakistan Relations

• On Thursday, Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to Pakistan Abdul Aziz bin Ibrahim bin Salih Al-Ghadeer met with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad. Al-Ghadeer indicated that the two countries plan to take their bilateral relations to new heights, and also provided Ramadan blessings.[20]

Domestic

•  According to Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) leader Dr. Farooq Sattar in a statement on Friday, the MQM is being targeted by terrorist groups because it is “the only one against the Talibanisation of Pakistan.” Sattar noted that 80 MQM workers were killed in attacks throughout the election season.[21]  

• According to a Friday report in the Express Tribune, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has formed an anti-electricity theft unit to investigate corrupt officials within the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA). According to the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), Rs40 billion ($400 million) has been stolen in electricity.[22]      

• In a statement released on Thursday regarding the London police’s investigation into Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain, Hussain declared that the MQM will remain “steadfast” in the face of international conspiracies against the party.[23] 

• During a bail hearing for three people accused of kidnapping, Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Dost Muhammad Khan noted that many kidnappings occur due to police neglect of duty or complicity in the kidnappings.[24]

Iran-Pakistan Relations

• On Friday, Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Malik Baloch declared that Pakistan’s planned pipeline with Iran must be honored, citing the additional 1,000 MW of energy the pipeline will bring to Pakistan.[25]

Musharraf Trial

• On Friday, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) ordered police to file a case against former President Pervez Musharraf for his role in the 2007 Lal Masjid operation, in which security forces lay siege to a radical mosque in Islamabad for 12 days, allegedly killing hundreds of students.[26] 

China-Pakistan Relations

• On Thursday, in response to a query posed regarding China’s official position on drone strikes in Pakistan, a Pakistani Foreign Office spokesman noted that, “the Chinese government will be in the best position to answer. However, I can say that the Chinese government has always voiced its support for sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan.”[27]

Afghanistan-Pakistan Relations

•  The Pakistani Foreign Office called for “constructive engagement” by all parties privy to the Qatar peace talks, which have flat lined since the opening of the Qatar office two weeks ago.[28]   

UK-Pakistan Relations

• Vice Chair of the all-Parliamentary group Lord Avebury convened a meeting on Thursday in Parliament to discuss the ongoing violence against Shia Muslims in Pakistan.  He suggested that Britain help Pakistan reform its intelligence community and security forces in order to more effectively combat militancy and terrorism.  Lord Avebury also proposed designating a portion of Britain’s foreign aid to Pakistan for the Shia victims of terrorist attacks and their families.[29]