Pakistan Security Brief

Different TTP factions claim responsibility for Sukkur attack; As Sahab posts video featuring TTP commander advocating jihad in Syria; Taliban’s Qatar office will reportedly re-open; PPP may boycott presidential elections, citing date change; JUI-F chief supports PML-N candidate; U.S. says no prisoner swap for Dr. Shakil Afridi; U.S. lends support to Pakistan’s Bhasha Dam; Pakistan, Afghanistan discuss ties and Qatar office; India moves forward with construction of dam on Chenab River; Afghan President Hamid Karzai agrees to visit Pakistan; Deputy Commander of Frontier Reserve Police targeted in Peshawar; Police detain suicide bomber in Peshawar;  Gunmen kill National Party worker in Balochistan province; Fifteen new ambassadors appointed by Nawaz Sharif; Iran capable of exporting 20,000 MW of energy, claims report; Altaf Hussain asks for grace period in ongoing investigation. 

Militancy

• Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan's (TTP) Jundullah faction has claimed responsibility for yesterday’s coordinated assault on an Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) outpost in Sukkur, Sindh provice.  According to TTP Jundullah spokesman Ahmed Marwat, the assault was retribution for the death of Waliur Rehman in a drone strike in May.   His claim has already been disputed by a Mohmand-based faction of the TTP, which claims it conducted the attack jointly with a Punjab-based TTP contingent. Former spokesman for the TTP, Ehsanullah Ehsan also denied that the Jundullah group is associated with the TTP.  Two attackers detonated a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device and a suicide vest before the other militants stormed the offices last night.  The death toll has risen to nine, including five militants and four security and intelligence officials; at least 36 people are wounded.[1]

• On Tuesday, al Qaeda’s media wing posted a video to jihadist web forums featuring TTP Commander Maulana Asim Umar.  Umar emphasizes the importance of jihad in Syria and claims several groups from Afghanistan have already traveled there.  The video was produced in May, but its publication follows recent allegations that the TTP has established cells in Syria, and dispatched foreign fighters to the conflict zone.[2]

• On Thursday, unidentified gunmen ambushed Deputy Commander of the Frontier Reserve Police Gul Wali Khan in Peshawar.  Khan sustained injuries in the attack, and his driver and bodyguard were killed.[3]

• Police detained two men in the Khazana area of Peshawar on Wednesday after finding a pistol and some explosives in their possession; one of the men was wearing a suicide vest, which security officials confiscated.[4]

• Two people were arrested following raids on the Hassan Garhi and Karkhano areas of Karachi on Wednesday.[5]

• Unidentified gunmen shot and killed National Party worker Noor Ahmed Buledi in the Bulaida area of Kech district, Balochistan province, on Wednesday.  Buledi was the brother of former Balochistan provincial minister Zahoor Ahmed Buledi.[6]

• On Thursday, unidentified gunmen killed three civilians and a security officer in Khuzdar district of Balochistan province.[7]

• Security officials found and defused a bomb at the Jamia Binoria seminary in the SITE area of Karachi today; according to a report in Dawn, a note was attached to the bomb characterizing it as a gift from the TTP.[8]

• Two men were injured in Karachi on Thursday when unidentified attackers threw grenades at their shop because they had refused to pay extortion money.[9]

• Unidentified gunmen killed two men in the Usmanabad area of Karachi on Thursday.  Separately, another man was shot to death in Baldia Town.[10]

• Unidentified gunmen killed a man in Orangi Town, Karachi, on Wednesday.[11]

• According to a report in The News on Thursday, a gang of Afghan criminals is terrorizing residents of Islamabad.  Armed with unspecified but “sophisticated” weapons, the men are allegedly responsible for a string of robberies at gunpoint across the city, including the residence of the Commissioner of Afghan Refugees.[12]

• On Tuesday night, at least two dozen militants attacked the Sheen Drang checkpoint in Akka Khel, Khyber agency, FATA.  Police officials and Frontier Constabulary forces repelled the attack; no casualties have been reported.[13]

