Pakistan Security Brief

TTP faction spokesman claims responsibility for Peshawar church attack, claim reportedly refuted by the TTP; Security officials detain 6 people in connection with All-Saints Church bombing; FIA team arrives in Peshawar to launch investigation; Islamabad police increase security at places of worship; TTP forms committee to conduct peace talks with the government; Prime Minister arrives in New York for UNGA; Army chief appoints new senior leadership; Sindh provincial government requests assistance on border security; U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan signs agreement distributing $23.5 million worth of development assistance; Pakistan Air Force concludes Joint Exercise “Shaheen-II” with PLAAF; Interior Minister meets with British Home Secretary.

Peshawar Church Attack and Fallout

• Jundullah spokesman Ahmadullah Marwat claimed responsibility on Sunday for the attack on the All-Saints Church in Peshawar.  According to a Monday report in the BBC, the Jundul Hafsa organization has also claimed responsibility for the attack.  Despite the TTP previously claiming links to both Jundul Hafsa and Jundullah, the Guardian reported on Monday that the “TTP’s main spokesman” has denied any involvement in the attack.[1]

• Security officials detained at least six people on Tuesday in connection with Sunday’s attack on the All-Saints Church in Peshawar.  Separately, the investigation has revealed that one of the suicide bombers may have been a female in her mid-20s.[2]

• On Tuesday, a Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) team arrived at the All-Saints Church in Peshawar to investigate the bombing that took place at the church on Sunday.  In the aftermath of the attack, the Islamabad police have increased security for other places of worship.[3]

• Joseph Francis, the national director of the Centre for Legal Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS), said on Monday that the government should allow the Christian community in Pakistan to arm itself if the government is unable to protect it. He also claimed that law enforcement had advance warning of the attack and did nothing to stop it.[4]

• On Monday, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) released a statement condemning the attack on the All-Saints Church in Peshawar and chastising the government of Pakistan for failing to ensure the security of its citizens.[5]

Talks with the TTP

• According to a Tuesday report in The News, the TTP has formed a committee to oversee possible negotiations with the Pakistani government. The committee was reportedly created at a meeting of top Taliban officials in North Waziristan agency which was attended by Haqqani Network leader Sirajuddin Haqqani and TTP leader Hakimullah Mahsud, among others.[6]

• On Monday, the majority of the Sindh Assembly urged the Pakistani government to revisit its decision to begin talks with the TTP. The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), and the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) all expressed opposition to the talks.[7]

• Religious body The Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) announced on Sunday that it is opposed to holding peace talks with the TTP. The SIC said that talks with the TTP will make the government look weak.[8]

• Tribal leaders from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) Grand Alliance announced at a news conference on Monday that they feel that the government should talk to them before beginning talks with the TTP.[9]

• Pakistan Tehreek–e--Insaf Chairman Imran Khan said in a statement issued on Monday that Pakistan should isolate militant groups that refuse to give up terrorism. He said that Pakistan should only negotiate with groups that agree to renounce violence.[10]

United Nations General Assembly

• Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif arrived in the United States on Monday to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.  Sharif will meet with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on September 26 and he will address the Assembly on September 27.  Sharif is expected to meet Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for breakfast on September 29.[11]

Domestic

• Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani appointed several military officials to new posts on Monday.  Lieutenant General Naweed Zaman, previously Military Secretary at General Headquarters, became the Corps Commander of Lahore.  Lieutenant General Maqsood Ahmed, the former Corps Commander of Lahore, is now the Special Representative on International Peacekeeping to the United Nations Secretary General.  Lieutenant General Mazhar Jameel formerly served as the Commandant of the Pakistan Military Academy at Kakul but will now become the new Military Secretary at General Headquarters.  Lt. General Khalid Asghar previously chaired the Operations Directorate, but he will now be the Inspector General of Communication and Information Technology.  Major General Ahmad Hayat is the Director General of the Inter-Services Intelligence’s (ISI) Directorate of Analysis.  Major General Javed Mehmood Bokhari is the new General Officer Commanding of Swat (GOC 17 Division).  Major General Abid Ejaz Khaloon will serve at the General Officer Commanding of Okara Division (GOC 40 Division).  Separately, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Khalid Shameem Wynne will retire from his position on October 8.[12]

• According to a Dawn report on Tuesday, the Sindh provincial government has appealed to the federal government and Balochistan provincial government officials to assist with the ongoing operations in Sindh province by providing increased border security.  The Ranger-led paramilitary campaign has sparked concerns that many suspects are fleeing the province to avoid capture.[13]

U.S.-Pakistan Relations

• U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Richard Olson and Pakistani Secretary of Economic Affairs Division Nargis Sethi signed an agreement on Tuesday to distribute $23.5 million of funding for various reform and development projects throughout Pakistan.[14]

Afghanistan-Pakistan Relations

• On Tuesday, unidentified assailants in Afghanistan launched six mortar shells across the border into Ghulam Khan sub-district of North Waziristan agency, killing two people.[15]

• Minster for Borders and Northern Areas Lieutenant General (Retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch told the press on Monday that Afghan refugees will leave Pakistan by 2015 if the security situation in their homeland improves.[16]

Indo-Pakistan Relations

• A team of Pakistani investigators began questioning witnesses of the 2008 Mumbai attacks on Tuesday. The team travelled to India, and is cross-examining doctors who performed autopsies and the chief investigating police officer for the case.[17]

China-Pakistan Relations

• The Pakistan Air Force concluded joint exercise “Shaheen-II” with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force on Monday.  The exercise, which began on September 3, was the first time a joint exercise with a foreign air force occurred in Chinese airspace.[18]

U.K.-Pakistan Relations

• Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan met with British Home Secretary Theresa May on Tuesday in Islamabad to discuss the withdrawal of allied forces from Afghanistan and counterterrorism.[19]

• On Tuesday, the London Metropolitan Police extended the bail of a suspect, a 52 year old man of Pakistani origin, in the London murder of MQM leader Imran Farooq in 2010.[20]

Militancy

• The Islamabad police have begun a program to improve their ability to target criminals by tracking mobile phones. If the effort succeeds, it could be implemented throughout the country.[21]

• An explosion targeting a police patrol in Wazir Bagh, Peshawar, injured two officers on Monday.  In a separate incident, unidentified gunmen injured a Frontier Reserve Police official along Kohat Road.[22]

• Police seized a large cache of explosive materials from a residence in Peshawar on Tuesday.  No suspects have been detained.[23]

• 12 people who were kidnapped from Matani, Peshawar district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa last week have been released, according to a The News report on Tuesday.[24]

• Unidentified gunmen killed one man and injured two others near Power House Roundabout in North Karachi on Monday night.  In a separate incident, a man was shot to death in North Nazimabad.[25]

• One person was killed and two injured when unidentified gunmen attacked a car in North Karachi on Monday.[26]

• Unidentified gunmen killed a teacher in Sukkur, Sindh province, on Monday.[27]

Karachi Unrest

• Police detained 21 people suspected of involvement in unspecified killings during a raid on the Santa Singh Mohalla and Parail Shah areas of Nawabshah, Shaheed Benazir Abad District, Sindh province.  Security officials claims the suspects are from the Nagori Mohalla area of Karachi.[28]

• Security officials detained 144 suspects in various parts of Karachi on Monday.[29]

• Security personnel detained 95 suspects from various parts of Karachi on Tuesday.[30]