Pakistan Security Brief

China will sell Pakistan two nuclear reactors despite Indian and American concerns; Pakistan releases seven Afghan Taliban prisoners; eight killed, including provincial minister, and 30 injured in suicide bombing in Dera Ismail Khan; School in Bannu damaged in bombing; confusion persists over arrest of TTP deputy; Czech republic negotiating for release of two kidnapped citizens; Increased Eid security in Quetta and Peshawar.

China-Pakistan Relations

• According to a Wednesday report in The News, China is moving forward with plans to sell two nuclear reactors to Pakistan valued at $9.6 billion. India has reportedly expressed concern over the deal to China, and is nervous about nuclear cooperation between China and Pakistan. According to a Tuesday report in The Wall Street Journal, the United States is also uneasy about the deal, due to concerns about Pakistan’s security, and the fact that China is sharing nuclear capabilities with Pakistan, which is not a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.[1]

Afghanistan Reconciliation Process

• According to statements on Tuesday by Afghan Taliban officials to the Express Tribune, Pakistan recently released seven low-ranking Taliban prisoners, although the Pakistani government has not confirmed these reports. According to The Express Tribune’s sources, Pakistan has also allowed former Afghan Taliban deputy commander Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar to speak with his family twice.[2]

Militancy

• A suicide bomb attack on Wednesday killed eight people and injured 30 in Kullachi sub-district, Dera Ismail Khan district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. One of the dead is reportedly Israrullah Gandapur, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Law Minister and a member of Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).[3]

• On Tuesday, a school in Bakka Khel, Bannu was bombed and badly damaged. The attack occurred early in the morning, and there appear to be no casualties. Two bombs were planted by unknown militants. One detonated, damaging the building, while the other was defused.[4]

• According to a Wednesday report in The News, conflicting narratives about the reported arrest of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commander Latif Mahsud persist. A U.S. State Department spokesperson has confirmed the arrest, while the TTP’s leadership has publically denied it. Afghan officials are divided as to whether Mahsud was part of an Afghan convoy that was raided by American forces in Afghanistan or was simply arrested near the border by the U.S. on October 5th.[5]

• On Tuesday, Karachi police arrested two alleged militants who belong to a sectarian organization called the Naeemullah Bukhari group in the Napier area of the city.[6]

• On Wednesday, Karachi police and paramilitary Rangers arrested 16 alleged criminals in targeted operations throughout the city.[7]

• Karachi police claim to have arrested six hitmen throughout the city on Tuesday. One of the six is alleged to have killed a station house officer in the Sir Syed Colony area of the city.[8]

Talks with the TTP

• On Tuesday, former Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani indicated that he supports peace talks with the TTP, and that militant groups had made demands for the release of militant prisoners in exchange for his kidnapped son, Ali Gilani.[9]

Czech-Pakistan Relations

• On Wednesday, Czech President Milos Zeman said that the government of the Czech Republic is negotiating for the release of two Czech nationals kidnapped in Balochistan in March. Zeman did not say with whom the Czechs are negotiating.[10]

Domestic

• According to a report in Geo News, Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Malik Baloch has said that the number of Frontier Corps (FC) check posts in Quetta has been reduced by 80 percent.[11]

• According to a Wednesday report in Dawn, in response to security threats against former President Pervez Musharraf, the Islamabad city administration has ordered a jail trial for him in the case relating to the alleged murder of a cleric in the 2007 Lal Masjid incident.[12]

• According to a Tuesday report in The Express Tribune, the Peshawar police force has deployed 2,000 extra policemen throughout the city to ensure security for Eid.[13]

• Quetta is increasing its security for Eid, deploying about 2,000 security personnel, including police, Balochstan Constabulary and Frontier Corps (FC). Balochistan has delegated police powers to the FC for the next month.[14]