Pakistan Security Brief

Intelligence report warns of increased IS presence in Pakistan; PAF airstrikes kill 13 militants including TTP Jamatul Ahrar commander in Khyber Agency; Security forces repel TTP and LI attack on check-post, killing 17 militants, in Tirah Valley, Khyber Agency; PAF airstrikes kill six, injure ten TTP and LI militants in Bara sub-district, Khyber Agency; Security forces kill five militants including LI commander in Bara sub-district, Khyber Agency; IEDs kill two anti-Taliban militiamen, injure two others;  Anti-Taliban militia takes control in Bara sub-district, Khyber Agency; TTP appoints new head of TTP in Mohmand Agency; Two IEDs kill seven, injure three in Mohmand; IED kills five, wounds two in Mohmand; Militant plot thwarted, commander killed, in Lower Dir raid; One militant killed in Bajaur Agency;  Five militants killed, including commander and his deputy, in Peshawar district; Four militants, two soldiers killed in North Waziristan;  Gunmen kill two railway employees in Balochistan; IED injures one in Balochistan;  IED injures one in Jacobabad, Sindh; Eminent BJP member says India responsible for scrapping Musharraf’s Kashmir peace plan;  Indian, Pakistani troops accuse each other of fresh ceasefire violations; Indian army tests nuclear-capable ballistic missile; Indian army claims responsibility for wrongful deaths in Indian-administered Kashmir; PTI chief suggests inclusion of ISI, MI officials in election rigging probe, Finance Minister rubbishes demand; Pakistani, Chinese officials sign agreements in energy, infrastructure sectors; Pakistan promises to cooperate with China in fighting Uighur militants; Pakistan to receive $1.1 billion from IMF by December; Army chief inaugurates 76-km road in South Waziristan Agency; Number of displaced families increases to 35,054 in Khyber Agency.

Islamic State in South Asia

• On October 31, the Balochistan provincial government submitted a “secret information report” to the federal government and law enforcement agencies, warning of an increased presence of the Islamic State (IS) in Pakistan. The report states that IS claims to have recruited about 10,000 to 12,000 followers from Hangu district and Kurram Agency.  The report further states that IS has offered to work together with some elements of Lashkar-e-Jangvi (LeJ) and Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamat (ASWJ) in Pakistan. IS has also reportedly formed a ten-member “Strategic Planning Wing.” According to the report, IS plans to target military installations and government buildings in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the minority Shia community. On November 8 however, Balochistan Home Secretary Akbar Hussain Durrani claimed that the report was a routine update on activities in Balochistan and that there is no existence of IS or its sympathizers in Balochistan.[1]

Militancy

• On November 10, two separate Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) killed two people and injured two others in the Narai Baba area of the Tirah Valley in Khyber Agency. The first blast killed one member of anti-Taliban militia Tauheedul Islam (TI) and injured two others. The second explosion killed another TI member.[2] 

• On November 9, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) fighter jets killed 13 militants in airstrikes in the Aka Khel and Tirah Valley areas of Khyber Agency. Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Jamatul Ahrar confirmed that one of the militants killed in the airstrikes was a key TTP Jamatul Ahrar commander, Abu Jandal, known for training suicide bombers. Abu Jandal was leading a group of 50 TTP Jamatul Ahrar fighters that had been sent into the Khyber Agency to engage security forces. Security forces also destroyed ten hideouts and an ammunition depot in the airstrikes.[3]

• On November 9, security forces killed five militants including a top LI commander in the Aka Khel area, Khyber Agency.[4]

• As reported by The News on November 9, an anti-Taliban militia took control of the Shalobar area of Bara sub-district, Khyber Agency.[5]

• On November 7, security forces killed 17 Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) militants while repulsing an attack on a security checkpost in the Spin Qamar area of the Tirah Valley, Khyber Agency. At least 60 militants participated in the unsuccessful attack on the checkpost. Two of the militants who were killed were identified as residents of Swabi district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.[6]

• On November 7, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) fighter jets killed six TTP and LI militants and injured ten others in airstrikes in the Aka Khel and Sipah areas of Khyber Agency. The PAF additionally destroyed two militant hideouts in the airstrikes.[7]

• As reported by The Express Tribune on November 9, TTP leader Mullah Fazalullah appointed Commander Mansoor Mohmand as new head of the TTP in Mohmand Agency. The former head of the TTP in Mohmand Agency, Omar Khalid Khurasani, broke away from TTP to form the militant group TTP Jamatul Ahrar.[8]

• On November 7, TTP leader Mullah Fazalullah formally announced that Khalid Balti, alias Muhammad Khurasani, will be the new TTP central spokesman. Balti a TTP commander from Gilgit Baltistan, used to teach at the Jamiat-ul-Rasheed seminary in Karachi and was formerly part of the TTP’s Umer Media organization.[9]

• On November 7, two roadside IEDs killed seven and injured three people in the Chinari area of Safi sub-district, Mohmand Agency. The second IED detonated as the bodies from the first explosion were being attended to. The blasts killed two anti-Taliban militia members; the militia was apparently the target of the attack. TTP Jamatul Ahrar claimed responsibility for the attack.[10]

• On November 7, a roadside IED killed five people and wounded two others when it struck a passenger van in Ghallanai, Mohmand Agency.[11]

