Pakistan Security Brief
Drone strikes kill senior al Qaeda leader, seven other militants in Khyber, North Waziristan; TTP spokesman, five other commanders, pledge allegiance to IS; Afghan officials claim IS presence in Afghanistan; Senior Indian, Pakistani commanders speak via hotline as ceasefire violations continue; Pakistani officials request UN intervention; JuD protests Indian firing; Pakistani airstrikes kill 21 militants in Khyber, North Waziristan; Afghan forces arrest two Haqqani- and Pakistani Taliban-affiliated militants; Sindh Rangers foil major jailbreak attempt in Karachi; Militants attack FC medical team in Balochistan; IED kills three anti-Taliban militiamen in Sipah, and Swat; Three militants killed in Bahawalpur shootout,; Gunmen kill army officer in Hyderabad; TTP Jamaatul Ahrar criticizes Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai; MQM leaders face extortion threats from TTP; German aid worker captured in Pakistan freed in Afghanistan; PPP chairperson faces threats to life; PAT chief to continue protests in other parts of the country; Seven people die in stampede in Multan; Pakistan to receive $1.1 billion in December from IMF; Pakistan seeks to share intelligence with Iran; Kerry-Lugar aid to Pakistan unlikely to be renewed.
Drone Strikes
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On October 11, two separate drone strikes killed eight militants in Khyber and North Waziristan Agencies. In the first attack, drones targeted a compound in Chancharano Kandaw area in the Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency, killing four militants and injuring two others. One of the dead militants was identified as Sheikh Imran Ali Siddiqi alias Haji Shaikh Waliullah, a senior member of the newly formed al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS). AQIS spokesperson Usama Mahmood confirmed Waliullah’s death. In the second attack, U.S. drones killed four suspected militants and injured one in the Maraga area of Shawal sub-district in North Waziristan. Taliban commander identified as Muhammad Mustafa, belonging to the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, was among those killed. Foreign militants were also reportedly among the dead.[1]
Islamic State in South Asia
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In a video message released on October 13, official spokesman of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Shahidullah Shahid and five other top TTP commanders pledged allegiance to Islamic State (IS) and its leader Abu Bakar al Baghdadi. The other five area commanders include TTP Orakzai Emir Saeed Khan, TTP Khyber Emir Gul Zaman, TTP Kurram Emir Daulat Khan, TTP Peshawar District Emir Mufti Hassan and TTP Hangu Emir Khalid Mansour. Shahid clarified that the statement was made on behalf of himself and the five commanders and that it was not representative of the TTP as a whole or its leader Mullah Fazlullah. He also claimed that the statement was his fourth pledge of allegiance to IS to date.[2]
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According to a Wall Street Journal Report on October 13, Afghan security officials claim that that Islamic State (IS) is making attempts to extend its influence or presence in Afghanistan, pointing toward reports of IS leaflets being circulated in local languages near Kabul. The U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, James Cunningham, denies any reports or evidence of IS presence.[3]
Indo-Pakistan Relations
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According to a senior Pakistani military official, the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of the Pakistani and Indian armies spoke on October 14 via hotline. The Pakistan army’s DGMO reportedly conveyed Pakistani concerns over consistent, unprovoked firing on the civilian population living along the Line of Control (LoC) and the working boundary by Indian forces. After a brief pause in cross-border firing on October 10, Indian and Pakistani forces reportedly resumed firing on October 11. According to Pakistan Army officials, one civilian was injured by Indian fire in Poonch sector near Rawalkot. Gunfire was also reported in Charwa sector near Sialkot later that evening. Indian army officials accused Pakistani border guards of targeting ten Indian border posts in Poonch sector. Indian forces allegedly continued heavily shelling Pakistani villages along the Sialkot border on October 12. Fresh firing and mortar shelling was reported near Kailer sector in Bagh on the LoC on October 13 and in Charwa sector near Sialkot on October 14.[4]
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According to a Dawn report on October 12, Advisor to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz wrote a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon requesting UN intervention in defusing border tensions as well as resolving the Kashmir issue. On October 13, the Pakistani government also conveyed its concerns over ceasefire violations across the LoC to a visiting two-member U.S Congressional delegation comprising of Senators Tim Kaine and Angus King. Indian officials criticized these efforts as attempts by the Pakistani government to “internationalize” the Kashmir issue.[5]
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On October 11, Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) activists in Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa protested against firing by Indian forces and the killing of innocent civilians along the LoC and the working boundary.[6]
Militancy
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On October 12, Pakistani military airstrikes killed 21 militants in North Waziristan and Khyber Agency. Targeted airstrikes on militant hideouts in Anzarak area of Datta Khel sub-district in North Waziristan reportedly killed 11 suspected militants. Separately, airstrikes by the Pakistani Air Force killed 10 militants and injured several in the Rajgal, Wacho Wanom Fatih Sar and Duwa Khuly areas of the Tirah Valley in Khyber Agency.[7]
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According to the Afghan Ministry of Interior, police forces arrested two militants associated with Pakistan Taliban and the Haqqani Network in northern Kunduz province on October 11. The police recovered suicide jackets from the militants.[8]
