Pakistan Security Brief

PAF airstrikes kill 20 militants in Khyber; Blast kills one and injures seven at Muharram meeting in Karachi; Government asks Bhittani tribe of Lakki Marwat to expel militants; Salarzai elders reaffirm their support to security forces in Bajaur; Army spokesman says no timeline for end of thus-far successful operations;  New Corps Commanders assume charge; Prime Minister Sharif seeks army’s help in polio eradication; Pakistani civilian killed in cross-border shelling with India; Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs declares resumption in talks would require initiative by India;  Interior Minister demands permanent halt to U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan; U.S., Pakistan to pursue a trade-based relationship, says U.S. envoy; Trade conference to be held in Islamabad in early 2015.

Militancy

• On October 29, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) fighter jets killed 20 militants and injured eight others in airstrikes in the Aka Khel area of Tirah Valley, Khyber Agency.[1]

• On October 28, a hand grenade explosion killed a child and injured at least seven people at the Islamic Research Center Imambargah in the Ayesha Manzil area, Karachi. The Islamic Research Center Imambargah was holding a Muharram gathering for women at the time of the attack.[2]

• On October 28, political and military officials requested the elders of the Bhittani tribe of Lakki Marwat, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, to expel militants currently residing in their territory by November 5. The tribal elders promised full cooperation with security forces to remove militants from their territory.[3]

• On October 28, the Salarzai tribal elders stated that they would continue to support efforts by the political administration and security forces to restore peace to Bajaur Agency. The elders also asked that those people who have been moving into Bajaur Agency from other districts be expelled as most of them, the elders asserted, are criminals.[4]

Military

• On October 29, Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Maj. Gen. Asim Bajwa, declared at a press conference in Peshawar that the Pakistani military was capable of responding appropriately to Indian aggression and that despite cross-border skirmishes, the deployment of troops in the tribal areas would not be reduced.  He also stated that more than 1,100 militants had been killed in the ongoing military offensive in North Waziristan, Operation Zarb-e-Azb. Bajwa further declined to give a timeframe for the end of the military offensives and said that the operations would continue until the tribal areas were cleared of militants. He also alleged that the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan’s (TTP) leadership was operating from Afghanistan and that Afghan government was not providing enough cooperation to the Pakistan Army in its fight against militants. [5]

• According to a report in The News on October 29, the four new Corps Commanders for Mangla, Peshawar, Karachi and Gujranwala, appointed by army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif, have reportedly assumed charge of their new positions. Lt. General Rizwan Akhtar will take charge as the new Director General of Inter-Intelligence Services (ISI) on November 7.[6]

• On October 28, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif wrote a letter to army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif seeking assistance from the army in providing security for the ongoing polio eradication campaign. The letter reportedly states that an official should be appointed as a focal point at the Army General Headquarters to facilitate coordination between the army and the government for the implementation of the National Emergency Action Plan (NEAP) for polio.[7]

Indo-Pakistan Relations

• On October 28, an elderly Pakistani civilian was killed in the crossfire between Indian and Pakistani troops in the Chirikot sector of Haveli district along the Line of Control (LoC). He was reportedly hit by shrapnel from a shell fired by Indian forces.[8]

• On October 29, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs, Tariq Fatemi, declared that the Pakistani government would not initiate contact with India for talks and that if the Indian government desired a dialogue, it would have to take the initiative. Fatemi further reiterated that Kashmir was and always will be a cornerstone of Pakistan’s foreign policy.[9] 

Foreign Affairs

• On October 28, for Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan stated in a meeting with U.S. Special Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Daniel Feldman that the U.S. “should halt drone attacks in Pakistan permanently.” Khan asserted that halting drone strikes would allow for improved relations between the U.S. and Pakistan. Feldman expressed U.S. recognition and appreciation for the sacrifices Pakistan has endured in the War on Terror, and met with Pakistan Army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif at the army’s headquarters in Rawalpindi.[10]

• On October 28, the U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Daniel Feldman, stated that the nature of the relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan would now move from an aid-based relationship to a trade-based one. Feldman also ruled out the extension of the Kerry-Lugar legislation which provided around $5 billion in civilian assistance to Pakistan over a period of five years. The envoy said that the Executive could continue to request that Congress provide funds in order to avoid a “precipitous decline” in assistance to Pakistan, however.[11]    

• On October 28, in a meeting between Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Daniel Feldman, the two sides decided to organize a conference focusing on trade in Islamabad early next year. A large number of businessmen, investor and traders are expected to be invited to this conference in order to enhance trade relations between the two countries.[12]