Pakistan Security Brief

TTP condemns terrorist attacks in Quetta, Peshawar, deny involvement; Ahrar-ul-Hind claims responsibility for attacks in Quetta, Peshawar; Taliban leadership ready to meet directly with government-nominated negotiating committee; Special Court issues arrest warrant for former president Pervez Musharraf; ISI confirms security threats against Musharraf; U.S. and allied forces place greater emphasis on Haqqani Network; Sartaj Aziz says Pakistan will use force against militants refusing to negotiate, says Pakistan will not interfere in Afghanistan; China lends Pakistan $4 billion to finance upgrade of rail link between China and Pakistan; Saudi Arabia has lent Pakistan $1.5 billion to shore up rupee; Coordination between Baloch separatists and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi worrying for Pakistani security forces; Nine dead and 47 injured in Peshawar bomb blast; Quetta bombing kills 11 and injures 42; Five dead in Khyber agency bombing; Prime minister vows to continue Karachi operations; Uighur separatists from China using North Waziristan agency as base.

Terrorist Attacks

• On Friday, a bomb blast in Sarband, Peshawar district killed at least nine people and injured 47. The attack was carried out by a suicide bomber who appears to have been targeting a police van.[1]

• On Friday, a bomb blast in Quetta killed at least eleven people and injured 42. It is unclear what the target of the attack was. Possibilities include a Frontier Corps vehicle that was in the area or a nearby Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) congregation center.[2]

• On Friday, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) negotiators condemned the terrorist attacks in Quetta and Peshawar, calling the incidents a conspiracy to derail the peace process. Ahrar-ul-Hind, the TTP splinter group responsible for the suicide attack on the court complex in Islamabad, claimed responsibility for both attacks, which killed at least 19 and injured more than 80 people. Umar Qasmi, the spokesman for Ahrar-ul-Hind, stated that the group does not abide by the talks and will continue to carry out attacks. TTP Spokesman Shahidullah Shahid condemned the attack, adding that the TTP had no involvement in today’s attacks.[3]

Peace Talks

• On Friday after a meeting between the TTP-nominated negotiating committee and the Taliban shura in North Waziristan, Maulana Samiul Haq reported that the Taliban leadership is ready to meet directly with the government-nominated negotiating committee in the next stage of peace talks. Haq added that although the Taliban leadership will speak directly with the government committee, the TTP-nominated negotiating committee will remain part of the peace process. Maulana Yousaf Shah, the coordinator of the TTP-nominated committee, and Professor Ibrahim of the TTP-committee, stated that the meeting with the Taliban shura was positive, adding that committee members will accompany the Taliban leadership when they meet with the government committee.[4]

• According to a Friday article in The News, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that captive TTP members who are not involved in militancy will be released. At a meeting with a ten-member delegation of the Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC), Sharif stated that the government hopes to resolve issues with the TTP through consultations.[5]

Musharraf Trial

• On Friday, the special court headed by Justice Faisal Arab issued an arrest warrant for former president Pervez Musharraf, which is only applicable if he fails to appear before the court by March 31, 2014. During the hearing, Musharraf’s attorney, Anwar Mansoor, submitted a request that would exempt Musharraf from having to attend today’s hearing, at which he was likely to be indicted. Mansoor also argued that previous attempts to summon Musharraf were unlawful. However, officials have stated that Musharraf will not appear in court due to security reasons.[6]

• On Thursday, a representative of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) confirmed the existence of a threat to former president Pervez Musharraf’s life during an in-camera briefing to the three-judge special court at the Sindh House. According to the official, there was a “clear and present danger” from militants who planned to target Musharraf’s convoy between the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology and the special court. According to an article in The News, the ISI Lieutenant Colonel said that 27 security alerts had been issued since Musharraf returned to Pakistan; the 28th alert was directly related to a possible attack against Musharraf.[7]

Domestic

• On Thursday, Supreme Court Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani said that the political instability that has long characterized Pakistani politics is over and that he expects the army to respect the constitution.[8]

U.S.-Afghanistan-Pakistan Relations

• On Thursday, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General Joseph Dunford, told U.S. Defense Department reporters that Afghan and allied forces are putting greater emphasis on targeting the Pakistan-based Haqqani Network. According to General Dunford, the Haqqani network has become more active over the last few months, and has made it clear that they will try to disrupt the political process in Afghanistan.[9]

• According to a Friday article in The News, the Advisor to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, said the government will use force against Taliban-affiliated groups that refuse to participate in the dialogue process and continue to engage in violence against the state. Aziz also told an audience at the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) in London that Pakistan would not interfere in Afghanistan, and that Pakistan is not supporting any Taliban elements in Afghanistan. Aziz added that Pakistan remains concerned about possible spill-overs from Afghanistan following the withdrawal of U.S. and allied forces.[10]

China-Pakistan Relations

• According to a Friday report in The News, China is planning to lend Pakistan $4 billion to help finance an upgrade of a railway in Pakistan. The project will include improvements to the rail link between China’s western Xinjiang autonomous region and Havelian, Abbottabad district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Pakistan will also construct a dry port at Havelian and upgrade railways between Havelian and Karachi and Karachi and Gwadar, Balochistan.[11]

Saudi-Pakistan Relations

• According to a Thursday report in Dawn, Saudi Arabia lent Pakistan $1.5 billion last month to help strengthen the Pakistani rupee.[12]

Militancy

• A Friday article in Reuters highlighted the potentially dangerous alliance between Baloch separatists and sectarian group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) in their fight against the Pakistani state. Balochistan’s Home Minister, Mir Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti, noted the coordination between the two groups, adding that separatists and the Sunni militants share the common goal of fighting against the state. Over the last several months, Balochistan has witnessed a sharp rise in coordinated attacks, which have caused hundreds of casualties and are contributing to poverty and extremism throughout the province. Coordination between the separatists and the LeJ could present an additional challenge for Pakistan’s security forces. [13]

• According to a Friday report in Reuters, China believes that separatist Uighur fighters are using Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), especially North Waziristan agency, as a base for attacks in China. Abdullah Mansour, the leader of the Turkistan Islamic Movement, reportedly gave an interview in which he threatened more attacks in China as revenge for recent Chinese crackdowns on Uighur Muslims. Mansour claims China is an enemy of all Muslims.[14]

• On Thursday, a bomb blast at a house in Ghandi, Khyber agency killed five people.[15]

• On Friday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that the targeted operations against criminals and terrorists in Karachi have made progress, but that they will continue indefinitely until peace in the city is restored.[16]

• On Thursday, a bomb detonated in Goth Hameed, Jafarabad district, Balochistan. The explosion did not result in any casualties or damage.[17]