Pakistan Security Brief

Drone strike kills six militants in North Waziristan; IS posters emerge in Lahore; Karachi police investigate IS graffiti; Interior Minister denies presence of IS in Pakistan; AQIS leader eulogizes death of shura council member; Uzbek militant group operating in Syria pledges allegiance to Mullah Omar; Four LI commanders surrender including spokesman; PAF kills 13 militants including suspect in Wagah suicide bombing in Daras area, Khyber Agency; Military kills 34 militants, 15 injured in the last two days in Khyber Agency;  Khyber inhabitants told to evacuate; Two soldiers and four militants killed in North Waziristan Agency; Security forces kill 15 militants in Orakzai Agency; IED targeting judge’s vehicle kills one in Quetta; IED kills three Levies personnel in Bajaur Agency; IED kills two in Bannu district; Intelligence services arrest four suspects involved in Wagah suicide bombing; Three policemen killed in Rawalpindi; Grenade attack kills two police officials in Karachi; VBIED injures five in Karachi; Interior Minister applauds role of Sindh Rangers in Karachi security; North Waziristan tribesmen have themselves to blame for hardships, claims army official; ISI chief visits Kabul to meet Afghan officials; Army and ISI chiefs meet in Rawalpindi; Army chief chairs 176th Corps Commanders’ Conference in Rawalpindi; U.S. Ambassador emphasizes U.S., Pakistani, Afghan cooperation to ensure regional peace; China proposes restarting peace talks between Afghan government, Taliban.

U.S. Drone Strike

• On November 11, a U.S. drone strike killed at least six militants and injured three others in the Dwa Toi area of Datta Khel sub-district, North Waziristan Agency. Foreign militants, including four Uzbeks and two Arabs, were reportedly killed in the strike.[1]

Islamic State in South Asia

• According to a report in The News on November 11, some unknown people in Lahore have put up posters supporting Islamic State (IS). The posters were seen in Nawab Town, Thokar Niaz Beg, Chung and on Canal road.[2]

• According to a November 11 Dawn report, Karachi police have begun a probe into the recent appearance of graffiti in the city in support of IS. No concrete evidence has reportedly been found so far that would confirm the presence of IS in Karachi.[3]

• On November 11, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan declared that there is no presence of IS militants in Pakistan. While Khan admitted that some militant organizations had pledged allegiance to IS, he requested the media to not create unnecessary hype about IS. This statement comes after a report by the Balochistan government warned of an increased presence of IS in the country.[4]

Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent

• On November 8, al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) released an audio recording entitled “A Profitable Trade” from the group’s leader, Asim Umar, eulogizing the death of a shura council member, Imran Ali Siddiqi alias Waliullah. Waliullah was killed in a U.S. drone strike in the Tirah Valley in Khyber Agency in October.[5]

Militancy

• As reported by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on November 12, Imam Bukhori Jamat, an Uzbek militant group based in Aleppo Province, Syria, pledged allegiance to Taliban leader Mullah Omar. Imam Bukhori Jamat’s leader Sheikh Salahuddin pledged allegiance to Omar in a video, and claimed to have met Haqqani Network leader Sirajuddin Haqqani in Afghanistan before coming to Syria.[6]

• According to a November 10 Express Tribune report, three key Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) militants laid down arms and surrendered to the authorities. The three commanders included LI spokesman Saifullah Saif, Commander Ilyas and Commander Wajid. They belong to the Qambar Khel, Sipah and Malik Din Khel tribes respectively. On November 12, four more LI commanders also reportedly surrendered.[7]     

• On November 11, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) killed 13 militants, including foreigners, in airstrikes in the Daras area of Khyber Agency. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) stated that militants involved in the Wagah suicide bombing may be among the dead.[8]

• On November 12, Pakistani military forces killed at least 19 militants in airstrikes in the Sandapal and Aka Khel areas of Khyber Agency. The ISPR reported that an important militant commander was among the militants killed.[9]

• On November 11, in repelling an LI and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant attack on the Khusab Darra security post, security forces killed 13 militants and injured 12 others in the Aka Khel area, Khyber Agency.LI and TTP militants have reportedly begun launching joint attacks on security posts and government infrastructure in the Khajuri area of Bara and the Tirah Valley.[10]

• On November 12, security forces killed two militants and injured three others in the Shingar area of Jamrud sub-district, Khyber Agency. Security forces additionally recovered three people who were kidnapped from a village in Jamrud. Security forces have imposed a curfew, ordering residents to remain indoors, while they conduct operations in Jamrud sub-district.[11]

