Pakistan Security Brief - June 16, 2010

Pakistan Security Brief – June 16, 2010

Afghan Taliban says it has captured dozens of Pakistani soldiers in cross-border raid; Lashkar-e-Taiba expands operations in Afghanistan; Afghan Taliban denies links with Pakistani ISI; five people are killed in Karachi in targeted killings; gunmen attack funeral procession of slain ASWJ leader; Sindh government forms fact-finding committee to investigate violence in Karachi; U.S. officials ask China clarify plan to sell nuclear reactors to Pakistan; General Kayani in China for defense cooperation meetings; Punjab’s government provided Rs 82.77 million to Jamaat-ud-Dawa; three militants and two activists killed in Swat; helicopter gunships kill six militants in Bajaur Agency; Tehrik-e-Taliban leaflets found in Bajaur raise fears of militant resurgence; “bin Laden hunter” to undergo psychological tests in Pakistan; gunmen kill seven people in alleged tribal feud; NATO tanker damaged in bomb blast along Af-Pak border.

FATA

• The Afghan Taliban says that it has captured dozens of Pakistani soldiers after attacking their checkpoint in a cross-border raid in Mohmand Agency on Monday. Pakistani security sources and local officials in Mohmand confirmed that about 40 troops are missing. A Taliban spokesperson told the BBC that 30 soldiers were being held in Afghanistan and 10 in Pakistan.[1]

• Pakistani helicopter gunships and heavy artillery killed six militants and destroyed several hideouts in a tribal area along the Afghan border on Wednesday, according to a security official. Pakistani security forces have been fighting in Bajaur since August 2008. Commanders had said that the Taliban and al-Qaeda had been clear out of the area, but there are indications that militants are trying to resettle in the area. The area has been cordoned off and Peshawar-Bajaur Road has been closed.[2]

• Leaflets supposedly issued by militants of the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were found in Bajaur on Tuesday, raising fears of a militant resurgence in the area.  The Pashto language leaflets, carrying the TTP letterhead, were posted in markets, mosques, and roads in different areas of Khar and Mamund. The leaflets threatened government employees and security forces in the area and urged TTP fighters not to surrender.[3]

Lashkar-e-Taiba

• The Pakistani-based militant group, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has expanded its operations in Afghanistan. The LeT is believed to have carried out several attacks against private workers in Afghanistan in recent months, according to Afghan and international intelligence officers. The LeT’s expanded activities in Afghanistan, particularly against Indian targets, demonstrates the extent to which Pakistani militants are working to shape the outcome of the Afghan war as July 2011 U.S. troop withdrawal deadline approaches. “They are active now in six or eight provinces” in Afghanistan, said a senior NATO intelligence official.[4]

• Punjab’s government provided Rs 82.77 million to Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD)  during the last fiscal year, according to official documents. Another Rs 3 million was given to schools operated by JuD in different districts of Punjab. Provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, who is known to have links to other banned groups, said that the purpose these grants was to support welfare services provided by JuD’s schools, hospitals, and loans. Following the Mumbai attacks the U.N. Security Council claimed the JuD to be a front for the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba.[5]

Afghan Taliban Denies ISI Links

• According a message intercepted by the U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group, the Afghan Taliban are denying that it receives funding, training, and protection from Pakistan’s ISI. The group also describes the London School of Economics report published earlier this week as “void of all truth, false and untrue propaganda” and alleges that it was concocted to “protect” American and British interests.[6]

Karachi

• At least five people were killed in Karachi overnight in targeted killings, bringing the death toll to 14 in last three days, Geo News reported. Among the dead is a police officer, who was killed by unidentified gunmen on his way home from work in New Karachi. In response to this fresh violence, municipal authorities have banned public political meetings in Karachi. Much of the violence in June appears to be between extremist elements of the Shia and Sunni communities. Recent killings have led to greater tensions in several densely populated areas the city.[7]

• Leaders and activists of the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamat (ASWJ) were attacked on Tuesday during a funeral procession for a deceased ASWJ activist and local area president. According to eyewitnesses, an unidentified gunman fired bullets towards the procession near Liaquatabad Bypass on Tuesday. Following the attack, participants in the procession staged a peaceful demonstration. Later, as the procession moved towards the Moach Goth Graveyard for burial it was attacked again by gunmen, who also set a nearby bus on fire. Two people, including a boy, were injured in the attack.[8]

• The provincial government in Sindh has formed a fact-finding committee to investigate targeted killings in Karachi. The committee includes officials from the ISI, Intelligence Bureau, and Rangers. The committee will present recommendations to the municipal government.[9]

Sino-Pak Relations

• U.S. officials on Tuesday asked for clarifications from China on the sale of two civilian nuclear reactors to Pakistan. “We've asked China to clarify the details of its sale of additional nuclear reactors to Pakistan,” State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters. The Financial Times reported in April that China will build at least two 650-megwatt reactors in Punjab province. “This appears to extend beyond cooperation that was grand-fathered when China was approved for membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG),” Crowley added. The 45-member NSG controls the movement of nuclear technology worldwide between member states.[10]

• Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaque Pervez Kayani left for China on Wednesday for a five day official visit. According to sources, COAS Kayani was invited to celebration party of China’s People’s Liberation Army. Kayani will discuss Sino-Pak defense cooperation during several meetings with Chinese military officials.[11]

Swat

• According to sources, unidentified gunmen killed two activists in Mangal Than area of Swat late on Tuesday. During a search operation for the suspects, militants exchanged gunfire with security forces. Three militants were subsequently killed and their weapons seized.[12]

Bin Laden Hunter

• Pakistani investigators and intelligence officers plan to conduct psychological tests on Gary Brooks Faulkner, who said he was on a mission to kill Osama bin-Laden when he was arrested in the remote mountains of Chitral. Faulkner was taken to Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar where he is to be interrogated, officials said. “We will also try to examine him with a doctor to see whether he has any past psychological history or problems,” the official told AFP.[13]

Balochistan

• Seven people, including a local tribal leader, were killed on Tuesday when gunmen fired indiscriminately on a vehicle carrying 10 people to the village of Anjera, police sources told The Express Tribune. The attack took place on the Regional Cooperation for Development Highway. Police have cordoned off the area and launched a search operation. According to sources, the incident was the result of an old tribal feud.[14]

• A NATO vehicle was damaged in a bomb blast near the Af-Pak border on Tuesday. The bomb was planted on a tanker truck carrying oil for NATO forces operating in Afghanistan, according to police sources. No one was killed in the explosion. Security forces have started an investigation.[15]