Pakistan Security Brief

Pakistan Security Brief – June 24, 2010

“Virginia five” receive ten year prison sentence in Pakistan; Pakistan’s army denies Taliban resurgence in South Waziristan; security forces arrested five suspected militants in Khyber Agency; 8 militants killed in Orakzai Agency; militants kill Jamaate-e-Islami leader in Darra Adam Kel; Brookings Institute study says madrassas not fueling militancy; U.S. Special Envoy Holbrooke discusses McCrystal removal with Pakistani officials; two people killed in latest targeted killings in Karachi; doctors protest kidnappings, security in Balochistan; Sino-Pak nuclear deal moving ahead as scheduled; army hands over control of checkpoints in Swat to civil authorities; Indian and Pakistani officials convene in Islamabad; “bin-Laden hunter” back in U.S.

Virginia Five Sentenced

• Five Americans arrested in Pakistan’s Punjab province have each been sentenced to 10 years in prison for criminal conspiracy and terrorism charges, specifically for funding a banned terrorist organization, the deputy general prosecutor said on Thursday. The five men are believed by Pakistani and American intelligence agencies to have travelled to Pakistan in December to join militants fighting U.S. forces in Afghanistan. The men were arrested in the city of Sargodha after their families informed the FBI of their location.  A spokesman for the United States Embassy in Islamabad, Richard Snelsire, said, “We respect the decision of the Pakistani courts.”  A lawyer for the men said they would file an appeal.[1]

FATA

• Pakistan’s army denies that Taliban militants have returned to their strongholds in South Waziristan, following a press account in which an unidentified Taliban spokesperson told the BBC that militants were again operating in South Waziristan. Army spokesperson, Major General Athar Abbas, said that the army remains “firmly in control” in South Waziristan after the army claimed victory in December. However, General Abbas admitted that militants were expanding their operations in Punjab province and Orakzai Agency.[2]

• The Pakistani army arrested five suspected militants during a pre-dawn raid in Mullagori area in Khyber Agency on Wednesday. According to military sources, the raid was conducted after intelligence agencies received a tip-off that militants were hiding in the area. After a brief exchange of fire security forces apprehended the five suspects. The identities of the five men remain unknown. [3]

• Security forces killed 8 suspected militants in the Orakzai Agency on Thursday. Official sources said soldiers attacked militant positions in Upper Orakzai's Ghandakai region. Two training facilities and several militant hideouts were also destroyed during the attack, sources said.[4]

• Suspected Taliban militant killed the leader of the local chapter of Jammaat-e-Islami and kidnapped his son in Darra Adam Khel on Wednesday. Muhammad Khan, the leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami in the Frontier Regions, was killed by gunment and his son, Haji Khan, was abducted  while they were walking towards a mosque to offer evening prayers, a tribal source told the Express Tribune. According to sources, Taliban militants had repeatedly threatened Khan, demanding that he pay Rs 5 million in extortion money.[5]

Madrassas and Extremism

• Madrassas in Pakistan are not increasing militancy, a report by the Brookings Institute concluded on Thursday. The reports says that while religious schools are often cited as breeding grounds for extremism, the real source of militancy in the country is the poor public education system. Report co-author Rebecca Winthrop, said that the most urgent priority should be to increase the number of schools in Pakistan, where a literacy rate of 56% is among the lowest outside sub-Saharan Africa. "The almost exclusive focus on madrassas as a security challenge - which is especially prevalent in the west - needs to be corrected," the report said. [6]

U.S.-Pak Relations

• U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke discussed the removal of General Stanley McCrystal with President Asif Ali Zardari and Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvaiz Kayani (COAS) on Thursday. President Zardari stressed Pakistan’s commitment to eliminating terrorism and urged the U.S. to continue to support Pakistan. Mr. Holbrooke landed in Pakistan on Wednesday from Kabul to meet COAS Gen. Kayani, whom he did not meet during his last visit as Gen. Kayani had gone to China. After his meetings with Pakistani officials, Mr. Holbrooke will travel from Islamabad to NATO headquarters in Brussels.[7]

Karachi

• Two people were killed by gunmen in targeted killings in Shah Faisal Colony on Thursday. During search operations in the city, police and rangers arrested 62 suspects and confiscated illegal weapons in their possession. Gunfire was reported from various parts of the city throughout the morning. Businesses in Orangi Town, Shah Faisal Town, Dale Mian, North Nazimabad and the Lines Area remain closed. Meanwhile, MWM Central Secretary General Allama Nasir Abbas demanded that the government take action against militant groups responsible for killing Shia doctors and government officials in the past few years.[8]

Balochistan

• On Wednesday, hundreds of doctors belonging to different hospitals in the provincial capital demonstrated against the government and called for the release of three doctors allegedly kidnapped by security forces. The demonstrators staged a sit-in and disrupted the traffic on Zarghoon Road for several hours.  While talking to protestors, Provincial, Minister for Health Ayeenuddin Shams expressed his concern about the deteriorating security situation in the province and said the provincial government is using all its resources to maintain peace and safeguard property.[9

Sino-Pak Relations

• A controversial deal between China and Pakistan to cooperate in the building of two new nuclear reactors in Pakistan is moving ahead as scheduled, sources told Dawn News on Thursday.  The controversial project has raised concerns in Washington and New Dehli about the security and proliferation of nuclear materials in the region. The deal was signed in Shanghai on June 8.[10]

Swat

• Pakistan’s military has handed control over a majority of checkpoints in Swat to civil authorities and relaxed travel restrictions throughout the region, suggesting an improvement in security in Swat. Previously vehicles were stopped at around a dozen checkpoints for identification and inspection in Upper Swat. The move is aimed at facilitating the return of tourists to Swat, who stopped travelling to region due to terrorism. “Uninterrupted movement is necessary for the revival of tourism and we welcome the army’s support to our main means of income,” said a shopkeeper in Madyan Bazaar.[11]

India-Pak Relations

• Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao met with Pakistani Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir on Thursday in Islamabad in order to begin rebuilding an Indo-Pak dialogue.  Relations between the two countries suffered after the Mumbai attacks in 2009, which left 166 people dead. "Pakistan looks forward to a sustained, meaningful and uninterrupted engagement with India to discuss and resolve all outstanding issues," spokesman Abdul Basit told reporters. India's Home Minister P. Chidambaram is also expected meet Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik.[12]

Bin Laden Hunter

• An American arrested last week in Pakistan while allegedly hunting Osama bin-Laden arrived in the United States on Wednesday. Gary Faulkner landed in Los Angeles on a flight from Dubai after being released in Pakistan. While leaving with family members, reporters said Faulkner made “brief, rambled” remarks.[13]