Pakistan Security Brief
One Pakistani civilian killed in continued Indo-Pak cross-border firing; Indian forces allegedly constructing illegal bunkers near working boundary; National Assembly adopts resolution condemning Indian ceasefire violations; Indian Prime Minister visits Siachen glacier; Military clashes with militant, 18 people killed in Tirah Valley, Khyber; Pakistani security forces kill six militants in Bara sub-district, Khyber; Two FC men killed in militant attack in Bara sub-district, Khyber; Lashkar-e-Islam militants claim killing nine security personnel in Khyber; Rocket attack kills one in Datta Khel, North Waziristan; Roadside IED kills two, injures 14 in Quetta; Gunmen kill eight Hazara community members in Quetta; UK Money laundering charges against MQM chief dropped.
Indo-Pakistan Relations
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On October 22, one Pakistani civilian was killed and another injured amidst continued firing by the Pakistani and Indian armies along the Line of Control (LoC) and working boundary. Indian security forces reportedly resorted to shelling and firing on the border villages of Charwah, Dhamaala, Rangor, and Bhagiyaari in the Charwa sector of Sialkot. On October 23, the Pakistani military further claimed that Indian Border Security Forces (BSF) targeted civilian populations in the Shakargarh and Charwah sectors of Sialkot. Meanwhile, Indian army officials claim that Pakistani Rangers resorted to firing on Indian BSF posts along the international border in Samba district and in the Arnia area of Jammu district on October 23.[1]
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On October 23, Foreign Office spokesperson Tasneem Aslam alleged that Indian forces were engaging in the illegal construction of bunkers within five hundred meters of the working boundary, under the cover of persistent ceasefire violations. Aslam further stated that the construction of these bunkers was in violation of a 2010 bilateral agreement between New Delhi and Islamabad and that Pakistan would not permit the construction to take place.[2]
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On October 23, the National Assembly adopted a resolution condemning “unprovoked” and “indiscriminate” ceasefire violations by India along the LoC and working boundary. Addressing the National Assembly, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif stated that the Pakistan Army was capable of responding to any aggression and that India should not misunderstand Pakistani peace initiatives as a sign of the country’s weakness.[3]
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On October 23, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Siachen glacier, labelled as the world’s highest battleground, in Kashmir to celebrate the festival of Diwali and rally the morale of stationed Indian troops. Modi is the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Siachen in ten years. Mr. Modi later headed to the main city of Srinagar as a part of his two-day Jammu and Kashmir visit.[4]
Militancy
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On October 22, eighteen people including two soldiers and five civilians were killed and 23 injured in clashes and airstrikes by Pakistani security forces in the Tirah Valley, as a part of the ongoing Operation Khyber I in Khyber Agency. According to security forces, airstrikes in Sepah, Akakhel and Tarkhus areas of the Tirah Valley killed eight militants and destroyed three militant hideouts. Further, clashes between security forces and militants killed three militants, two soldiers and injured three others at Sepah in the Spin Qabar area. Five civilians were also killed and 23 injured in shelling by gunship helicopters in Bara sub-district of Khyber Agency.[5]
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On October 23, Pakistani security forces killed six suspected militants and injured seven in the Sipah area of Bara sub-district, Khyber Agency as a part of the ongoing military offensive, Operation Kyber I.[6]
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On October 23, a militant attack on a check post of the Frontier Corps (FC) killed two FC soldiers and injured two in the Sipah area of Bara sub-district in Khyber Agency. The militants reportedly used heavy weapons in the attack. Security forces then launched a retaliatory operation against militant hideouts in Shalobar, Aka Khel, Yousaf Talab and Sipah areas, killing one and injuring two militants.[7]
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On October 22, Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) spokesperson Saifullah Saif claimed that an attack by the militants on a convoy of security forces killed nine soldiers in the Sepah area of Spin Qabar in Khyber Agency. Security forces confirmed the attack on the convoy.[8]
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On October 22, a rocket attack by militants on a military camp killed one civilian truck driver and injured another in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan.[9]
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On October 23, unidentified gunmen killed eight and injured six members of the ethnic Hazara Shia community when the gunmen opened fire on a bus in the Hazar Ganji area of Quetta. The members were returning from a vegetable market when they were intercepted by gunmen.[10]
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On October 23, a roadside improvised explosive device (IED) killed two people and injured 14, including two Frontier Corps (FC) personnel, on Qambrani Road in Quetta. The IED detonated while an FC convoy was passing by, suggesting that the attack was targeting FC personnel. Gunmen also opened fire in the area after the explosion. No group claimed responsibility for the attack.[11]
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In an update to a previous report from October 21, the U.S. Department of the Treasury added Pakistani national Sajna Mehsud, the head of the Mehsud branch of militants formerly part of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), to the department’s list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists. According to a U.S. State Department notification, Sajna was sanctioned mainly for his involvement in the May 2011 attack on Mehran Naval base Karachi and for masterminding the April 2012 Bannu jail break which freed 400 militants.[12]
Domestic Politics