• On November 8, security forces thwarted a militant plot when they raided a militant hideout in Dheri, Chakdara, Lower Dir district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Four security personnel were injured in the raid that also killed militant commander Rashid Ahmad. The News reported that the security personnel were injured when an unidentified suicide bomber detonated his suicide vest. Two other militants were arrested in the encounter. Security forces additionally seized three suicide vests, 13 grenades, and other explosives in the encounter.[12]

• On November 8, security forces killed one militant and arrested four others in a search operation in the Gohati area of Mamund sub-district in Bajaur Agency. Security forces also recovered arms and ammunition from the militants.[13]

• On November 9, security forces killed five militants in an intelligence-led counterterrorism operation in in the Hassan Khel and Jina Kor areas of Frontier Region Peshawar. Those killed included a commander identified as Hazrat Ali and his deputy, commander Malang. Hazrat was reportedly affiliated with the TTP’s Darra Adam Khel chapter.[14]

• On November 9, security forces killed four militants during a clearance operation in the Gharlamai area of North Waziristan. Two soldiers also died in the exchange of fire.[15]

• On November 6, armed militants fired at a railway station, killing two railway officials in the Bakhtiarabad area of Balochistan.[16]

• On November 7, an IED detonated on a road, partially destroying a Frontier Works Organization vehicle near the Rakshan river in Panjgur district of Balochistan. The driver of the vehicle was injured in the blast.[17]

• On November 10, an IED detonated at a bus stand, injuring one pedestrian, in the Jacobabad area of Sindh province.[18]

Indo-Pak Relations

• On November 8 and 9, Indian and Pakistani troops accused each other of resorting to “unprovoked firing” across the Line of Control (LoC).  On November 8, Indian troops reportedly fired into the Pando sector near Muzaffarabad in Pakistan.  No casualties were reported. Meanwhile, Indian troops claimed that Pakistani firing killed one soldier and a civilian in the Kamalkot area of Uri sector in Indian-administered Kashmir on November 9.[19] 

• On November 8, former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator and eminent lawyer Ram Jethmalani declared that the four-point formula on Kashmir advocated by former President Parvez Musharraf should be the basis for a permanent solution to the Kashmir issue and that Musharraf’s efforts were “frustrated” by India. Jethmalani is also the chairman of the Kashmir committee constituted by the Indian government in 2002 to reach out to Kashmiri separatists.[20]

Indian Military

• On November 9, India successfully test-fired a nuclear-capable strategic ballistic missile called “Agni-II” from a military base in the state of Odisha.  With a range of over 2,000 kilometers, the missile is reportedly equipped with a high-accuracy navigation system, guided by an advanced command and control system and powered by a solid rocket propellant system. The missile has been inducted into the army as a part of the strategic forces arsenal for nuclear deterrence.[21]

• On November 7, Indian army chief of northern command, D.S. Hooda publicly claimed responsibility on behalf of the Indian army for a November 3 incident in which two youths were mistakenly killed near Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir. Admissions of error in such cases by the Indian army in Kashmir are rare. Hooda claimed that the incident was a result of mistaken identity and that an investigation would be conducted using “the highest standards of transparency.” [22]

Political Crisis

• On November 9, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan reiterated his demand for an independent judicial commission to probe rigging allegations in the 2013 general elections. Khan said that the commission should be formed by November 30 and that the commission should complete its investigations within four to six weeks. Khan further suggested that the commission should include representatives from the Inter-Services Intelligence and Military Intelligence. Khan also declared that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif would have to resign if election rigging was proven by the commission and that the PTI would end its protests in Islamabad if the commission’s findings proved otherwise.[23]

• On November 10, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar declared that a judicial commission can only comprise of judges, as per the Constitution, and that officials of security agencies cannot be included in a judicial commission as demanded by PTI chief Imran Khan. He also said that nominating members of the commission was the prerogative of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and that the government would not propose any names.[24]   

Sino-Pak Relations

• On November 8, during Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s official visit to China, Pakistani and Chinese officials signed 19 agreements and memoranda of understanding (MoU) mainly in the energy and basic infrastructure sectors to enhance bilateral relations between the two countries. Prime Minister Sharif also expressed confidence that his visit to China would help in resolving the energy crisis in Pakistan.[25]

• On November 8, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif declared in his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping that Pakistan would “continue to resolutely fight the East Turkestan Islamic Movement forces” in Pakistan and that Pakistan would help China in fighting extremists in the western region of Xinjiang in China. Sharif also said that Pakistan would increase coordination with China and Afghanistan “to maintain regional peace and stability.”[26]  

Economy

• On November 8, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Pakistani government officials completed negotiations on the fourth and fifth review of the $6.64 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) to Pakistan. This move has reportedly paved the way for the provision of $1.1 billion to Pakistan by December, upon approval by the IMF’s board.[27]

Military

• On November 9, Army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif inaugurated the 76-km long Shakai-Makeen road funded by USAID in South Waziristan Agency. The road is reportedly an important sector of the upcoming Central Trade Corridor (CTC) which is expected to improve trade links between Afghanistan and Pakistan and contribute to the revival of the economy of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.[28]

Internally Displaced Persons

• On November 7, the FATA Disaster Management Authority released data which claim that the ongoing military operation in Khyber Agency has displaced 35,054 families from the Tirah Valley and Bara regions of the agency in the last three weeks. The report states that 245,482 people moved out of the Aka Khel, Sipah and Qamar Khel areas of the Tirah Valley and Bara sub-district since the operation started.[29]