Pakistan Security Brief
Pakistan Security Brief-November 9, 2010
Secretary Gates says Af-Pak border still the “heart” of al-Qaeda operations; Pakistan rebuffs Obama’s decision to support permanent seat for India on UNSC; Three schools destroyed by militants in Mohmand; China agrees to supply Pakistan with fifth nuclear reactor.
US-Pakistan Relations
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U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told an audience in Malaysia today that the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan remains the “heart” of al-Qaeda, even as affiliated movements are growing in influence across the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa. Secretary Gates also told reporters, that al-Qaeda members operating in the Af-Pak border area, “provide the guidance, they provide the priorities, they provide legitimacy to other al Qaeda affiliates that are developing in other places, including in the Arabian peninsula, in Yemen in particular and in northern Africa, in the Maghreb.”[1]
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Pakistan’s foreign office released a statement yesterday that was highly critical of President Obama’s decision to support India’s bid to hold a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. In the statement, Pakistan is said to oppose awarding India a permanent seat because, “of India’s conduct in relations with its neighbors and its continued flagrant violations of security council resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir.”[2]
FATA
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Three primary schools were bombed by militants on Tuesday in Mohmand tribal agency. The three schools were located in the Qandaro area of the Mohmand’s Safi tehsil. Although no injuries were reported, all three schools were completely destroyed as a result of the attacks.[3]
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Five militants were killed on Sunday, when unknown gunmen ambushed their vehicle in the Chinarak area of Central Kurram Agency. According to reports, one of the dead was Hikmat Shah, a prominent Taliban military commander. Officials believe that the militants were on their way to Orakzai agency when their vehicle was ambushed.[4]
Sino-Pakistan Relations
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According to a report by the Financial Times, China has approved plans to supply Pakistan with a fifth nuclear reactor. News of the reactor deal comes just one month after China publically confirmed it was building two 650MW nuclear reactors at Pakistan’s Chashma nuclear facility. [5]
