Pakistan Security Brief

Blast kills MPA, 26 others in Mardan; Taliban to hold talks with the U.S., Afghanistan; John Kerry delays visit to Pakistan; Ambassador to U.N. protests U.S. drone strikes; Hafiz Saeed claims Quetta attacks not Jihad; NA debates response to U.S. drone strikes; Press release refutes Karzai’s claims; Three bodies found in Islamabad; Balochistan prisons on high alert; Student activist Malala Yousafzi signs U.N. petition; Divide evident between security and civil apparatuses in terror attacks, say lawmakers; Militants kill two in North Waziristan; Police raid London homes in connection with Imran Farooq’s murder; Five killed in Karachi; Afghan refugees may be deported; 43 arrested in Karachi; Militant killed in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa; Kidnappers arrested in Mohmand agency; Nawaz Sharif to visit Turkey; Criminals extorting under name of Taliban; Budget wrangling continues; 3 bodies recovered; Sindh will hire 20,000 more policemen.

Militancy  

• A bomber wearing a suicide vest at a funeral in Mardan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa killed at least twenty-seven people on Tuesday, including a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-affiliated provincial lawmaker Imran Khan Mohmand. 60 more people were wounded by the bomber, while ten of those were said to be in critical condition.[1]

• Hafiz Saeed, chief of terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba's front organization Jamaat-ud-Dawa, claimed that attacks against Pakistani citizens and inside Pakistan do not constitute “jihad,” but instead, aid the U.S. and India. Saeed’s statement came in response to the Saturday Quetta terror attacks. He urged militant groups not to conduct attacks inside the country.[2]  

• In Swabi, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, police killed a suspected militant on Monday after he and two other men riding on motorcycles opened fire at security officials at a checkpoint.[3] 

• Three bodies were found stuffed in gunny bags in Bani Gala, Islamabad on Tuesday. [4]

• Prisons across Balochistan were put on high alert on Monday, two days after terror attack in Quetta killed nearly 30 people. The alert will seek to prevent another major jailbreak like last year’s Bannu, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa jailbreak, in which hundreds of militants assaulted the Bannu prison, allowing hundreds of prisoners and several high-profile terrorists to flee.[5]   

•  Militants attacked two security posts in North Waziristan on Tuesday morning, killing two security officials before fleeing. Roads within the area were closed shortly after the attack.[6] 

•  Five people were killed in separate incidents of violence across Karachi on Tuesday. Two bodies bearing torture marks were found near Clifton and Karimabad, while one person was shot and killed in Usmanabad. Another was shot dead in Liaquatabad, while the fifth was shot in Banaras Chowk.[7] 

• Raids throughout Karachi on Monday resulted in the arrest of 43 people by policemen. The suspects were wanted for a variety of different crimes, from auto theft to murder.[8]

•  In Mohmand agency, security forces arrested four alleged kidnappers in Haleemzai sub-district.[9]  

• According to a report in Dawn on Tuesday, petty criminals and organized gangs have been extorting money from people via telephone, using the guise of the Taliban. Using death threats, criminals have promised bomb attacks on homes which do not pay the money.[10]

• The body of Mehr Ullah Magsi, a relative of former governer Zulfiqar Magsi, was recovered on Tuesday in Sariab, Balochistan after Magsi, his guard and his driver were abducted on Monday. The bodies of his driver and guard were also found.[11] 

• As part of its 2013-2014 fiscal year budget, the Sindh government announced on Monday that it has allotted an additional Rs48.6 billion ($490 million) towards fighting crime in the province. These funds will allow the province to hire 20,000 more policemen.[12]  

• Pakistani student activist Malala Yousafzi, who was shot by militants last October, was the first signatory of a U.N. petition calling for world leaders to ensure the right of all children to safely attend school on Tuesday. Yousafzi’s signature comes three days after 14 students from an all girl’s school were killed in the Quetta terror attacks.[13]

Afghan Taliban Peace Talks  

• In a statement on Tuesday, the Taliban in Afghanistan announced that they would open an office in Qatar to begin holding peace talks with the Afghan government and the U.S. According to a U.S. senior administration official, “the core of it is going to be negotiations among Afghans, and the level of trust on both sides is extremely low, as one would expect.”[14]

 U.S.-Pakistan Relations  

• U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will reportedly visit Pakistan in early July according to Pakistani officials, rather than the last week of June as originally reported by the Pakistani foreign ministry last week. According to an anonymous official, “The Syria crisis shot up suddenly, so they had to reschedule the Pakistan visit.”[15] 

• Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations Masood Khan protested U.S. drone strikes during a Security Council debate on Children and Armed Conflict on Monday, stating that, “the use of armed drones violates sovereignty, causes civilian casualties, and puts communities at risk of reprisal attacks. Drone strikes radicalize disaffected communities and increase the number of terrorists.”[16]

• During a National Assembly session on Tuesday, PTI lawmaker Dr. Shireen Mazari called for increased opposition to U.S. drone strikes, noting that mere protests have had minimal effect on the frequency of U.S. strikes. National Security Advisor Sartaj Aziz assured Mazari that Pakistan’s position regarding drone strikes has already been conveyed to the U.S., and that if protests are not sufficient, other measures will have to be considered.[17]  

Afghan-Pakistan Relations  

• A Pakistani Foreign Office press statement released on Tuesday refuted claims that Afghan President Hamid Karzai made in an interview with Geo TV on Friday. Karzai, during the interview, claimed that some of Pakistan’s state institutions have not displayed a credible commitment to bringing peace to Afghanistan. According to the Pakistani press release, “promoting peace and stability to Afghanistan is an important pillar of Pakistan’s foreign policy which is supported by all state institutions.”[18]  

• According to the Express Tribune in a report on Tuesday, 1.6 million registered Afghan refugees and 0.6 million unregistered Afghan refugees will risk deportation or arrest on July 1, the expiration date for the proof of registration cards that the refugees hold. The Pakistani government has shown no signs of extending the July 1 deadline.[19]

Turkey –Pakistan Relations

• According to Turkish Ambassador to Pakistan Mustafa Babur Hizlan, in an interview with The News on Tuesday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will likely visit Turkish Prime Minister Receb Tayyip Erdogan shortly after Ramadan. According to Hizlan, Turkey is hoping to enhance its economic and political relations with Pakistan. In addition, Hizlan said that Turkish Air Force Commander General Mehmet Erten will also visit Pakistan.[20]

Domestic

• According to Interior Minister Chaudrhry Nisar Ali Khan, in a statement in front of the National Assembly on Monday, significant divide exists between civil and security apparatuses, evident in the wake of Saturday’s attacks on the Ziarat residency, and the Bolan Medical Complex in Quetta. Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Farhatullah Babar seconded Khan’s claims, noting that, “civil-military disconnect was indeed the root of the problem.” According to PPP Parliamentary Leader Raza Rabbani the “situation would not improve until the security apparatus was brought under the parliamentary and civil control.” However, according to Babar, previous efforts by the PPP in the previous government have not been fruitful.[21]    

• Two houses were raided on Tuesday in London in connection with the 2010 stabbing death of Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) Member of Parliament Dr. Imran Farooq. A Pakistani-British national was taken into custody for questioning on Tuesday as well.[22]

• In an offer on Monday, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar proposed cutting Rs50 billion from the defense budget (with the secretary of defense’s acquiescence) in exchange for withdrawing a proposed one percent increase in sales tax from the budget, following opposition to the sales tax within the Senate Standing Committee on Finance.[23]