Pakistan Security Brief

Pakistani National Security Advisor says U.S. will stop drone strikes during TTP talks; Al Shabaab and AQIM issue statements praising Hakimullah Mehsud; UK to give Pakistan $5.6 million in counterterrorism aid; VBIED kills two, injures seven Frontier Corps personnel in North Waziristan; TTP commander and six others killed by VBIED in North Waziristan; Four militants killed by police in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa; Policeman killed in Peshawar; Three judge panel appointed to try former President Musharraf for treason.

Death of Hakimullah Mehsud

• On Wednesday, Advisor to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz told the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs that the United States has assured Pakistan that it will stop drone strikes for the duration of Pakistan’s proposed talks with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). He also said that negotiations with the TTP have been on hold since the death of Hakimullah Mehsud.[1]

• On November 14, the Somali al Qaeda affiliate al Shabaab issued a statement condoling with Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Omar and al Qaeda chief Ayman al Zawahiri for the death of TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud. Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) released a statement on Tuesday praising Mehsud and condemning his death.[2]

U.K.-Pakistan Relations

• On Tuesday, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said that the United Kingdom will give $5.6 million in counterterrorism aid to Pakistan for police and military use.[3]

Iran-Pakistan Relations

• On Tuesday, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Asia and Pacific Affairs Ibrahim Rahimpour and Advisor to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz met to discuss relations between the two countries. Notably, the two did not mention the Iran-Pakistan Gas Pipeline.[4]

U.S.-Pakistan Relations

• On Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Richard Olson met with Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in Islamabad to discuss economic and trade ties.[5]

Militancy

• On Wednesday, a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) exploded at a Frontier Corps (FC) checkpost in North Waziristan agency, killing two FC personnel and injuring seven. TTP faction Ansarul Mujahideen claimed credit for the attack, saying it was revenge for the drone strike which killed TTP leader Hakimullah Mehsud.[6]

• On Tuesday, a VBIED explosion in Mir Ali, North Waziristan agency killed seven militants and injured five. Qari Saifuddin, the head of the TTP in Baka Khel, Frontier Region Bannu is reportedly among the dead. Reports differ as to whether the VBIED was being carried by the militants for use in an attack and exploded prematurely or, as the TTP claims, that the explosion was caused by a VBIED attack on Qari Saifuddin’s vehicle by as yet unknown militants.[7]

• On Wednesday, four militants were killed by police in Swabi district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa after they unsuccessfully attacked a police checkpoint.[8]

• On Tuesday, a policeman in Umeedabad, Peshawar was killed by unidentified gunmen while guarding a church.[9]

• Police arrested four people in Karachi on Tuesday, including one person who allegedly belongs to Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ).[10]

• On Wednesday, the Pakistan-based terror group, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), released a statement praising Abdul Qadr al Saleh, a Syrian rebel commander who died in a Syrian Air Force strike on Monday, saying he was part of a global jihad from Tajikstan to Pakistan.[11]

Domestic

• On Wednesday, Attorney General Munir Malik said that the treason case against former President Pervez Musharraf could reach a conclusion relatively quickly given the amount of evidence against Musharraf.[12]

• On Tuesday, a three-judge court was created to try former President Pervez Musharraf on treason charges.[13]

• On Wednesday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif called a meeting on security to be attended by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and the heads of law enforcement agencies. They will discuss security in general and also the violence in Rawalpindi over the weekend.[14]

• On Tuesday, General Sajjad Ghani was appointed as the Corps Commander for the Karachi-base d V Corps. General Najibullah has taken Ghani’s place as the army’s Quarter Master General.[15]

• On Wednesday, army chief General Ashfaq Kayani chaired a Formation Commanders meeting, likely his last since such meeting prior to his November 28 retirement.[16]