Pakistan Security Brief - July 27, 2010

Admiral Mike Mullen says WikiLeaks information will not effect relationship with Pakistan; Mullah Fazlullah traced to Kunar, Afghanistan; kidnapped ISI officer threatens to expose Pakistan’s weaknesses; 43 suspects arrested in Karachi; three security forces personnel killed; 20 militants killed in Khyber Agency; Anti-Terrorism Bill 2010 proposed in Pakistani Senate.

WikiLeaks Fallout

• Admiral Mike Mullen on Tuesday said that the information in the WikiLeaks documents on the war in Afghanistan did not call U.S. strategy into question or Washington’s relationship with Pakistan. “Certainly the information that I've seen so far in the documents, there's nothing in there that wasn't reviewed or considered in the strategic review” of the war last year,  Mullen told reporters. Mullen added that Washington has voiced its concerns about Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) links with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), blamed for the 2008 Mumbai attacks, and the Haqqani Network, which targets U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan.[1]

• In Islamabad, a senior ISI official reportedly said that if the CIA does not “denounce the suggestions" of ISI complicity with the Taliban, the ISI might need to "reexamine its cooperation."  Gen. Hamid Gul, a former ISI chief now in the spotlight because he is frequently mentioned in the leaked documents as a link with the Taliban, denounced the reports as “completely baseless.” [2]

Mullah Fazlullah in Afghanistan

• Pakistan’s intelligence agencies have traced the location of Swat Taliban chief Mullah Fazlullah to Kunar province, an area inside Afghanistan that borders Pakistan’s Chitral District and Bajaur Agency. “We know exactly where he (Fazlullah) is in Afghanistan…we have told Americans and Afghans to get him. But they hardly seem to be interested in moving against him,” a Peshawar-based security official said. Intelligence officials believe that Fazlullah crossed into Kunar province immediately after a military operation was launched in Swat in May of 2009.[3]

Khyber-Pakhtunkwa

• In a video obtained by the Associated Press on Tuesday, a former Pakistani intelligence officer kidnapped four months ago threatened to expose the government’s “weaknesses” unless it agrees to a prisoner swap to secure his release. Sultan Amir Tara, also known as Col. Iman, was kidnapped while travelling with another former intelligence official, Khalid Khawaja, and a filmmaker in North Waziristan. The group holding Col. Imam, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi al-Alami, has demanded the release of nearly 160 militants, including suspected suicide bombers and conspirators facing trial for the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.  Khawaja’s body was found with a note attached accusing him of being a CIA and Inter-Services Intelligence spy.[4]

• Awami National Party (ANP) chief Asfandyar Wali Khan said on Tuesday that Pakistan will continue to fight terrorism. “We will not compromise on our anti-terror policy,” Wali told reporters a day after a suicide attack killed at least eight people outside the residence of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Information Minister in Pabbi. [5]

Karachi

• Sindh rangers and police arrested 43 suspects in a crackdown across the city on Tuesday. The search operations were conducted mostly in neighborhoods where target killings have occurred. According to sources, police also recovered drugs and weapons. Meanwhile, the Office of Chief Minister Sindh Qaim Ali Shah announced the formation of a special judicial tribunal to investigate incidents of targeted killings. The tribunal will report its findings within 30 days. Meanwhile, speaking outside the Senate in Islamabad, Interior Minister Rehman Malid said that the violence is Karachi is not only due to targeted killings, but also to ongoing conflicts between land mafia groups. Malik also said that rangers have been deployed to quell the violence.[6]

Balochistan

• Three security personnel were killed by gunmen in two separate attacks in Awaran and Khuzdar districts on Monday. According to sources, two Balochistan Levies were killed by unidentified gunmen riding motorcycles near Pirnawa. In a separate incident, a Frontier Corps soldier was killed by gunmen in Khuzdar district, 300 kilometers from the provincial capital.[7]

Khyber Agency

• Security forces killed at least 20 militants during an operation on Sunday in Khyber Agency. Back by helicopter gunships, security forces attacked positions in Kharmatang area of Tehsil Bara, a known militant stronghold.[8]

Anti-Terrorism Bill 2010 Proposed

• Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Tuesday proposed the Anti-Terrorism Amendment Bill 2010 in the Senate.  Addressing the Senate, Malik said that terrorism is the biggest threat facing the country and that the bill is critical in counteracting that threat. Under the proposed amendments, a suspected terrorist can be held for up to 90 days without being formally charged. Also, operating an illegal FM station advocating resistance to security forces will be considered an act of terrorism. Malik added that 176 terrorists had been arrested in Balochistan, many of whom were of Uzbek and Afghan origin.[9]