Pakistan Security Brief

High Commissioner to India blames Indian press for exaggerating conflict at Line of Control; Foreign Secretary accuses India of meddling in Balochistan; Alleged Indian firing across the LoC injures five civilians; Interior Minister welcomes Ulema’s involvement in talks with TTP; TTP spokesman demands end to U.S. drone strikes prior to negotiations, claims Afghan Taliban provides funding to the TTP; Leader of the Opposition may lose his position; Police detain two suspects in connection with All-Saints church attack; Army chief to retire at end of term; Sindh Chief Minister claims that all parties agreed to Karachi operations; U.S. wants Pakistan to help secure release of American prisoner of Haqqani Network; Ansar-ul-Mujahideen claims Sunday attack against security personnel in Bannu; 24 militants surrender arms in Balochistan; Security forces carry out operation in FATA; Two terrorists arrested in Gilgit-Baltistan; Afghan Taliban and government both concerned about Pakistan’s handling of Mullah Baradar.

India-Pakistan Relations

• Salman Bashir, Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India, responded on Monday to Indian claims that Pakistan was behind recent violations of the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir. Bashir blamed the Indian press for sensationalizing the “so-called incursions and infiltrations” and said that he wants “to ask who is involved in heinous acts of terrorism in Pakistan.”[1]

• Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jillani appeared to say on Saturday that Pakistan has evidence of Indian involvement in the insurgency in Balochistan. He said that “credible evidence of Indian involvement in terrorism in Balochistan is available with us. We have provided this evidence to those who it was to be provided.”[2]

• A Pakistani official told the press on Friday that Indian troops recently injured five civilians and killed a child during cross-border shelling across the Line of Control (LoC) in Kotli district.[3]

• Two people were injured in a cross-border firing incident in the Battal sector by Indian troops on Sunday morning.  The Pakistan Army retaliated.[4]

• On Monday, in the eastern state of Odisha, India tested the Prithvi-II, a short-range (350 km) ballistic missile which is capable of delivering a nuclear payload.[5]

Talks with the TTP

• In a statement released on Sunday, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said that the government welcomes the religious body Wafaqul Madaris’ participation in peace talks with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and would like to cooperate with their attempts to reach out to the TTP. He also said that the government has the support of the military in its attempts to start a dialogue with the TTP.[6]

• During an interview with journalists in Waziristan on Saturday, TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said that the Afghan Taliban provides funding to the TTP.  He claimed that the Afghan Taliban is currently sheltering TTP Swat Commander Mullah Fazullah in Kunar province.  Shahid reiterated the TTP’s preconditions for negotiations with the government, including an end to U.S. drone strikes and the withdrawal of the Pakistani military from the tribal areas.[7]

• In a Friday meeting with army chief General Ashfaq Kayani, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that his highest priority is negotiating with the TTP, and that terrorism will be eradicated in Pakistan.[8]

• The governor of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Shaukatullah Khan said on Saturday that he is eager to initiate peace talks with the TTP.[9]

• On Friday, the Jamaat-e-Islami headed an All Parties’ Conference (APC) in Peshawar to discuss militancy in the city. The APC agreed to request that the government begin negotiations with the TTP immediately.[10]

• On Monday, 25 Mahsud tribal elders met in Peshawar with the governor of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province to provide input regarding peace negotiations with the TTP.  Many TTP leaders are members of the Mahsud tribe, and the organization was founded in Mahsud tribal areas of South Waziristan agency.[11]

Peshawar Bombings and Fallout

• On Monday, an IED blast killed at least two people and wounded 13 more outside a medical facility in the village of Bazid Khel just outside Peshawar.  The explosion targeted a police unit detached to provide security for a polio vaccination team.  Jundullah spokesman Ahmed Marwat claimed responsibility for the attack.  Jundullah previously took responsibility for the September 22 All-Saints Church attack, a claim which is disputed.[12]

• According to a report in Dawn on Monday, the TTP is plotting imminent attacks against law enforcement installations and personnel throughout Peshawar.  Unnamed security officials claim to have received information that a suicide bomber recently entered Nowshera district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.[13]

• In an interview with the BBC Urdu on Saturday, TTP spokesman Shahid again denied the TTP’s involvement in the September 22 All-Saints Church attack.  However, he claimed the attack was permissible according to Sharia law.  On Sunday, the leaders of the Sunni Ittehad Council said Shahid’s remark contradicts Islam’s prerequisite of respect for “all places of worship.”  The Council also opposes the government’s decision to engage in dialogue with the TTP.[14]

