Pakistan Security Brief

Pakistan Security Brief – July 20, 2009

Recent clashes between militants and Pakistani security officials in Swat and Malakand left a dozen militants dead; suspected Taliban militant ambush outside of Peshawar killed four policemen on Monday; an LeT-trained gunmen on trial for involvement in the Mumbai attacks last fall confessed to participating in the attack in court; former Pakistani president Musharraf supports a long-term reconciliation policy between Afghanistan and senior Taliban leadership.

• Former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf issued a statement Monday announcing his support for a long-term policy toward Afghanistan that would include negotiation with the senior Taliban leaders, as opposed to solely military force. “Military is never the ultimate solution…ultimately it is the political instrument which has to be used,” he pronounced.[1]
   
• The lone gunman on trial for the Mumbai terrorist attack last fall confessed to taking part in the attacks in court on Monday. The Pakistani national, Ajmal Kasab, stated that he was introduced to the militant group behind the attacks, Lashkar-e Taiba (LeT), in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. This news emerges as reports indicate that the Pakistani government has provided a dossier to the Indian government confirming LeT’s role in the attack last November.[2]
   
• Ongoing operations in Swat district and the Malakand area Sunday night left between twelve and fourteen more militants dead, local officials report. Security forces also confiscated various pieces of weaponry from suspected hideouts in the region. Meanwhile, one army officer was killed in an exchange of fire near Dardiaal.[3]
   
• A suspected Taliban ambush in the outskirts of Peshawar killed four policemen Monday morning, according to police officials from the area. The assailants, ten militants armed with Kalashnikovs, have not been identified. Also on Monday, another officer was killed by a remote-control bomb near Bannu district, adjacent to North Waziristan.[4]