Pakistan Security Brief

Former deputy Afghan Taliban commander Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar may be released inside Pakistan; Government lays groundwork for peace talks with the TTP; Prime Minister will visit Karachi on Wednesday; Interior Minister commends progress of Rangers in Karachi; PML-N government defends decision of former President Asif Ali Zardari; IDB promises $850 million loan to Pakistan; Finance Ministry official denies fixed exchange rate for the rupee as a pre-condition to IMF loan; PTI claims Pakistan Army to pursue phased withdrawal from the FATA; TTP commander killed in North Waziristan agency; Al Mansuri Brigade claims it has the kidnapped son of former Prime Minister; Three militia members beheaded in Khyber agency.

Afghan-Pakistan Relations

• Foreign Office spokesman Aizaz Chaudhry confirmed on Tuesday that the government of Pakistan has agreed to release former deputy Afghan Taliban commander Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.  Chaudhry said Baradar will be released into Pakistani territory; he will not be transferred to Afghan custody.[1]

Dialogue with the TTP

• Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan told a press conference on Tuesday that the decision to engage in peace talks with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was organic, completely devoid of foreign influence and pressure.  The time and location of the first meeting has not yet been determined.[2]

• On Tuesday, Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Pervaiz Rashid encouraged the press to desist from publishing inflammatory content that could jeopardize negotiations with the TTP.  Rashid promised that the government would keep the press and the Pakistani public well-informed about the progress of the talks.[3]

• According to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf officials on Tuesday, chairman Imran Khan persuaded Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani to leverage peace negotiations with the TTP in order to implement a phased withdrawal of military forces from the Federally Administered Tribal Area.[4]

• On Monday, TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid welcomed the unanimous decision of APC attendees to pursue dialogue with the TTP.  He noted that the government will need to provide additional details regarding a roadmap for the future of the dialogue, and convince the Pakistan Army to support the peace process.  Army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani announced on Monday that the military supports the government’s decision to open dialogue with the TTP and that it is the government’s responsibility to form policy on the matter.[5]

Karachi Unrest                  

• Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will visit Karachi on Wednesday for an update on security situation in the city since the start of the Ranger-led paramilitary campaign to restore order.[6] 

• On Tuesday, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan commended the Rangers’ progress in Karachi.  Khan revealed that since the paramilitary campaign commenced last week, Rangers have detained approximately 158 suspects and recovered more than 100 firearms.[7]

• Rangers conducted targeted operations in various parts of Karachi on Tuesday, detaining approximately 65 people.[8]

Indo-Pakistan Relations

• Citing conflict with a Hindu religious festival, Indian officials denied a Pakistani judicial commission’s proposal to visit India on September 11.  The commission, which initially planned to travel on September 4, will cross-examine witnesses of the 2008 Mumbai attacks. No additional information is currently available regarding the new date.[9]

Domestic

• On Tuesday, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government defended the decision of former President Asif Ali Zardari to investigate former Ambassador of Pakistan to the U.S. Hussain Haqqani.  Haqqani allegedly contacted a top U.S. military official without the President of Pakistan’s permission in order to avoid a coup after the U.S. raid on Abbottabad.  Petitioners have requested Zardari be included on an Exit Control List to confine him within Pakistan while Abbottabad-related investigations are ongoing; the government has asked that the court dismiss the case.[10]

• A delegation of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) met with Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in Islamabad on Tuesday.  IDB Vice President of Operations Birama Boubacar Sidibe told Dar that the IDB intended to provide Pakistan with an $850 million loan over the course of the next three years to assist the PML-N government with achieving various development objectives.[11]

• A Finance Ministry official denied allegations on Monday that the government of Pakistan has agreed to fix the exchange rate of the rupee against the dollar as a pre-condition for receipt of the International Monetary Fund’s $6.7 billion loan.  The government revealed today, however, that it has accepted the IMF’s prerequisite to limit the national deficit target to just 5.8 percent of the economy.[12]

• Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal claimed on Monday that the nation would face a severe water crisis in the next decade unless it forges ahead with construction of the Diamir-Bhasha Dam on the Indus River in Gilgit-Baltistan.[13]

Iran-Pakistan Relations

• The Iranian government has canceled its plan to purchase one million tons of Pakistani wheat.  Unnamed sources claim Iran wanted fresh wheat, but refused to accept grain from this year’s harvest.  Iranian officials may now purchase basmati rice instead of wheat.[14]

Militancy

• Unidentified gunmen killed TTP commander Khan Ghul Bhittani in North Waziristan agency on Monday.[15] 

• On Tuesday, the leader of a group calling itself the al Mansuri Brigade, Abu-Yazeed, claimed his organization is holding the kidnapped son of former Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Gilani, Ali Haider Gilani.  Abu Yazeed screened a tape of Gilani’s voice to the victim’s mother in which Gilani pleads with the government and security organizations to facilitate his release.  The al Mansuri Brigade’s demands are unclear.[16]

• A Bomb Disposal Unit (BDU) defused several grenades and two suicide vests worn by militants during Monday’s attack on the district court in Kohat, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.  The attackers were killed during the assault before they triggered their explosives.[17]

• Security officials recovered three bodies on Monday from the Nowshera district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province: two in Nizampur and one in Risalpur.[18]

• On Monday, unidentified militants beheaded three anti-Taliban militia members in the Bara sub-district of Khyber agency.  The assailants kidnapped three other militia members.[19]

• A blast occurred near Landi Jawara in the Halimzai sub-district of Mohmand agency on Monday.  No casualties have been reported.[20]

• On Monday, unidentified men fired two rockets in the vicinity of Panjgur town, Balochistan province.  There were no casualties.[21]

• Security officials killed two suspects during a raid Monday night on a residence in Jahania of Khanewal district, Punjab province.[22]

• Two people were shot to death in separate incidents in Karachi on Tuesday.[23]

• On Monday, security officials detained eight people from an undisclosed location in connection to Sunday’s assault on police officials in Kashmore district, Sindh province.[24]