Pakistan Security Brief

TTP political shura appoints Sheikh Khalid Haqqani as interim Emir of TTP in South Waziristan; Iran’s Supreme Leader accuses U.S. of creating a rift between Iran and Pakistan, calls for stronger bilateral relations; Security forces arrest Afghan National Army officer near Torkham border crossing; U.S. Chief of Naval Operations meets with Chief of Naval Staff, Chief of Army Staff to enhance cooperation; U.S. and Pakistan to discuss expanding trade relations; Terrorist threat against Multan airport; IED blast kills one soldier in Mohmand; Pro-government militia kills two in Landi Kotal; Militants kill ANP leader in Peshawar; Pakistani authorities crack down on illegal Afghan immigrants fearing influx of refugees following U.S. withdrawal; Police register 68 cases of blasphemy against lawyers in Punjab; WHO rejects claim that UN agencies were involved in fake CIA polio vaccination campaign; Prime Minister Sharif schedules high-level security meeting to discuss TTP peace talks and response to recent violence.

TTP Infighting

• According to a Tuesday article in Dawn, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan’s (TTP) leadership shura appointed Sheikh Khalid Haqqani as the acting Emir of the TTP’s Mehsud Branch in South Waziristan in response to ongoing infighting between the two rival TTP factions. Another unnamed “influential Taliban leader,” however, dismissed this claim. According to a report in the Express Tribune, TTP chief Mullah Fazlullah appointed Haqqani as the interim emir of South Waziristan while the TTP shura decides on a new leader for South Waziristan. A source cited in the article claimed that the new South Waziristan chief would be appointed within the next two months.[1]

Iran-Pakistan Relations

• On Monday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that the United States was trying to create a rift between Iran and Pakistan by “stirring insecurity at the lengthy common borders.” Khamenei also encouraged Sharif to keep the “wicked” influence of the U.S. at bay and develop stronger ties with Iran. The Supreme Leader called for the implementation of development measures, including the Iran-Pakistan (IP) pipeline. A Tuesday article in The News reported that Iran will waive the penalty specified in the Gas Sales Purchase Agreement (GSPA), under which Pakistan would have had to pay “$200 million” each month that that the pipeline remains incomplete.[2]

Afghanistan-Pakistan Relations

• On Monday, Pakistani security forces arrested an Afghan National Army (ANA) official who had crossed into Pakistan through the Torkham border crossing without proper documentation. The ANA officer has been shifted to a jail in Landi Kotal, Khyber agency to be questioned.[3]

U.S.-Pakistan Relations

• On Tuesday, the U.S. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jonathan Greenert arrived at Naval Headquarters in Islamabad to meet with the Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Asif Sandila in order to enhance cooperation between the two countries’ navies. Admiral Greenert will also meet with the Chief of the Army Staff General Raheel Sharif at General Headquarters in Rawalpindi.[4]

• On Tuesday, members of the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) Council Meeting from the U.S. and Pakistan will discuss expanding trade relations. Minister for Commerce Khurram Dastgir will also address a gathering of experts at the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C. regarding Pakistan’s bilateral and regional trade priorities.[5]

Militancy

• According to a Tuesday article in the Frontier Post, Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority received terror threats against Multan Airport, prompting security forces to put the airport on high alert. Sources cited in the article stated that unknown persons threatened to hijack and blow up airplanes leaving Multan’s airport.

• According to a Tuesday article in the Express Tribune, the indefinite curfew imposed throughout North Waziristan agency has left hundreds of tribesmen stranded in Bannu.[6]

• On Monday, an improvised explosive device (IED) blast killed one Pakistani soldier near the Whol Top area of Mohmand agency.[7]

• On Monday, members of the Tauheedul Islam (TI), a pro-government peace committee, shot and killed two opponents who had been accused of spying on and attacking the committee in the Zakhakhel area of Landi Kotal.[8]

• On Tuesday, unknown militants shot and killed a local Awami National Party (ANP) leader at his shop in the Kohati area of Peshawar.[9]

• On Tuesday, the bomb disposal squad defused a 25-kilogram improvised explosive device (IED) in Karachi’s Saeedabad area.[10]

Domestic

• According to a Monday article in the New York Times, authorities have started to “crack down” on Pakistan’s immigrant Afghan population amid growing fears that the December 2014 withdrawal of U.S. and allied forces and decline in western aid could trigger “chaos on the border” and a subsequent influx of new immigrants fleeing into Pakistan. Officials claim to have received a growing number of calls in recent weeks from local authorities about new illegal immigrant settlements. Police officers have been tasked with tracking down illegal Afghan immigrants in Karachi and implementing new screening procedures that would make it harder for Afghans to rent apartments or set up squatter camps. There are approximately 1.6 million legal Afghan refugees in Pakistan, but between 1 and 3 million illegal refugees.[11]

• On Tuesday, Pakistani police registered blasphemy cases against 68 lawyers, who publically protested the arrest of one of their colleagues. The lawyers reportedly shouted slogans against a senior police officer, Umar Daraz, for illegally detaining their colleague in Jhang district, Punjab. Following the protests, the leader of far-right sectarian party Ahle-Sunnat-Wal-Jamaat (ASWJ), Mualana Ahmad Ludhianvi, lodged a blasphemy complaint with the police, claiming that his “religious feelings were offended” because the lawyers used the name “Umar” in their denouncements and Umar was a revered companion of the Prophet Mohammad.[12]

• According to a Tuesday article in BBC, the World Health Organization (WHO) rejected the Pakistani Foreign Ministry’s claim that United Nations (UN) agencies were involved in a fake vaccination campaign orchestrated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to find Osama Bin Laden.[13]

• According to a Tuesday article in The News, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif scheduled a high-level security meeting at the Prime Minister’s house for Wednesday to discuss peace talks with the TTP, recent militant activities, and a new strategy to address the security situation going forward. The Chief of the Army Staff, the Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the Interior Minister, and the Advisor to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs, among other senior officials, will attend the meeting.[14]