Pakistan Security Brief

U.S. drone kills 4 in Waziristan; U.S. consulate vehicle attacked in Peshawar; car bomb in Peshawar kills 11; U.S. leaning towards classifying Haqqani Network as terrorists; secret Pakistani reports forecast new terror attacks, suspect U.S., India of aiding militants, Shift seen in makeup of militants in NW Pakistan; Fighting across FATA kills several; government orders action against militants in Balochistan;  Shias massacred in Balochistan; Girls blasphemy accuser arrested; Army Chief to make historic visit to Russia.

Militancy and Drones

• A U.S. drone strike killed at least four suspected militants in the Degan sub-district of North Waziristan on Saturday. Allegedly the strike casualties were all supporters of local leader Hafiz Gul Bahadur, who has a stronghold in this area.[1]

• Suicide bombers attacked a US diplomatic vehicle in Peshawar on Monday. The blast killed two people and wounded 19 others, including the four occupants of the vehicle, two of whom are American citizens. The attackers used more than 200 pounds of explosives.[2] Residents of University Town in Peshawar, where the blast took place, have reportedly asked the government to remove NGO offices from the residential area. Several residents had their houses damaged due to the blast.[3]

• A car bomb set off in Matani Bazaar in Peshawar on Friday killed 11 people and injured 13. Police  arrested 40 suspects after the blast but say the perpetrators have yet to be identified. Over sixty pounds of explosives were used, and the vehicle also contained mortar shells to increase the damage caused by the explosion.[4]

• A report by the Associated Press examines an apparent shift in the makeup of foreign militants in Pakistan’s tribal areas away from Arabs and towards a mix of Central Asians, Turks and Chinese. According to sources quoted in the report, the numbers of militants of Central Asian, Turkic and Chinese origin may now be double those of Arabs and Africans, and may present new challenges “not just for the U.S., but for Europe Russia and China.”[5]

• A confidential report distributed by Pakistan’s National Crisis Management Cell (NCMC) and the interior ministry warns of a significant increase in militant attacks in Islamabad and Rawalpindi over the next two weeks. The report speculates a massive attack and jailbreak at Adiala Jail, an attack on the Pearl Continental Hotel in Rawalpindi, Chaklala Airbase and Benazir Bhutto International Airport in Islamabad, posts along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and the Dir region. Another report warns that Chinese workers may be targeted by TTP commander Aziz Mehsud as they work on several development projects in the country.[6]

• The NCMC issued a report to law enforcement agencies claiming that American, Indian, and Afghan intelligence agencies are supporting militants inside Pakistan. The report says, “The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) are funding Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan’s (TTP) Punjabi, Asmatullah Moavia, Ghulam Rabbani and Qari Kamran factions through Afghanistan’s Riyast-i-Amoor-o-Amanat-o-Milliyah (RAAM) and National Directorate of Security (NDS).” [7]

• A weekend security operation in South Waziristan killed seven militants and wounded 13. Militants also kidnapped five people in Kurram agency on Sunday while a roadside bomb injured two people in Khyber agency the same day. In Bajaur agency, security forces allegedly killed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Shahid Umer and commander Huzaifa on Saturday.[8]

• According to Express News, during a meeting on Tuesday, attended by Interior Minister Rehman Malik, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the Intelligence Bureau (IB) were ordered to “take action” against banned terrorist groups. The meeting also discussed recent evidence that linked Laskhar-e-Janghvi to the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Both groups, along with the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), are said to be orchestrating acts of terrorism in Mastung, Balochistan. Participants at the meeting decided to take action against militants in Mastung.[9]

• The Pakistani Taliban has released a video showing twelve severed heads of soldiers on Friday after security forces reported that 15 troops were missing after a clash with militants in the village of Batwar, Bajaur agency. TTP spokesman Sirajud Din called the Pakistani soldiers "infidels" and warned that more decapitations were on the way.[10]

• Frustrated by destruction wrought by Taliban militants, a grand jirga of local elders in Bajaur Agency has decided to establish a 500-strong local defense militia to restore peace in the area. The elders have decided that anyone found sheltering Taliban insurgents will be expelled from the region and their house burnt down. In the Lower and Upper Dir districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, a separate jirga has decided to establish checkpoints to prevent Taliban infiltration into the region.[11]

Pakistan-U.S. relations

• A congressionally-mandated deadline requires the State Department to determine whether or not to officially list the Haqqani network as a terrorist group by September 9. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is reportedly in favor of designating the Haqqani network as a terrorist group before the Congressional deadline approaches, according to half a dozen current and former administration officials interviewed by The New York Times.[12]

• Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt. Gen. Zahirul Islam rejected an unattributed proposal for Pakistan to trade Dr. Shakil Afridi to the U.S. in exchange for Dr. Afia Siddiqui. Dawn reported that while “speaking at a press briefing, the ISI chief said that the U.S. should consider the chapter of Dr Shakil Afridi, who helped the U.S. kill al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden in Abbottabad, closed.”[13]

Balochistan

• Unidentified gunmen killed seven Shia Muslims in Balochistan in two incidents on Saturday. In one, gunmen held up a bus in the Hazarganji area and shot five Shias after forcing them off the bus. In another, two gunmen on motorbikes shot two Shias near the outer limits of Quetta. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks.[14]

Karachi Arrests

• Police have arrested two men accused of target killing during a search operation in the Landhi and Keamari neighborhoods of Karachi. The men are accused of the murder of more than 95 people. Four other gang criminals were arrested and accused of killing 12 people.[15]

Blasphemy Case

• The Pakistani cleric who accused a 14-year-old Christian girl of committing blasphemy, was arrested this past weekend for allegedly planting false evidence against her. Imam Mohammed Khalid Chisti was accused by his colleague, Hafiz Mohammad Zubair, of placing two pages of the Quran inside a bag of pages allegedly burnt by the girl. According to police officials Zubair claimed, “I tried to stop him, but he said this would strengthen our case [of trying to expel Christians from the area].” In light of the event, the head of the All Pakistani Ulema Council has vowed to protect the girl, who is said to suffer from learning disabilities, when she is released from prison.[16]

Russo-Pakistani relations

• General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani will meet with his Russian counterpart and President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, according to official sources confirmed by The Express Tribune. The official visit will be a first for a serving Pakistan Army Chief.A senior official at Pakistan’s foreign ministry claimed, “we have turned a new page in our relationship with Russia. It is a major shift.” According to a senior Pakistani military official, “Pakistan and Russia have more points of convergences than Pakistan does with the Americans.” [17]

Afghanistan-Pakistan Relations

• Referencing new threats of terrorist attacks threats inside Pakistan from Afghanistan, Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Saturday called on Afghan President Hamid Karzai to take effective steps to stop terrorists crossing into Pakistan” From Aghanistan.[18]

Indo-Pak Relations

• Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Tuesday implied that a new visa regime between Pakistan and India will be finalized when India’s foreign minister visits Pakistan next week. Malik stated that India-Pakistan relationship was improving. [19]