• Security officials detained two suspects in Peshawar on Saturday in connection with the September 22 All-Saints church bombing.[15]

• On Friday, police released sketches of three suspected terrorists involved in the September 27 bus blast in Peshawar.[16]

Domestic

• Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani confirmed on Sunday that he will retire from the military when his term is up at the end of November. He said that he wanted to put to rest rumors that his term would be extended or that he would shift to another high-profile military position, such as the Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff Committee (CJCSC).[17]

• According to a Monday report in The News, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif plans to announce the appointment of the CJCSC and the new army chief simultaneously sometime next month. In the interim, the current army chief, General Ashfaq Kayani, will fulfill both roles.[18]

• Khursheed Ahmad Shah, the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly (NA), may lose his position in the next sitting of the NA according to a Monday report in The News. Other opposition leaders feel that Shah does not consult anyone outside of his own Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). Combined, the other opposition parties can outvote the PPP, and according to the report in The News, it appears likely that they will do so. NA Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader, Shah Mahmood Qureshi appears to be the most likely candidate to replace Shah.[19]

• On Monday, a report issued by the National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) said that 57,642 false votes had been cast in the NA-256 Karachi constituency during the May 11 elections. The seat, which is located in Karachi was won by a member of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).[20]

Afghanistan Reconciliation Process

• According to a Friday report in the Express Tribune, the Afghan government and the Afghan Taliban are both growing suspicious of Pakistan’s treatment of former Afghan Taliban deputy Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar. The Government is concerned that he has not been allowed to return to Afghanistan, and Afghan Taliban leaders think that Pakistan could be using him to divide the group.[21]

Karachi Unrest

• Karachi police and Rangers arrested 57 people on Monday and 100 on Sunday as part of the ongoing operations in Karachi.[22]

• On Friday, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah commented on the targeted operations in Karachi, saying that they had been agreed upon by all of the major political parties in Karachi. He added that the political affiliations of the captured suspects would not be revealed.[23]

• The Sindh Rangers have reported that their interrogations of suspected target killers arrested during the Karachi operations have confirmed that many target killers have been involved in numerous killings, and that their orders came from political superiors.[24]

U.S.-Pakistan Relations

• According to a Sunday report in The News, the United States has increased pressure on Pakistan to help negotiate the release of U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Robert Bergdahl, who was captured by the Haqqani Network in Afghanistan, and is believed by the United States to have been shifted into Pakistan.[25]

• In a Friday meeting in Islamabad with U.S. commander of Central Command General Lloyd Austin, Defense  Secretary Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Asif Yasin Malik said that Pakistan would cooperate in the U.S. drawdown in Afghanistan and the reconciliation process in Afghanistan. General Austin said that the United States would continue Coalition Support Fund aid to Pakistan after the withdrawal.[26]

• The American Ambassador to Pakistan, Richard Olson, met with Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar on Friday to discuss Dar’s recent visit to the United Nations and his upcoming visit to the International Monetary Fund.[27]

Militancy

• Three security officials died and eight others were wounded on Sunday when their convoy came under attack near the Mirzal checkpoint in the Bakakhel area of Frontier Region Bannu.  In an interview with journalists from an undisclosed location, Ansar-ul-Mujahideen spokesman Abu Baseer claimed responsibility for the attack and vowed that the organization would continue its violent campaign until the cessation of U.S drone strikes.[28]

• TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid told CNN on Monday that Malala Yousafzai was attacked because of her anti-Taliban remarks, not because of her advocacy for childhood education.  He vowed that, should an opportunity arise, the TTP would attempt another attack against her.  In an interview with the BBC on Monday, Malala reiterated her opinion that while education offers the best method of combating extremist, dialogue is the best mechanism for resolving the present conflict.[29] 

• On Saturday, unidentified assailants killed two members of a peace committee body in the Charbagh sub-district of Swat district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.  On Sunday, security officials detained six people in connection with the murders.   Representatives from twelve peace committees met in Bandai village, Kabal, on Monday to demand that the government provide increased security for committee members in the wake of Saturday’s attack.  The leader of all committee participants, Idrees Khan, urged the government not to negotiate with the TTP until the militants accept a ceasefire and abide by the Constitution.[30]

