Pakistan Security Brief
Prime Minister says TTP must renounce terrorism, abide by Constitution for talks to continue; Prime Minister considering military action against TTP if talks fail; JUI-F calls for government to schedule time and place of TTP talks; Mohmand agency TTP leader against talks with the government; Mullah Baradar still in Pakistani custody; 18 dead and 44 injured in Peshawar bombing; two earthquake relief helicopters attacked in Balochistan; 110 people arrested in operation in Khyber Agency; Militants attack NATO container in Peshawar; Prime Minister says Pakistan moving ahead with Iran gas pipeline; Prime Minister calls India-Pakistan arms race a waste of resources; Pakistan does not want Kashmir attacks to derail talks with India; Indian Prime Minister plans to ask for accountability for Mumbai attack planners living in Pakistan; Supreme Court gives Sindh government 15 days to clear illegal weapons from Karachi; 90 arrested in Karachi operations, Saudi Arabia loans Pakistan $100 million.
Talks with the TTP
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Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif discussed talks with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Thursday in an interview in The Wall Street Journal. He said that, in order for an agreement with the TTP to be reached, the group would have to abide by the Constitution, renounce terrorist tactics, and give up their arms. He also expressed his opinion that drone attacks are counterproductive and have a radicalizing effect.[1]
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According to American officials, in his meeting with American Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that, while he hopes to negotiate a settlement with the TTP, he is also considering the possibility of using “vigorous” police or military action should the talks break down.[2]
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The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Senior Deputy Chief Maulana Attaur Rehman called on the government to move forward with its talks with the TTP by publically announcing a time and a place for talks to occur.[3]
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Umer Khalid Khurasani, the leader of the TTP in Mohmand Agency is against peace talks with the government, according to a Friday report in The Frontier Post because the government’s requirement that the TTP respect Pakistan’s Constitution fundamentally conflicts with its goal of turning Pakistan into a Sharia-compliant state.[4]
Afghan-Pakistan Relations and Taliban Reconciliation
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Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the former deputy leader of the Afghan Taliban who was reportedly released from Pakistani on Saturday, is still being held under virtual house arrest, according to a Reuters report on Friday. The report says the conditions of Baradar’s confinement are undermining his role as an interlocutor in the Afghan reconciliation process. According to Pakistani sources with knowledge of Baradar’s activities, Baradar is making calls to Taliban figures to persuade them to begin a meaningful dialogue but that, as of Thursday, he was still in a safe house in Karachi.[5]
Militancy
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18 people were killed and 44 injured by a bomb blast in Peshawar on Friday. The bomb was planted at the back of a bus transporting government workers from Peshawar to the nearby town of Charsadda . Police are investigating the attack, but no group has yet claimed responsibility.[6]
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Two helicopters engaged in relief efforts in Mashkay, Awaran district, Balochistan were attacked by unidentified militants using small arms on Friday. No one was injured in the attacks. The incident follows a rocket attack on a helicopter in Balochistan the day before.[7]
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On Thursday, a spokesperson for the government of Balochistan asked separatist militias to refrain from attacking targets in areas of the province that were seriously hit by the Tuesday earthquake. The spokesperson claimed that separatist attacks are keeping aid from getting to people who need it.[8]
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One hundred and ten people were arrested in Bara district, Khyber agency on Thursday as part of an operation by security forces. Security forces set up roadblocks at to cut off the area before conducting the operation.[9]
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Four people were injured on Thursday by a landmine explosion in Dera Bugti district, Balochistan.[10]
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Unidentified militants injured the driver of a NATO container in Hayatabad, Peshawar on Friday when they opened fire on the container.[11]
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Three people were injured on Friday when a policeman opened fire in the Kot Lakhpat neighborhood of Lahore. The policeman’s motives are unclear.[12]
Iran-Pakistan Relations
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In an interview on Thursday Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that Pakistan intends to build the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, in spite of the risk that the pipeline may be seen by the United States as violating the sanctions regime against Iran. Sharif added that, unless the U.S. is willing to make up for the lost energy and pay Iran the penalty Pakistan would incur for reneging on the deal, Pakistan needs the gas too much to cancel the project.[13]
India-Pakistan Relations
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On Friday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif addressed the United Nations General Assembly. He spoke of his hopes for regional peace. He said that the India-Pakistan arms race has been a waste of resources and that he wants a “new beginning” in the India-Pakistan relationship.[14]
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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement on Friday expressing concern that the Thursday attacks in Indian-controlled Kashmir were being blamed on Pakistan and that the attacks could hamper potential talks between the two countries.[15]
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According to a Friday report in The Frontier Post, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is planning to ask Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to hold anyone linked to the 2008 Mumbai attacks who is living in Pakistan responsible for their actions.[16]
Domestic
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Inspector General of Police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Nasir Khan Durrani announced on Thursday that police would be able to access mobile phone data in an effort to foil terrorism. He also said that more surveillance cameras would be installed throughout the province.[17]
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The Supreme Court refused to grant bail to former President Pervez Musharraf on Friday. He is being charged with the 2006 murder of Baloch leader Akber Bugti.[18]
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Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday to discuss polio eradication efforts and the development of Pakistan’s Information Technology sector.[19]
Karachi Unrest
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On Thursday, the Supreme Court ordered the government of Sindh to clear Karachi of illegal weapons and ammunition, and eliminate “no go areas” within 15 days. The Court also ordered Sindh to address the 2.5 million illegal aliens living in Karachi.[20]
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Police and the paramilitary Rangers arrested at least 90 people on Friday in the targeted operations in Karachi.[21]
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Two bodies were discovered in Karachi on Thursday. According to a Friday Express Tribune report, the two dead are rumored to be a well-known Lyari gangster and his bodyguard.[22]
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Lahore police claimed to have arrested a Lyari gangster on Friday in Lahore Cantonment.[23]
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A Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) lawyer was shot and killed in the North Nazimabad area of Karachi on Thursday by unidentified attackers.[24]
Saudi-Pakistan Relations
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Saudi Arabia agreed on Thursday to loan Pakistan $100 million to be used to build the Neelum Jhelum Hydroelectric Project, an energy project in Azad Kashmir.[25]
U.S.-Pakistan Relations
