Pakistan Security Brief
Militants fire rockets at JUI-F rally; Suicide bomber attacks NPP candidate; Militants open fire on ANP rally; Attackers grenade electoral office; Article announces unprecedented violence leading up to elections; Pakistani-Afghan border remains closed after police confrontation; Pakistan announces increased trade with Sri Lanka; PAF jets bomb Orakzai militants; Kayani expresses army’s displeasure with Musharraf case; Taliban leadership in tiff over absent Omar; Militants grenade factory; Balochistan forces begin operation against militants; Three die in Lahore violence; Police defuse bomb in Peshawar.
Political Violence
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On Wednesday, six people were injured when militants fired a barrage of rockets at a Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-e-Fazl (JUI-F) election rally in Harnai area, Balochistan. Immediately before JUI-F provincial President Maulana Muhammad Khan Sherani spoke, militants in nearby mountains fired at least a dozen rockets, missing the speaker but hitting civilians nearby.[1]
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On Wednesday, a suicide bomber blew himself up near National Peoples Party (NPP) candidate Mohammad Ibrahim Jatoi’s car in Shrikarpur, Sindh, injuring two people.[2]
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On Wednesday, militants opened fire on Awami National Party (ANP) candidate Wajid Ali Khan in Mingora, Swat, but Khan escaped uninjured.[3]
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On Tuesday, unknown attackers lobbed a grenade at independent candidate Jam Kamal’s electoral office in Lasbella area, Balochistan, injuring two people.[4]
Pakistan-Afghanistan Relations
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On Monday, Pakistani border authorities closed the Afghanistan-Pakistan Torkham border in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa after an Afghan police officer assaulted a member of Pakistan’s Khassadar force. The border remained closed on Tuesday, with guards sending hundreds of people away on both sides of the crossing.[5]
Domestic Politics
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On Wednesday, according to Pakistani news outlets, Army Chief General Ashfaq Kayani subtly expressed the Pakistan Army’s apprehension with how the country is treating former President Pervez Musharraf, who is currently imprisoned and being tried for multiple crimes during his reign as president. Kayani explained his position in saying "in my [Kayani’s] opinion, it is not merely retribution, but awareness and participation of the masses that can truly end this game of hide and seek between democracy and dictatorship."[6]
Taliban Leadership Turmoil
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On Wednesday, The Daily Beast released an article which described inner turmoil among the higher Afghan Taliban ranks, stemming from leaders who accuse the central Quetta Shura of issuing orders for their own purposes under Taliban leader Mullah Omar’s name. Taliban commanders such as Abdul Qayyum Zakir and Sirajuddin Haqqani who were removed from command or given contentious orders by the shura are challenging the shura to produce proof that Mullah Omar is, in fact, alive, free, and leading the Taliban.[7]
Militancy
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On Wednesday, Pakistan Air Force jets bombed and killed four militants in Upper Orakzai’s Asmat Khana region, destroying their hideout in the raid.[8]
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On Monday night, unknown militants threw a grenade at a wool mill on Dera Ismail Khan Road, Bannu, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, damaging the factory but causing no casualties.[9]
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On Wednesday, Balochistan Home Secretary Akbar Hussain Durrani announced the beginning of a 15-day security operation to be conducted by the military and Frontier Corps against Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), the Balochistan Republican Army (BRA), the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF), the United Baloch Army (UBA), the Lashkar-e-Balochistan (LB), and other militant groups who threaten the electoral process in Balochistan. The operation will primarily focus on Turbat, Makran, Gwadar, Punjgor, Kalat, Kharan, Washuk, Awaran and Khuzdar districts in the province.[10]
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On Tuesday, police recovered the body of a security guard who was shot to death in Ghaffar, Lahore. Police also recovered the body of a man who had been burned to death in Shahdara Town, Lahore. Another man was shot to death outside a factory on Kahna-Raiwind Road in Lahore on Tuesday.[11]
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On Tuesday, two people were killed and another injured in a clash between two Magsi clan groups in Qambar Shahdadkot, Sindh.[12]
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On Tuesday, Peshawar Bomb Disposal Units defused a bomb outside of Mera Masho village on the outskirts of Peshawar, after the bomb was spotted on the side of the road in the Faqirabad area.[13]
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On Wednesday, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa police announced that they had arrested 361 people and seized significant quantities of weapons and explosives in a widespread operation across the province. Police also seized various stashes of drugs and alcohol during the raids.[14]