• An explosion at a firearms store on Sunday destroyed several buildings in the Darra Adamkhel Bazaar, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.  No casualties have been reported and the cause of the explosion is unclear.[31]

• On Sunday, a bomb exploded along the Nasir Bagh Road in Peshawar.  No casualties have been reported.[32]

• On Sunday, unidentified gunmen opened fire on a police patrol in the Muslimabad area of Bannu Cantonment, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.  The police returned fire and no casualties have been reported.[33]

• An explosion on Sunday damaged a cell tower in the Sarwar Fathe Khel area of Mandan, Bannu district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.[34]

• A girl was injured on Sunday when an IED exploded outside the New Dagaikhel area residence of an Afghan refugee in Nowshera, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.  Security officials subsequently detained one suspect for alleged militant connections.[35]

• A blast occurred on Saturday near a women’s college in Khazana village, near Peshawar.  No casualties have been reported.[36]

• On Saturday, police in Mardan district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa stopped a potential attack when they arrested a man on a motorcycle who had 300 detonators and 300 meters of safety fuse.[37]

• An explosion damaged an electricity tower on Saturday night along Charsadda road in Garhi Sohbat Khan outside of Peshawar.   Security officials later defused three additional IEDs in the vicinity.[38]

• Unidentified assailants injured two people during a grenade attack on Friday night in Shahimena village, of the Ambar sub-district in Mohmand agency.[39]

• A landmine blast wounded one person in Danda Kilay in Kurram agency on Saturday.  In a separate incident, another blast injured three people in the Boshara area of Kurram agency.[40]

• After a three day operation in Hassan Khel, Frontier Region Peshawar, Federally Administered Tribal Areas, security forces withdrew on Saturday. It is unclear what the purpose of the operation was or whether it was achieved, but three militants were reportedly captured.[41]

• Unidentified gunmen injured a Levies soldier on Friday during an attack on a political motorcade at an unspecified location in Orakzai agency.[42]

• Security forces captured two alleged terrorists in Chilas, Gilgit-Baltistan on Saturday. The two terrorists were allegedly involved in the June 2013 attack at Nanga Parbat which killed ten foreign tourists.[43]

• Police raided a house on Saturday in the Kili Karez area of Gulistan, Qilla Abdullah district, Balochistan province.  The operation failed in its objective to recover a kidnapped cardiologist and led to an exchange of fire between security officials and the abductors.  Two kidnappers and one Anti-Terrorism Force (ATF) member died.[44]

• A commander of the Balochistan Republican Army and 23 other militants surrendered to the Balochistan Frontier Corps on Friday and renounced terrorism.[45]

• According to a report in the Express Tribune on Monday, a National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) official said the Frontier Corps and Pakistan Army will assist in providing a formal damage assessment to assist with earthquake relief efforts in Balochistan province.  Their inclusion reflects security concerns as terrorists and militants continue to target humanitarian assistance programs.[46]

• Security officials announced on Sunday that unidentified gunmen killed a leader of the Jamhoori Watan Party along the National Highway near Khuzdar district, Balochistan province.[47]

• Unidentified gunmen killed a police official on Sunday in the Jhal Magsi district of Balochistan province.[48]

• On Monday, security officials located and defused a bomb at a marketplace in Afghan Colony, Peshawar.[49]

• Security personnel in the Kech district of Balochistan province recovered the corpses of five Afghan nationals who died of starvation and dehydration while trying to cross the Iran-Pakistan border.[50]

• Unidentified gunmen killed an MQM activist in Malir, Karachi, on Sunday.[51]

• On Monday, unidentified gunmen killed a doctor outside his clinic in the Kati Pahari area of Orangi Town, Karachi.[52]

• Unidentified assailants wounded two people in a grenade attack on Sunday in the Gulshan-e-Ghazi area of Baldia Town, Karachi.[53]

• Unidentified assailants tossed a grenade outside the National Database and Registration Authority office at Karsaz KDA in Karachi on Saturday.  No casualties have been reported.[54]

• On October 1, a court ordered the release of a suspect in the 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore due to the lack of evidence against him.[55]

Palestine-Pakistan Relations

• On Monday, Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani gave Palestinian Ambassador Walid Abu Ali funds for the construction of a Palestinian embassy in Islamabad.  In February, President Asif Ali Zardari had promised $1 million to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for the project to express Pakistan’s solidarity with the Palestinian people.[56]