Pakistan Security Brief

Pakistan Security Brief – June 14, 2010

New report claims ISI giving “extensive” support to Afghan Taliban; airstrikes target Taliban, militants blow up schools in Orakzai; Taliban fighters killed in roadside bomb, security forces arrest militants in Kurram; fighter jets bomb Taliban hideouts in Khyber’s Tirah Valley; two soldiers missing after raid on security checkpost in Mohmand; Punjab government accused of turning a blind eye to ministers’ ties to militant groups; three militants killed in Swat raid; two terror suspects arrested in Karachi; violence continues in Karachi; gunmen fire on Afghan-bound NATO tankers travelling outside of Quetta; several incidents of shooting deaths in Balochistan.

ISI supporting Afghan Taliban

• A new report published by the London School of Economics claims that the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) continues to train and arm the Afghan Taliban and has deeper links with the organization than initially believed. The scathing report, which included interviews with several Taliban field commanders in Afghanistan, concluded that it was “official ISI policy” to provide “very significant levels of support” to the Taliban and that the ISI’s involvement was both at “an operational level, and at a strategic level, right at the senior leadership of the Taliban movement.” Pakistani officials have resoundingly rejected these claims with army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas calling the report “rubbish” and saying that the document was full of “baseless and unsubstantiated allegations.”[1]

FATA

• Fighter jets continue to pound militant positions in the upper part of Orakzai Agency with ten militants reported killed in airstrikes on Saturday and another ten reported killed on Monday. Militants also blew up four government schools and six houses in different areas of Orakzai on Saturday.[2] (For detailed bi-weekly updates on the security situation in Orakzai CLICK HERE)

• As many as seven militants were reported killed when their vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb blast in the Chapri Kandao area of central Kurram Agency on Saturday. This is the first such incident of militants being targeted in a roadside bombing and officials say that the attack could have come from a rival Taliban faction. In a separate incident on Saturday, security forces in Kurram arrested four militants and seized weapons from them after stopping a suspicious looking vehicle in the Tandoo area.[3]

• On Sunday, fighter jets bombarded Taliban hideouts in the Zaka Khel area of Khyber Agency’s Tirah Valley, killing at least four militants and wounding more than 25 others. Five houses believed to have been militant hideouts were also destroyed in the bombings.[4]

• Two soldiers were reported missing following clashes that erupted after militants stormed a security checkpost in Mohmand Agency on Sunday. Security forces wounded three militants in retaliatory fire but have not yet been able to locate the two missing soldiers.[5]

Punjab

• At a seminar on Saturday observing the one year anniversary of the death of Dr. Sarfraz Naeemi, several speakers condemned the Punjab government for turning a blind eye to its ministers with links to banned militant organizations. A group of legal scholars also called for the dismissal of Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, accusing him of having close ties to militant outfits and additionally holding him responsible for the failure to apprehend Naeemi’s killers.[6]

Khyber-Pakhtunkwha

• Security forces killed three militants during the course of a search operation in the Charbagh area of Swat district on Sunday. Also in Swat, the houses of two militant commanders were also set on fire after they failed to surrender to government forces by the appointed deadline.[7]

Karachi

• Two men linked with the Taliban who were allegedly plotting a terror attack in Karachi were arrested during a police raid in the Baldia area of the city on Friday. A senior police official indicated that the suspects were planning to bring a suicide bomber from North Waziristan in order to carry out the attack in Karachi. Pistols, explosives, and bomb making equipment were also seized during the raid.[8]

• Sectarian violence among religious and political groups continued in Karachi over the weekend with at least four people reported killed in various “target killings.” Incidents of gunfire and arson temporarily led to a breakdown of law and order in certain parts of the city. On Saturday, Rangers responded by arresting 53 people in connection with the violence.[9]

Balochistan

• On Saturday, unidentified gunmen riding motorcycles opened fire on a convoy of NATO fuel tankers bound for Afghanistan as it was travelling through the Mach area of Balochistan, just outside of Quetta. The gunfire blew out two of the vehicles’ tires, which caused the trucks to overturn and spill hundreds of gallons of fuel on to the road.[10]

• A total of seven people were killed in various acts of violence across Balochistan on Saturday. Gunmen riding motorcycles shot and killed four people in three separate incidents while three more people were reported killed in clashes that took place at an Afghan refugee camp in Muslim Bagh. Four people, including one policeman, were also reported wounded when unknown attackers threw a grenade at a police team on patrol in Quetta on Saturday evening.[11]