Elections

• In protest to Wednesday’s Supreme Court ruling changing the date of the presidential election to July 30, the Pakistan Peoples Party is considering boycotting the election. PPP Senator Aitzaz Ahsan claimed in a press conference on Thursday, “The PML-N, Supreme Court and the ECP have joined hands to deny the PPP a fair opportunity. The PPP had also lost the May 11 elections due to a conspiracy.” According to the PPP nominee for president, Raza Rabbani, the PPP will decide whether or not to participate today (Thursday).[14]

• On Thursday, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman announced that the JUI-F will support the PML-N nominee for the presidential election, Mamnoon Hussain. According to a PML-N senior official, Hussain will need to win 342 seats to secure the presidency, which the PML-N can “manage comfortably.”[15]

• According to a Thursday Express Tribune article, the Election Commission of Pakistan has issued a list of the 103 people in contention for five National Assembly seats available in  Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province in by-elections, with another 37 people vying for four provincial openings.[16]

U.S.-Pakistan Relations

• On Wednesday, the spokesman for the U.S. embassy in Islamabad refuted media claims alleging that a prisoner exchange had been agreed upon whereby Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, incarcerated in the U.S. would be swapped for Dr. Shakil Afridi, who is currently imprisoned in Pakistan.[17]

• In a meeting with Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday, U.S. Ambassador Richard Olsen announced that the U.S. approved a grant of $20 million to Pakistan for its Diamer Bhasha Dam project. The funds will be used to ensure “due diligence” and feasibility studies on the construction of the dam and will be disbursed through USAID. Dar hopes that U.S. support will also encourage other international organizations to lend their support, according to the Express Tribune. The two also discussed a Bilateral Investment Treaty, which Dar will reportedly discuss with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry when he visits Pakistan in the next few weeks. [18]

 Afghan-Pakistan Relations  

• Foreign Office spokesman Aizaz Ahmad Chaudry said during a press conference on Thursday that the Afghan Taliban will soon re-open its Qatar office; additional details were not immediately available, however Chaudry observed that this move could pave the way for a peaceful compromise in Afghanistan. [19]

• In a press conference on Thursday, Foreign Office spokesman Aizaz Ahmad Chaudry claimed that Pakistan continues to strive to improve relationships with Afghanistan. He also confirmed that Afghan President Hamid Karzai has accepted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s invitation to visit Pakistan, although the dates of his visit have not yet been determined. [20]

• On Thursday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif held a cabinet meeting discussing a 12-point agenda, which included provisions to allow Afghan refugees to remain in Pakistan until 2015.[21]

India-Pakistan Relations

• According to a report by the South Asian News Agency on Thursday, India is moving ahead with construction plans for the Pakal Dul Hydropower Dam on the Chenab River in the Kishtwar area of Occupied Kashmir.  The dam will likely affect the flow of the Chenab River into Pakistani territory.  Pakistan Commission of Indus Waters official Sheraz Memon remarked that the Commission has reviewed the initial construction plans provided by India and has no objections, but was awaiting additional information to determine whether the project violates terms of the Indus Waters Treaty, a water sharing agreement between Pakistan and India brokered by the World Bank in 1960.[22]

 Domestic

• Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif appointed 15 new ambassadors on Thursday, including Pakistan’s ambassadors to the European Union, Iran, South Korea and Greece. Sharif has still 14 ambassadorships to decide upon, including his ambassador to the United States.[23] 

• On August 2, the Minister of Information and Technology will appear before a Lahore High Court to discuss the ongoing YouTube ban in Pakistan. The minister will reportedly discuss methods of blocking some material on YouTube, while allowing Pakistanis to access other content.[24]

• On Wednesday, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar met with officials from the Privatization Commission of Pakistan to discuss the ongoing privatization of state owned businesses. Dar asked officials to identify the businesses that are prepared to begin privatization as soon as possible.[25]  

Energy Crisis

• According to The News in a Thursday report, Iran is capable of producing five times as much energy as Pakistan, and is capable of exporting 20,000 megawatts of electricity to states in its immediate vicinity[26]

Altaf Hussain Investigation

• According to a Thursday The News article, Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain has requested more time in proving his innocence in money laundering investigation against the MQM and Hussain in Britain. Hussain may receive 10 grace days from British investigative agencies.[27]