Pakistan Security Brief

U.S. and Pakistan reach “understanding” on Haqqani Network; Afghanistan and Pakistan agree to investigate Rabbani murder; Pakistan-based “Father of Taliban” to bring Afghan militants to peace talks; Insurgent leader criticizes Pakistan’s role in war on terror; Pakistan approves India as “most favored nation”; Militants kill security forces in Mohmand agency; Pakistan builds highway through South Waziristan to fight militancy; Militants fire mortars at security forces camp; Torkham border crossing closed; LI destroys home of government teacher; Bajaur agency “cleared of militants”; Two soldiers publically executed in Mohmand agency; Peshawar bombing injures 11; Police discover decapitated bodies in Bannu district; Balochistan Court orders extradition of Musharraf; Police claim to have arrested abductors of Taseer and Weinstein.

U.S.-Pakistan Relations

• The Pakistan Army and the U.S. have reached an “understanding” with regard to the Haqqani Network, according to the Express Tribune, which reports that the Pakistan Army has agreed to “curtail” Haqqani Network cross-border movement between Afghanistan and Pakistan.  While specific details of the agreement have not been revealed, the Express Tribune speculates that the agreement was struck during U.S. Secretary of State Clinton’s recent visit to Islamabad.  Meanwhile, the U.S. imposed sanctions on a recently captured Haqqani Network commander, Mali Khan, on Tuesday.  The Obama administration articulated its hope that the U.S. Department of Treasury sanctions would cause further disruption to the Haqqani Network as it “ramp[ed] up pressure on the Pakistan-based group.”[1]

Afghanistan-Pakistan Relations

• While attending a trilateral summit in Istanbul on Tuesday, President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghan President Hamid Karzai agreed to conduct a “joint investigation” into the September 20 assassination of former Afghan President and peace envoy Burhanuddin Rabbani.  Karzai expressed hope that the joint investigation would inspire a “more fruitful and in-depth…partnership” between the two countries.  Meanwhile, Karzai remained closed to the idea of Afghanistan hosting future peace talks with the Taliban, instead urging Pakistan to take action against the militants within its borders.[2]

• Maulvi Sami-ul-Haq, the top cleric at a religious school in Pakistan who is widely regarded as the “father of the Taliban” for his influence on a “generation of Afghan Taliban leaders,” has offered to bring the Afghan Taliban to the negotiating table.  Ul-Haq’s offer has reportedly raised hopes in the U.S. that the Taliban could be included in Afghanistan’s reconciliation process.[3]

• Gulbudin Hekmatyar, an Afghan warlord and “fugitive chief” of the insurgent group Hezb-e-Islami, has publically criticized Pakistan for its role in the U.S.-led war on terror. Hekmatyar contends that Pakistan has “alienated the Afghan people” through its appeasement of U.S. interests and is, therefore, in no position to stabilize Afghanistan or participate in peace talks.  Hekmatyar revealed, however, that Hezb-e-Islami had been conducting talks with the U.S. and could offer the U.S. “an honorable exit from Afghanistan.”[4]

Pakistan-India Relations

• Pakistan has officially granted India Most Favored Nation (MFN) status in an attempt to enhance the peace process between the two countries, a status India formally granted Pakistan in 1996.  The reciprocal MFN statuses will increase trade between Pakistan and India and will purportedly allow for bilateral trade to double within the next three years. Meanwhile Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani announced that Pakistan would move toward linking its power grid with neighbor India in an effort to reduce Pakistan’s power shortage.  Gilani said he would discuss this option with the Indian Prime Minister at an upcoming meeting in the Maldives.[5] 

FATA

• Militants attacked a security check point in Mohmand agency on Wednesday, provoking a firefight which killed two security officials and injured another two.[6]

• Reuters reports on the building of a highway through South Waziristan, one of Pakistan’s most rugged and dangerous regions.  This “Quick Impact Project,” which has been largely funded by the U.S. and is set for completion in 2013, is an attempt by the government to root out militancy in Pakistan’s tribal region by “connecting the underdeveloped region to the central economy.”  The Taliban has undertaken steps to disrupt the project by deploying “suicide bombers to kill engineers and soldiers working on the highway.”[7]

• A military camp in Miram Shah, North Waziristan was targeted by three mortar rounds on Monday night, according to security officials.  No injuries were reported in the attack.[8]

• A Tuesday night altercation between Afghan and Pakistani border guards resulted in the closing of the Torkham border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan, leaving hundreds of people on both sides of the border stranded.  Pakistani officials noted that the country was in contact with Afghan officials to peacefully resolve the situation.[9]

• Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) militants reportedly destroyed the home of a government teacher in Bara sub-district, Khyber agency on Tuesday night.  The teacher, Gul Muhammad, and his family have not occupied the home since moving to Peshawar two years ago in light of Bara sub-district’s deteriorating “security situation.” Meanwhile, on Monday, militants destroyed a school  in Peshawar.[10]

• Peshawar Corps Commander Lieutenant General Asif Yasin Malik reported on Tuesday that “Bajaur agency had been cleared of militants” as the result of a “successful operation by security forces.” Malik also noted that security forces had launched a series of “uplift schemes” to improve the region’s standard of living.[11]

• Two Frontier Corps (FC) soldiers were publically executed on Tuesday in Mohmand agency for allegedly having “illicit relations” with a woman in Safi tehsil.  The woman was also executed.  A tribal jirga, or meeting of elders, delivered the punishment after discovering the affair.[12]

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa

• A car bombing at a market in Peshawar on Wednesday injured 11 people.  Police officials indicated that the owner of the market, Malik Taj, was the target of the attack likely for his position as “an important businessman in Khyber [agency].”[13] 

• Police discovered three “headless bodies” in Bannu district on Monday.[14]

Balochistan

• The Balochistan High Court (BHC) has ordered the Pakistani government to request the extradition of former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz for their role in the alleged murder of Nawab Akbar Bugti.[15]

Taseer and Weinstein Kidnappings

• At a Monday press conference in Lahore, police claimed to have “busted a network of kidnappers” involved in the August 26 kidnapping of Shahbaz Taseer, son of slain former Punjab governor Salman Taseer, and the August 13 kidnapping of Warren Weinstein, an American development contractor. Police did not provide any information on the arrested kidnappers or the whereabouts of Taseer and Weinstein.[16]