Pakistan Security Brief - July 6, 2010

Pakistan Security Brief – July 6, 2010

Top TTP commander Ameerullah Mehsud reported killed in North Waziristan; Pakistan’s federal government activates National Counter-Terrorism Authority; Lahore police arrest six suspects in Ahmadi mosque attacks, discover bomb-making factory; 12 Sufi mosque suspects said not to have been involved; Punjab police are “poorly equipped, incompetent, corrupt;” 23 militant affiliated organization banned in Punjab; Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Minister of Information calls for a “full-fledged operation” against Punjab militants; 80 percent of Kurram Agency “free of militants;” 20 suspected militants killed in Orakzai; four militants attempt suicide attack in Lower Dir; inter-provincial meetings wants conditional talks with Taliban; Afghanistan’s National Security Advisor wants “serious measures” against Pakistani militants; Pakistan should stop trying to influence Afghanistan, says opposition leader Nawaz Sharif; ISI and CIA spying on each other; PTI chief says Pakistan is U.S. “slave;” 12 killed in Karachi target killings, Prime Minister Gilani says militants moving to urban areas; President Zaradari leaves for 6-day China visit; 4 people killed in Surab, Balochistan.

Ameerullah Mehsud Reported Killed

• A top Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commander, Ameerullah Mehsud, was reported killed on Monday after clashes with security forces on Sunday in Miram Shah, North Waziristan. According to sources, Mehsud, 45, was from Makeen, South Waziristan and one of the founders of the TTP. Mehsud was listed as the 11th most wanted TTP commanders and carried a Rs 20 million bounty. Two soldiers were also wounded.[1]

Punjab

• After a high-level meeting presided over by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani Prime Minister on Monday, Pakistan’s federal government decided to activate the National Counter-Terrorism Authority (NACTA) to curb terrorism in the country. The meeting was convened in the wake of a series of terrorist attacks, especially the deadly suicide bombings at a Sufi shrine in Lahore.” The government expressed its resolve to evolve a consensus among political and religious leaders for developing unanimity of action against terrorists and a future action plan,” Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira told reporters in a joint-news conference with Interior Minister Rehman Malik. Also, Mr. Malik said there were no plans for a military operation in Punjab, stating that the provincial government would make such decisions.[2]

• Police in Lahore on Monday have arrested six people in connection with the May attacks on two mosques in the city that killed at 80 people. According to sources, authorities recovered almost 18 tons of explosives, 21 grenades, six AK-47’s, and other bomb-making equipment. Lahore’s Chief of Police said that the suspects were operating “a sort of bomb-making factory.” It is believed that four of the suspects, allegedly belonging to a banned militant group, Harakat al-Jihad al-Islami, purchased cell phones, SIM cards, and motorcycles for the attacks.[3]

• 12 suspects arrested by police in connection with the bombing of a Sufi shrine on July 1 were not involved in the attack, Lahore’s Chief of Police Aslam Tareen said on Monday. According to sources, pressure on police and politicians to make arrests is growing after the deadly Sufi shrine attack, which killed 50 people and wounded 200 others.[4]

• Police in Pakistan’s Punjab province are “poorly equipped, incompetent and corrupt,” according to Hassan Abbas, a Columbia University professor who used to be with the Pakistan police force. In an interview the Associated Press, Hassan said that Pakistan’s intelligence agencies refuse to share information with police, while the province’s government is unwilling to act against powerful militant groups. The AP report noted that the issue has raised concerns in Washington, prompting the Obama Administration to budget millions of dollars to support the police in Punjab.[5]

• The Punjab government has banned 23 militant-affiliated organizations and directed police to closely monitor their employees. Sipah-i-Sahaba, Jaish-i-Muhammad, Laskar-e-Taiba, Tehrik-i-Jafria, Harkatul Jihad Islami, Harkatul Mujahideen, Hizbul Tehrir, Lashkar-i-Jhangvi and Sipah-i-Muhammad were banned by the Musharraf government in 2002, but most of them have since changed their names and re-started their activities.[6]

• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Minister of Information, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, called for a “full-fledged operation” against militants in Punjab. Talking to reporters on Saturday, Mr. Hussein said that militants relocated to Punjab from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “We have informed Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif about the movement of militants to Punjab and he is ready to take action against them,” he said. [7]