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On October 13, the Sindh Rangers foiled a major jailbreak attempt by discovering an underground tunnel being dug from inside a house in Ghousia colony to the barracks in Karachi’s Central Jail. The Rangers arrested three terrorists from the house who had completed about 45 meters of the 55 meter- long tunnel. Five more accomplices were also arrested. The police also discovered weapons and mining equipment from the house. October 14, Sindh Minister for Prisons Manzoor Wasan said that officials also feared a possible attack on the Hyderabad jail. [9]
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On October 11, unidentified militants attacked a medical team of the Frontier Corps (FC) in the Mand area of Turbat, Balochistan. One militant was killed in the encounter.[10]
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On October 11, unknown gunmen shot and killed Qadir Raisani, District President of Muttahida Mahaz Balochistan in Quetta.[11]
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On October 11, a roadside improvised explosive device (IED) killed two members of the local anti-Taliban militia in the Sipah area on the boundary between Kohat district and Orakzai Agency.[12]
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On October 11, unidentified gunmen shot dead a member of an anti-Taliban militia in the Mangwal Tan area of Charbagh sub-district in Swat district. In a resulting search operation on October 12, security forces killed three militants.[13]
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On October 11, police raided hideouts of a militant group known as the Zareen group in the Kamar Dhand area of Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, injuring one policeman in the resulting clashes. The police also destroyed five suspected militant hideouts in the raid.[14]
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On October 11, police forces reportedly killed three militants in a shootout in Uch Sharif city in Punjab’s Bahawalpur district.[15]
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On October 14, unknown assailants on a motorbike shot and killed a second-lieutenant of the Pakistan Army and injured two of his brothers outside their house in Journalist Colony, Hyderabad.[16]
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In messages posted on Twitter on October 10, spokesman for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Jamaatul Ahrar, Ehsanullah Ehsan, chief of Jamaatul Ahrar’s Ihya-e-Khilafat media division Saleh Qassam, and media member Ibrahim Khorasani jointly criticized the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Malala Yousafzai, calling her an “agent of kuffar (disbelievers).” Ehsan further threatened that the group would continue to target people who portrayed “anti-Islamic positions.” The Shuhada Foundation of Pakistan also disapproved of the award, calling Malala the “enemy of Islam.”[17]
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On October 13, former deputy convener of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Dr. Farooq Sattar, declared that 11 of the MQM’s leaders were facing extortion threats from the TTP. The members have been asked to pay Rupees 1.5 million ($15,000) or suffer the pain of them and their families being assassinated.[18]
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On October 10, German officials declared that a German aid worker who had been kidnapped in Multan, Pakistan in 2012 by Islamist militants has been freed in Afghanistan.[19]
Politics
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According to a Dawn report on October 14, chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari faces threats to his life from the militant group Jundullah. As a result, the Sindh government has asked law enforcement agencies “to ensure extreme vigilance” and take “special measures” to prevent any attacks.[20]
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On October 12, Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Tahirul Qadri said that he would continue his protests in other parts of the country after exiting Islamabad and that the first rally would be held in Faisalabad. He termed the Islamabad sit-in as a “strong foundation” but said that his party did not believe in protesting in one place alone.[21]
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On October 10, at least seven people died in a stampede after a rally held by Pakistani Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan at a stadium in Multan, Punjab. 40 people were also reportedly injured. Prime Minister Sharif expressed sorrow for the loss of lives at the rally.[22]
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On October 10, women staged a protest in the Haleemzai sub-division of Mohmand Agency complaining of unwarranted raids of their houses and alleged illegal detention of male family members by paramilitary forces. The women also demanded immediate releases of detained relatives.[23]
Economy
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According to an Express Tribune report on October 13, Pakistan is scheduled to secure two loan tranches from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) amounting to a total of $1.1 billion in December, 2014 as a part of the $6.7 billion IMF bailout program. The two loan tranches include the fourth and fifth reviews of Pakistan’s economic performance under the bailout program.[24]
Foreign Affairs
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In a briefing on October 10, Foreign Office spokesperson Tasneem Aslam said that it was in the interest of both Iran and Pakistan to share intelligence in order to combat terrorism in areas along the border and reduce mistrust between the two countries. Reacting to the recent terrorist attacks in Iran, Aslam denied the presence of safe havens inside Pakistan for terrorists operating across the border.[25]
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According to an Express Tribune report on October 11, Prime Minister Sharif called for a “strong relationship with Afghanistan” in a telephonic conversation with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on the occasion of Eid. The two premiers have also agreed to “counter common threats, work for regional cooperation and boost bilateral relations.”[26]
U.S.-Pakistan Relations
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According to an Express Tribune report on October 14, the U.S. Congress is unlikely to extend the $7.5 billion civilian assistance package to Pakistan under the Kerry-Lugar Act of 2009 which is scheduled to expire in September 2015. According to analysts, the aid package is expiring at a time when the U.S. is outsourcing its role in the region to other countries and refocusing toward the Middle East.[27]
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
