Pakistan Security Brief
Pakistani and U.S. officials disagree on target of Hangu drone strike; Interior Minister accuses U.S. of being against peace in Pakistan; PTI Chairman claims right to block NATO supply lines; TTP says it will not stop attacks or negotiate with government; Prime Minister tells Afghan negotiators that they may meet with Mullah Baradar; No defense guarantee against Pakistan in new U.S.-Afghan deal; NATO supply lines in Khyber agency blocked to protest suicide attack; Khyber agency woman files murder charges against Dr. Afridi; Iran wants to cooperate with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government; Religious groups hold protests in Rawalpindi against sectarian violence. 26 injured in Khyber agency suicide attack.
U.S. Drone Strikes
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As of Friday, confusion persists as to the target of the American drone strike on Thursday in Hangu district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. American officials say that the building hit was a Haqqani Network compound, but Pakistani officials insist that the drone struck a seminary. The Express Tribune reports that the militant who was the main target was Maulvi Ahmad Jan, described in the report as Sirajuddin Haqqani’s “right hand.” The News reports that Hameedullah Haqqani was the target, describing him as “a close confidant of Jalaluddin Haqqani.” Both men were killed in the strike. [1]
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On Friday, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said that the United States is against peace in Pakistan and can no longer be trusted, and that he never believed American assurances that drone strikes will stop. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Friday that his condemnation of drone strikes is genuine, and that he has tried to raise the issue with the U.S. whenever he gets the chance.[2]
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On Friday, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Iram Khan claimed a “legal right” to block North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) supply routes because the latest drone strike was in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and not the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). He added that the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government does plan to block the routes.[3]
TTP Talks
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On Friday, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said that the group will not stop its attacks against government and security targets until Shariah law is implemented throughout Pakistan. He also said that the TTP is not presently planning on talks with the government.[4]
Afghan-Pakistan Relations
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On Thursday, Afghanistan’s High Peace Council met with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad to discuss the Afghan reconciliation process. During the meeting, Sharif told the Council that they could have access to former Afghan Taliban deputy Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar. Though there has been no confirmation of a meeting with Baradar, The Express Tribune reports that a meeting did take place.[5]
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On Wednesday, the United States and Afghanistan reached an understanding on the Bilateral Security Agreement regarding the future relationship between the two countries. Notably absent was a defense guarantee against foreign aggression, which had been an Afghan demand. The demand was seen as a way to protect Afghanistan against Pakistani interference, but in the agreement the U.S. only said that foreign aggression is a “grave concern.”[6]
U.S.-Pakistan Relations
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According to a Friday report in The News, NATO supplies in Khyber agency have been stopped to protest against a suicide attack on Thursday in the agency which killed two people and injured 25.[7]
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On Thursday, Foreign Office Spokesman Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry and the U.S. Acting Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller, among others, attended a meeting on nonproliferation in Islamabad. The meeting was the sixth session of the Strategic Stability and Nonproliferation Working Group.[8]
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According to a Friday report in The Express Tribune, a woman in Khyber agency has filed murder charges against Dr. Shakil Afridi, the Pakistani doctor who helped the U.S. in its search for Osama bin Laden. He is accused of killing the woman’s son during heart surgery in 2007.[9]
Iran-Pakistan Relations
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According to a Thursday report in The News, the Iranian Consul General in Peshawar has expressed Iran’s willingness to cooperate with the provincial government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in areas including energy and education.[10]
Domestic
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On Friday, religious groups in Rawalpindi held protests against the sectarian violence that resulted in 11 deaths last weekend. The government raised security in Rawalpindi as well as Lahore, Islamabad, and Karachi in anticipation of possible protests in those cities as well. The army also deployed personnel to 13 districts in the Punjab.[11]
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On Friday, army chief General Ashfaq Kayani visited the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), where he praised the army’s sacrifices in the war against terrorism and also reviewed the progress of a road being constructed to link North and South Waziristan agencies.[12]
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According to a Friday report in The News, the government of Punjab has reorganized its police department, breaking the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) away from the police and putting it under the control of the Home Department.[13]
Militancy
