Pakistan Security Brief
Pakistan Security Brief-November 12, 2010
Massive coordinated attack leaves 20 dead and scores wounded in Karachi; Drone Strike kills six militants in North Waziristan; al-Qaeda still planning Mumbai style-attacks against Western targets; Pakistani government announces new campaign to fight corruption; The Pakistan Development Forum scheduled to meet this weekend in Islamabad.
Karachi Blast
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Funerals were held today for the 18 police men killed in Thursday’s coordinated gun, grenade, and truck bomb attack on Karachi’s counterterrorism police compound. At least 20 people were killed in the blast, while as many as 180 others were wounded. Based on the 40 foot wide and 10 feet deep crater left by the truck bomb, security officials estimate that as much as 1,100 pounds of explosives were used in the blast. The attack occurred at 8:20 PM at Karachi’s Crime Investigation Department (CID), which is a special police division that focuses heavily on counterterrorism activities. According to reports, the department was in the “most secure area of the city” and just “walking distance from the Chief Minister’s House and two five-star hotels,” as well as the U.S. consulate . Although the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the bombing, some officials, including Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik, have said the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) is behind yesterday’s attack. The CID Unit captured seven members of LeJ and one member of the TTP the day before the attack, while other members of the LeJ were presented in CID’s courtroom earlier in the day on Thursday. Some have suggested that yesterday’s attack may have been retaliation for their capture or aimed at securing their release. The BBC reports that Thursday’s blast was the largest ever to hit Karachi.[1]
Drone Campaign
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Six militants were killed on Thursday in a U.S. drone strike in North Waziristan. The strike occurred in the village of Gulli Khel in the Ghulam Khan sub-district of the tribal agency and targeted militants returning from Afghanistan. Security officials report that before the strike the militants crossed the border from Afghanistan’s Khost province and that they may have been members of the Haqqani insurgent network. Yesterday’s operation was the 99th drone strike carried out by the U.S. since January.[2]
EU Terror Plot
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A new report confirms that al-Qaeda is still planning Mumbai-style attacks in Western Europe and possibly the United States. Dr. August Hanning, a former head of Germany's foreign intelligence service, reports that al-Qaeda has already started to plan these operations in the West and that counterterrorism officials are monitoring the threat “very seriously.” Additionally, Western intelligence officials believe that Illyas Kashmiri, a veteran jihadist and prominent al-Qaeda operative, may have a prominent role in planning the attacks.[3]
Kyhber Pakunkhwa
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Three people, including a mother and her child, where killed on Thursday by a Taliban rocket attack near Peshawar. The rocket landed in Adezai village, where a local volunteer army (lashkar) has taken up arms against Taliban forces who are trying to expand their influence into the village.[4]
FATA
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Six militants and one security official were killed on Thursday in clashes with government troops in Orakzai tribal agency. In the Gawak Area of lower Orakzai agency militants attempted to ambush a vehicle carrying government troops but the troops were able to repel the assault and kill their attackers. [5]
Anti-Corruption Campaign
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The Pakistani government announced on Thursday a new initiative to target corruption. The anti-corruption campaign will target the employees of government departments who engage in corrupt practices and will hold their bosses responsible even if they are not expressly involved. Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has been tasked with monitoring government officials to uncover fraudulent behavior. Speaking to reporters, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that the new campaign is just “the first step against corrupt elements.” [6]
Floods
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Dozens of high level foreign officials are expected in Islamabad this weekend for a two day meeting of the Pakistan Development Forum. The forum is being held to discuss Pakistan’s desperate need for funding as it deals with the aftermath of this summer’s devastating flood season. According to the Wall Street Journal, international donors are increasingly reticent to fund “longer-term” work projects like “rebuilding roads, schools and homes” because they fear that the large sums of money required for these projects will be misappropriated by Pakistan’s notoriously opaque bureaucracy.[7]
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On Wednesday, the Pakistani cabinet formally approved the “Flood Relief Surcharge” measure. The surcharges will raise the income tax rate by 10 percent for the next six months on Pakistanis earning more than $3,500 U.S. (300,000 rupees) a year. The tax is expected to generate as much as $470 million (40 billion rupees) in revenue. The new tax comes months after Secretary of State Clinton and other world leaders harshly criticized Pakistan’s elite for not contributing more of their own money to the international relief effort. [8]
