Pakistan Security Brief – April 27, 2010
Thirteen militants killed in Orakzai; two militants killed, one FC soldier hurt in Kohat; 5-7 militants killed in NWA drone strike, 25 arrested in Landi Kotal; economic revival key in recovery of former Taliban-controlled areas; key militant commanders killed in Swat; Indian diplomat accused of spying for Pakistan; Indian and Pakistani PMs to meet; Pakistan continues to face energy crisis; TTP member arrested near Karachi; professor killed in Quetta; hearing of Americans arrested in Pakistan adjourned.
FATA
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Security forces killed thirteen militants in Orakzai Agency on Tuesday. Eight militants were killed in a clash over a security checkpost in the Bizoti area. Five more were killed in airstrikes in the Kasha area. Five suspected militants were also arrested in the Feroz Khel area.[1]
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Militants launched an attack on a security checkpost in Zarghun Khel on Monday. Frontier Corps forces repulsed the attack killing two militants; one soldier was injured in the clash. Elsewhere in Kohat, eleven suspected militants were arrested and helicopters targeted militant hideouts in the mountains of Dara Adam Khel.[2]
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Between five and seven suspected Mehsud militants were killed in a drone strike in Khushali Village of North Waziristan on Monday. On Monday, security forces arrested 25 suspected militants in Landi Kotal and a curfew was imposed on parts of Tirah.[3]
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On Monday, Governor of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Owais Ahmed Ghani announced that the government would focus on economic revival after achieving “significant successes against militancy in FATA.” A UN envoy recommended that Pakistan and its allies pour financial aid into former Taliban-held areas in order to solidify Pakistan’s military gains and prevent those areas from falling back into the hands of militants.[4]
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (formerly NWFP)
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Security forces killed six militants, including two key commanders, in two separate incidents in Swat on Monday. Militant commander Ihsanullah (alias Pir) and three of his fighters were killed when security forces laid siege to a house in Kanju. Another commander, Anwar, and his deputy were killed in an exchange of fire in Ghaligi Darra of the Barikot Tehsil.[5]
India-Pakistan Relations
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India arrested a diplomat from its Islamabad embassy for spying for Pakistan. Madhuri Gupta is accused of giving classified documents to Pakistan’s intelligence service, ISI.[6]
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The Indian and Pakistani Prime Ministers plan to meet on the sidelines of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation summit in Bhutan.[7]
Energy Crisis
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Pakistan faces more power cuts as its energy crisis becomes increasingly desperate. The White House has pledged $1 billion dollars over the next five years to help with Pakistan’s energy needs.[8]
Sindh
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An alleged member of the TTP Shangla chapter was arrested near Karachi in Mauripur on Monday. He is accused of being involved in the beheading of a police informer in Orangi Town in addition to committing robberies to fund TTP and sheltering militants.[9]
Balochistan
Terror Trial
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The hearing of five Americans arrested in Pakistan was adjourned on Tuesday. The 19-25 year-old US nationals were accused of plotting terrorist activities inside Pakistan.[11]