Pakistan Security Brief - May 19, 2010

Pakistan Security Brief – May 19, 2010

US security officials meet with President Zardari; US hands over two helicopters to the Pakistani military; Shahzad held without bail following court appearance; Pakistani army major arrested in connection with Shahzad; militants assault a security checkpoint in Upper Orakzai; militants fire on security checkpoints in Mohmand; Taliban squad hunting “American spies” warns locals in North Waziristan; IDPs sent back to Bajaur, Mohmand; Pak-Afghan Highway threatened with closure due to tribal fighting; security forces kill four militant commanders in Swat; TTP claims responsibility for Dera Ismail Khan bombing; Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief put under increased protection after receiving death threats from TTP; Pakistani arrested in Chile makes statement professing his innocence; Pakistani court blocks Facebook due to outrage caused by a page collecting images of the prophet Muhammad; police clash with ANP protestors in Karachi.

US-Pakistan relations

• National security adviser James Jones and CIA director Leon Panetta met with President Asif Ali Zardari today and were also set to meet with the ISI director general, Lieutenant General Ahmad Shuja Pasha. Panetta reportedly briefed Zardari on the investigation into Faisal Shahzad and both US officials were said to have also praised Pakistan’s cooperation thus far. Other broader issues related to security in Pakistan and cooperative efforts to combat terrorism were also discussed.[1]

• On Tuesday, the US handed over two Bell 412 EP helicopters to the Pakistani military during a signing ceremony at the Qasim Army Air Base near Rawalpindi. An additional $20 million in spare parts and specialized tools and equipment to service the aircraft were also provided by the US.[2]

NY bomb investigation

• Faisal Shahzad appeared in court on Tuesday where the judge ordered that the Times Square bombing suspect to be held without bail. Shahzad did not enter a plea and neither he nor his lawyer contested the ruling. The next court date is set to be held at the Manhattan federal court on June 1. In regard to the investigation, a counterterrorism official said on Tuesday that Shahzad had considered several other targets for the attack and had even cased a few of the locations before settling on Times Square, such as Rockefeller Center, the World Financial Center, and Grand Central Terminal.[3]

• On Tuesday, authorities in Pakistan arrested an army major with suspected ties to Faisal Shahzad. Although the nature of the connection is still unclear, investigators say the major met with Shahzad in Islamabad and added that the two men were also in cell phone contact.[4]

FATA

• At least 40 militants have been killed after a large scale assault on a security checkpoint in the Daburai area of Upper Orakzai. Security officials say more than 200 Taliban fighters descended upon the location, firing rockets and small arms and trigging a several hour long battle. Two soldiers were also reported killed in the fighting and more than a dozen others were reported wounded.[5]

• Militants fired rockets and mortars at two security checkpoints in the Baizai sub-district of Mohmand Agency. Security forces later retaliated with artillery and mortar fire targeting the hilltop where the attacks were believed to have been launched from. No casualties or property damage were reported in the incident.[6]

• On Tuesday, a Taliban squad in North Waziristan responsible for tracking “American spies” issued a warning to locals not to provide information which could aid US drone strikes in the region. The Taliban further warned that no one should interfere if the squad kidnaps someone on suspicion of spying for the US and added that captured individuals would be “possibly killed immediately”.[7]

• Officials at the Jalozai camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) sent 404 families back to Bajaur and Mohmand Agency after security forces declared the regions clear of militants. A total of 2,828 IDPs were sent to their home areas in dozens of trucks and busses with the transportation costs paid for by the government.[8]

• The Pak-Afghan Highway in Khyber Agency, a major supply route for NATO forces, is under threat of closure due to “imminent” clashes between tribal groups over the collection of roadway fees.[9]

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

• Security forces killed three militant commanders during a firefight in the Matta sub-district of Swat on Tuesday. Officials said that authorities also seized several weapons, a suicide vest, and a satellite phone from the slain militants after the battle. In a separate incident in Swat on Wednesday, security forces killed another militant commander, identified as Ibn-e-Idrees, during a shootout in the Peochar valley. Idrees was responsible for several attacks and bombings on security forces and civilians in Swat Valley. He is also the brother of an infamous Swat Taliban commander and Fazlullah deputy. Ibne Amin.[10]

• A spokesman for the TTP has taken responsibility for Tuesday’s bicycle bombing in Dera Ismail Khan that left at least twelve people dead. The spokesman also confirmed suspicions that the senior police official killed in the blast, Iqbal Khan, was the target of the attack, adding that Khan was killed for being “active against the Taliban.”[11]

Punjab

• The Punjab Home Department announced on Tuesday that it would increase security for Hafiz Saeed, the leader of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, after the TTP threatened to kill him. Jamaat-ud-Dawa is a well known front for the extremist militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba.[12]

Chile

• The Pakistani man recently released from custody in Chile after being found with traces of explosives on his clothing issued a public statement on Tuesday denying the explosives charges filed against him. Muhammad Saif-ur Rehman Khan said that he wanted “America to be safe and secure” and said his arrest was “a big misunderstanding stemming from a mistaken identity.”[13]

Facebook blocked

• On Wednesday, the Lahore High Court ordered the government to block Facebook until the end of May over the issue of a page that was created on the website urging people to post images of the prophet Muhammad. The page led to significant outcry from Muslims in Pakistan and around the world and a student group linked to the political party Jamaat-e-Islami had distributed pamphlets calling for a boycott of the site.[14] 

Karachi

• Workers of the Awami National Party staged protests at the governor’s house in Karachi which were later dispersed by police armed with teargas after the demonstrations started to turn violent. Police said the clashes erupted when the protestors tried to forcefully cross the barricades at the governor’s house. The ANP workers were protesting the deaths of yet more of their party members in fresh incidents of “target killing” earlier that day.[15]