Pakistan Security Brief

Haqqani network designated as FTO; PCNS identifies three Kamra attackers; Gunmen set NATO trucks on fire; bomb plot foiled in Peshawar; Peace militia member targeted by militants; Christian girl granted bail; U.S. agrees to help repair NATO supply routes; India and Pakistan decide to issue eight categories of visas; Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry demand to improve trade with Afghanistan and Central Asia; Over 1,300 people killed in Karachi in past five years; Top policeman shot in Quetta; Religious scholars condemn sectarian violence and terrorism.

Haqqani Network Designation

• Responding to a Congressional mandate, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has officially decided to designate the Haqqani Network as foreign terrorist organization in a report to Congress on Friday. The Haqqani network has been responsible for some of the gravest attacks on American forces in Afghanistan. Some State Department and military officials said that this label would help cut down the group’s funding in countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and pressure Pakistan to take action against the group; others argue that the label will further weaken relations with Pakistan and jeopardize negotiations with Taliban militants. The New York Times reports “Mrs. Clinton and others have already discussed the issue with their counterparts in Pakistan, and the administration’s special envoy, Marc Grossman, is expected to formally inform Pakistan’s leaders on Friday.” Sherry Rehman, Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States implied that the designation would make no difference in the countries’ relations. Referencing the decision to blacklist the Haqqanis Rehman said, “It’s not our business. The Haqqanis are not Pakistani nationals…We will continue to work with all international partners, including the U.S., in combating extremism and terrorism.”  [1]

Militancy

• The Parliamentary Committee on National Security has identified three of the militants who attacked the Kamra Air Base on August 16. All three are residents of Punjab; no names are available yet. Evidence gathered by Pakistani investigators also revealed that the militants were in contact with security personnel at the base, though it does not provide details of the contacts. [2]

• Militants set two NATO trucks ablaze in the Dasht area of Mastung district, Balochistan on Friday as they made their way to Afghanistan on the Quetta-Sibi Road. Gunmen stopped the vehicles, poured fuel on them, and set them on fire. The vehicles were destroyed but no casualties were reported; the gunmen escaped apprehension.[3]

• Police foiled a bomb threat in the Bara Sheikhan area, Peshawar on Thursday. One policeman said that an unidentified individual had been pushing explosives on a cart, and, after being noticed by police, opened fire on them. Police killed the suspect and retrieved 105kg of explosives from the cart.[4]

• Militants planted a bomb near the residence of local peace militia member Qari Abdur Rehman in Peshawar. It exploded and injured one woman while damaging the front gate and two rooms of the house. Peace militia leader Zar Muhammad suspects Rehman was targeted because of his close acquaintance with Muhammad.[5]

Blasphemy case

• After being held in police custody for over three weeks, Rimsha Masih, the young Christian girl accused of blasphemy, was granted bail on Friday by a judge in Islamabad. Masih, who is 14 years old and said to be mentally disabled, was arrested last month after Imam Mohammed Khalid Chisti accused her of burning pages from the Quran. Chisti himself, however, was arrested this past weekend after one of his colleagues claimed he had planted false evidence against Masih. As of now, an immediate release date for Masih has not been set.[6]

NATO supply routes

• Speaking at the National Assembly on Thursday, Minister for Communication Dr. Arbab Alamgir informed members of parliament that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has decided to assist Pakistan financially in repairing damaged NATO supply routes. The Minister said “the road from Peshawar to Torkham (N5) and Quetta to Chaman (N 25) would be rehabilitated,” and that “the rehabilitation cost of National Highway Authority’s road network was estimated to be [$1.46 billion].” [7]

Indo-Pakistan

• Indian Minister for External Affairs SM Krishna arrived in Pakistan on Friday for a three-day visit to discuss a variety of issues, primarily to continue negotiations on a visa regime between Pakistan and India. Foreign Office sources interviewed by Geo News claim that Pakistan and India have decided that eight categories of visas will be issued. According to Geo News, the eight types of visas “include diplomatic, non-diplomatic, 36 hour transit visit, tourist visas, civil society, media and business visas.” [8]

Afghan-Pakistani Relations

• Vice-president of the Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PAJCCI) Usman Bilour on Thursday demanded the Pakistani government improve trade with Afghanistan and Central Asia in a press conference. He demanded that the government issue “one-year multiple visas to businessmen of Pakistan and Afghanistan so that their movement could be made easy.” He urged the government to attend to security concerns with trade in the region, and to “curtail smuggling and prevent flow of prohibited goods.”[9]

Karachi violence

• On Friday, Interior Minister Rehman Malik told the Pakistan National Assembly that over the past five years an estimated 1, 363 people had been killed in Karachi due to targeted killings. Malik claimed the violence was committed by criminal gangs and land grabbers that were working under the supervision of political parties. He further stated that 426 terrorists and 116 smugglers had been arrested over the past five years by the Counter Terrorism Unit of the Crime Investigation Department (CID), Sindh.[10]

Sectarian Struggles

• Unidentified men on motorbikes shot Superintendent Jamil Kakar as he was leaving his home in Quetta, Balochistan province Friday. Kakar was investigating sectarian violence allegedly committed by terrorist group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi in the city and had received death threats for his work.[11]

• A group of more than 24 religious scholars representing the Deobandi, Ahl-e-Hadith, Barelvi, and Ahl-e-Tashi schools of thought condemned sectarian violence in Pakistan at the Bain-ul-Muslimeen Forum (BMF) in Karachi on Thursday. BMF president Maulana Tanveerul Haq Thanvi accused the government of acting as “spectators” while sectarian plots to destabilize the country flourish. Leaders at the gathering promised to work together to discourage sectarian violence in cities.[12]