Pakistan Security Brief

Pakistan Security Brief – September 16, 2010

Drone strike kills three militants in North Waziristan; President Zardari meets with Afghan President Karzai; U.S. envoy reiterates Washington’s long-term commitment to Pakistan; Tehrik-e-Taliban claim responsibility for killing journalist; IMF announces $451 million in emergency funding. 

FATA

•  A U.S. drone strike killed three militants in North Waziristan on Wednesday.   The strike occurred in the village of Payekhel in Datta Khel near the Afghan border.  This latest attack came only hours after U.S. drones targeted two militant compounds in the village of Dargah Mandi on the outskirts of Miramshah. Intelligence officials report that 18 militants were killed in that attack and that 14 foreign fighters and members of the Punjabi Taliban were among the dead. [1]

• Water disputes on Thursday claimed the lives 13 tribesmen and wounded 19 others in the Kurram agency.  The deaths occurred in the Salozan and Tungi areas of the tribal agency, where clashes over access to water have continued unabated for 13 days.  Officials report that local militant groups may have been involved in the yesterday’s fighting.[2]

Pakistan Foreign Relations

• President Zardari met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Islamabad on Wednesday; where both leaders offered renewed pledges of cooperation in the fight against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda operatives.  According to officials present at the meeting, a “breakthrough moment” occurred when both leaders instructed their respective ministers to end the “games” that have previously hindered bi-lateral efforts to combat militants.  President Zardari told Karzai that that while Afghanistan and Pakistan may be afflicted by the “cancer of terrorism” if the “two of us join hands, we can win”.  Whether or not Wednesday’s pledges were genuine may soon be tested as U.S, NATO, and Afghan forces gear up for new offenses in Kandahar. [3]

• The Special U.S. envoy to Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke met with Pakistani government officials on Wednesday. Holbrooke told officials that despite the flood crisis, the United States remains firmly behind Pakistan’s democratically-elected civilian government.  Additionally, Holbrooke reiterated Washington’s long-term commitment to relief and rebuilding efforts, stressing that U.S. aid is purely humanitarian and not associated with Pakistan’s fight against militants. [4]  

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

• A spokesmen for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility on Thursday for the murder of veteran Pakistani journalist Misri Khan.  Khan was gunned down outside his office in Hangu on Tuesday morning.  The spokesman for the TTP, Ehsanullah Ehsan, stated that Khan was murdered because his journalism “twisted the facts” and warned that “there will be other attacks against those who speak out against the Taliban.”[5]

Flooding

• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) released a statement on Thursday announcing that $451 million in emergency funds will made available for Pakistan.  IMF officials said that they were concerned about the sluggish donor response from the international community and hoped that their contribution would spurn additional commitments.  The statement said the funding was ready for “immediate disbursement of the full amount.”[6]

• Speaking on Thursday, the head of the UN refugee agency, Antonio Guterres, called on the international community to increase its humanitarian aid commitments to Pakistan.  Guterres told reporters that while the response to date has been generous; the scale of the disaster is of such a magnitude that more funds are needed.  In addition, Guterres revealed that none of the 1.7 million Afghan refugees currently living in Pakistan will be forced to repatriate as a result of recent flooding.[7]