FATA

• 80 percent of Kurram Agency has been clear of militants, Commander Commandant Col. Tauseef Akhtar said during a press briefing on Tuesday. Col. Akhtar said that although traffic had been restored on the Parachinar Road, local traffic will remain limited until conditions further improve. 18 security forces personnel and at least 200 militants have been killed since the military operation began in September 2009.[8]

• At least 10 suspected militants were killed and several others wounded in various parts of Orakzai Agency on Saturday. According to official sources, militants attacked on a checkpoint in Upper Orakzai, during which security forces killed four militants. Six suspected militants were also killed in Lower Orakzai’s Sangharah area. Security forces sources also said that at least 10 militants were killed when fighter jets bombed militant positions in the Jabba and Mamozai Sama areas of Upper Orakzai Agency.[9]

Dir

• Four militants in two explosives-laden vehicles attacked the heavily guarded Dir Scouts headquarters in Timargarah, Lower Dir on Monday, killing one soldier and injuring 12 others.  The Leader of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan Lower Dir chapter claimed responsibility for the attack while talking to reporters over the phone. The Inter-Services Public Relations said that the two vehicles were destroyed and the four suicide attackers were killed. The Dir Scouts headquarters is where U.S. military personnel train Pakistani paramilitary soldiers. According to sources, the first vehicle was destroyed at the main entrance and the other inside the complex.[10]

Negotiations with Taliban

• After Pakistan’s top civilian leadership met on Monday to discuss how to stop terrorist attacks, the government offered to negotiate with militant groups on the condition that they surrender their weapons and accept the writ of state. Talking to reporters following the inter-provincial meeting, Federal Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira and Interior Minister Rehman Malik redoubled calls for talks with Taliban militants. Meanwhile, Nawaz Sharif, the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-N, Pakistan’s main opposition party, said on Saturday that the government should negotiate with the country’s Taliban militants in order to ease the country’s security crisis.[11]

Af-Pak Relations

• Afghanistan’s National Security Adviser, Rangin Dadfar Spanta, called on the Pakistani government to “take serious measures” against groups launching attacks inside Afghanistan from areas inside Pakistan. Mr. Spanta told AFP on Monday that Afghanistan has “tremendous evidence” that Pakistani authorities allow al-Qaeda and other militant organizations to operate with impunity.[12]

• In an interview with Pakistan’s Dunya TV that aired on Tuesday, opposition leader Nawaz Sharif said that Pakistan should stop trying to influence internal affairs in Afghanistan, while admitting that his pro-Taliban policies as Prime Minister in the 1990’s had failed. ''Pakistan should abandon this thinking that Pakistan has to keep influence in Afghanistan,'' said Sharif, who heads the Pakistan Muslim League-N party. ''Neither will they accept influence, nor should the pro-influence-minded people here insist on it.''[13]

U.S.-Pak Relations

• According to an Associated Press report, the relationship between the U.S. and Pakistani intelligence agencies is friendly, but “marked by mistrust,” as both the CIA and ISI continue to try to infiltrate one another. "It's a crucial relationship," CIA spokesman George Little said. "We work closely with our Pakistani partners in fighting the common threat of terrorism.” However, the CIA has become concerned by a number of cases involving suspected double agents in 2009.[14]

Karachi

• At least 12 people were killed by unidentified gunmen in various targeted killings across the city. Gunmen killed a resident of Orangi Town in Pa Colony’s Purana Golimar area. Four men were killed by gunmen in Lyari, Bhens Colony, and Saudabad's Malir. Also two men were killed on Tipu Sultan Road on Saturday. Two other men were killed in Mohammadi Colony and Khwaja Ajmer Nagri. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani said on Tuesday that the military’s progress in the tribal areas is causing militants to migrate into urban areas. During a meeting with a leader of the International Crisis Group, Gilani said that Pakistan’s ongoing war against militancy has been detrimental to the country’s economy and significantly affects foreign investment.[15]

Sino-Pak Relations

• President Asif Ali Zardari left on Tuesday for a six-day official visit to China. President Zaradari is schedule to meet with high level Chinese officials, including PresidentHu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao. The president will also meet Chairman of the Chinese People’s Consultative Conference, Jia Qinglin, and visit Tsinghuan University. [16]

Balochistan

• Four workers were killed and six others wounded in an attack in Surab, approximately 200 kilometers from Quetta, on Sunday. The workers were on their way to their way home when gunmen fired on them. The victims worked at a gas refinement plant. “No one is ready to help the police, even the injured are completely blank regarding the incident,” a police officer told The Express Tribune. The police have launched an investigation.[17]