• On November 11, officials told the inhabitants of the Sipah and Malik Din Khel areas of Khajuri that they need to evacuate the area by the evening of November 12 in preparation for security forces’ activities in those areas of Khyber Agency.[12]

• As reported on November 11 by The Frontier Post, the military’s offensive in Khyber Agency has killed at least 135 militants and arrested 250 militants since the offensive began on October 17. The Frontier Post additionally stated that the military’s operations in North Waziristan Agency have successfully cleared the Datta Khel, Boya, and Degan areas of North Waziristan Agency.[13]

• On November 11, security forces killed 15 militants while repulsing an attack on a security check-post in the Shirin Dara area of Orakzai Agency. Two Frontier Corps (FC) personnel were also killed and six injured in the attack. More than 50 militants reportedly attacked the check-post.[14]

• On November 10, in an exchange of fire, two soldiers and four militants were killed near the Afghan border in North Waziristan Agency.[15]

• On November 11, an IED targeting an anti-terrorist court judge’s vehicle killed one person and injured 32 others in the Double road area of Quetta. Judge Nazeer Ahmed Langrove remained unhurt. Four security personnel were also injured in the attack.[16]

• On November 11, an IED detonated near a security forces vehicle killing three Levies personnel and injuring three others in Salarzai sub-district of Bajaur Agency. The Levies personnel were reportedly providing security to a polio vaccination team at the time of the explosion. The TTP claimed responsibility for the attack.[17]

• On November 11, an IED killed two security personnel and injured two others in the Nala Tochi area of Bannu district in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.[18]

• On November 11, in a village near Wagah, Punjab, Pakistan intelligence officials arrested four individuals suspected of providing logistical support for the suicide bomber who attacked the Wagah border post.[19]

• On November 10, three unidentified gunmen killed two police officials and injured two others when they opened fire on officers stationed at a police barricade outside an imambargah in the Sadiqabad area of Rawalpindi. Police believe the target of the attack was intended to be the mourners inside the imambargah. Police also stated that they believe that the attack was a reprisal for the military offensives in the tribal agencies as well as an act of sectarian violence.[20]

• On November 10, a grenade attack on a police vehicle killed two police officials and injured one other in the Gul Plaza Market on M.A. Jinnah Road in Karachi.[21]

• On November 12, a vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) injured five people in a targeted attack on a Rangers’ vehicle in the Baldia Town area of Karachi.[22]

• As reported by GeoTV on November 11, unidentified gunmen fired upon and killed a policeman and injured another in Karachi.[23]

National Security

• On November 11, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan applauded the Sindh Rangers for conducting some 4,000 raids and arresting 7,500 criminals in a 14-month long targeted operation in Karachi.[24]

• On November 11, the Garrison Officer Commanding (GOC) for North Waziristan, Major General Zafarullah Khan, declared that the people of North Waziristan had themselves to blame for their displacement, since they supported foreign militants in the region against the military. He also said that if the tribesmen wanted peace, they would have to support the army in its fight against militants.[25]

• On November 10, the newly appointed Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt. Gen. Rizwan Akhtar reportedly visited Kabul to meet officials of the Afghan National Unity Government and held talks on security issues. There is no official confirmation of the chief’s visit from either Afghanistan or Pakistan.[26]

• On November 11, Army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif visited ISI headquarters in Rawalpindi and appreciated the role played by the ISI in the defense and national security of Pakistan. According to ISPR Director General, Maj. Gen. Asim Bajwa, the message of the meeting between Gen. Sharif and ISI chief Lt. Gen Rizwan Akhtar was that of “zero tolerance for all forms of terrorism.”[27]

• On November 12, Army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif chaired the 176th Corps Commanders’ Conference at army headquarters in Rawalpindi. The conference was a part of a routine monthly meeting which included briefings on the overall security situation in Pakistan with particular reference to the ongoing military operations in Khyber and North Waziristan Agencies. Gen. Sharif is reportedly leaving for a week-long visit to the U.S. on November 16 where he is expected to meet American Defense officials. [28]

Foreign Affairs

• On November 12, U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Richard Olson emphasized the importance of cooperation between the U.S., Afghanistan and Pakistan in order to ensure regional stability and prosperity. He also said that U.S. and Pakistan have to “set future events on a positive course and seize the opportunity for a brighter future in Afghanistan.”[29]

• According to a November 11 Reuters report, China has proposed the establishment of a “peace and reconciliation forum” to restart peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban insurgents. According to an Afghan official, the Chinese government has offered to play the role of facilitator between Taliban and the Afghan government.[30]