Pakistan Security Brief - February 15, 2011

Marc Grossman to be named as new envoy; State Department to prove Davis’ innocence; Senator Kerry visits Pakistan; Significant aid to Pakistan maintained; Delay of transit deal; Two-day military operation in Swat; Search operation in Kohat; Bodies found in Karak district; Development in Kurram Agency; Khasadar official killed; Raid in Karachi; Aafia Siddiqui audiotape released; Blast in Quetta; Explosion in Dera Bugti.

U.S.-Pakistani Relations

• The United States is set to name retired diplomat Marc Grossman as the new U.S. envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Grossman will replace Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, who passed away in December. The selection follows months of delay and disagreements between the White House and the State Department over the degree of authority of the position. Secretary Clinton is set to announce the appointment later this week.[i]
• On Monday, U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley announced that the U.S. government will prove that Raymond Davis, the U.S. national accused of murdering two Pakistani men, has diplomatic immunity. Crowley stated, "On Thursday, we will present a petition to the court to certify that he has diplomatic immunity and that he should be released. We respect our international obligations, and we expect other countries, including Pakistan, to do the same." The Associated Press has additionally reported that Pakistan has softened on the issue of Davis, with the government set to tell the court that most of its legal experts believe Davis possesses diplomatic immunity. An unidentified official has said that the government plans to provide documents containing the opinions of Pakistan’s legal and foreign offices during a hearing on Davis' status on Thursday.[ii]
• Senator John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, left for Pakistan on Monday night in an attempt to repair strained relations between the two countries. An unidentified senior U.S. official said that rather than working to secure the release of Davis, Kerry was undertaking the visit to “help tone down the rhetoric and reaffirm the US partnership with Pakistan.” He is scheduled to meet with senior government officials to reiterate U.S. support for the strategic relationship with Pakistan.[iii]
• In his proposed budget for the 2012 fiscal year, President Obama has proposed maintaining significant aid to Pakistan. The $1.1 billion earmarked for the Pakistan Counterinsurgency Fund, meant to equip and train Pakistani forces to fight extremists, is approximately the same as last year’s. Pakistan will receive a total of $3.1 billion in aid in 2012, covering both economic and security assistance. [iv]

Afghan-Pakistani Relations

• A senior Pakistan official has announced that the implementation of the transit deal signed last year between the Pakistani and Afghan governments will be delayed. Citing disagreements over bank guarantees for Afghan goods, the implementation of the accord has reportedly been delayed by a maximum of four months.[v]

Operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

• A two-day military operation in Swat has increased the death toll to thirty militants, according to the Daily Times. On Sunday, seven militants were killed in the Zarakhela area of Barikot following clashes with security forces. Brigadier Muhammad Zubair, a Swat operation commander, has given a deadline of ten days for all militants to surrender; otherwise their properties would be confiscated.[vi]
• A search operation in Kohat on Monday has resulted in the arrest of fifty suspects in Hangu District. The raid aimed to determine the location of a missing official, Mumtaz, who was kidnapped from the Hangu-Kurram highway last week. His whereabouts still remain unknown.[vii]
• In Karak district, four bodies of unidentified persons were found on Monday. Letters accompanied the bodies, saying that the men had been killed for spying on behalf of Indian and Israeli intelligence agencies.[viii]

FATA

• The Express Tribune has reported that over Rs1 billion ($15 million) is being spent on development projects within Kurram Agency, in an attempt to improve existing infrastructure, build new roads and bridges, and rebuild schools and hospitals, among other projects. The government is also planning to open up remote and inaccessible parts of Kurram Agency to potential business ventures, by widening and expanding various roads.[ix]An official of the Khasadar Force was killed on Monday in an attack by unidentified gunmen in Landi Kotal of Khyber Agency. Afzal Afridi was killed by the assailants during a routine patrol, though his fellow security officers escaped unharmed. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.[x]

Raid in Karachi

• A raid conducted by police on Tuesday resulted in the arrest of an injured Tehrik-e-Taliban member (TTP), Sarzameen Khan. The militant had been wounded during a clash with security forces before escaping to Karachi to receive treatment under an alias.[xi]

Aafia Siddiqui Audiotape

• An audiotape has been released by Aafia Siddiqui’s lawyers, allegedly elucidating the details behind Siddiqui’s disappearance in 2003. The Pakistani woman, jailed for eighty-six years by a U.S. court, is purported inthe tape to have been picked up by Pakistan’s police and handed over to Pakistani intelligence agents, though the Pakistani government has denied the holding of Siddiqui. Mystery still shrouds what followed her disappearance, with supporters insisting that she was transferred into U.S. custody in Bagram, Afghanistan. U.S. officials have denied the accusations. The Telegraph reports that a senior Pakistani official, Babar Awan, has implied that the Pakistani government may attempt to swap Raymond Davis for Siddiqui, stating that the U.S. has "a repatriation call and we have a call."[xii]

Blast in Balochistan

• A blast in Quetta injured two people on Tuesday. The explosion on Mastung road reportedly targeted the vehicle of the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) New Sariab Sikandar Tareen. However, Tareen escaped unwounded in the attack.[xiii]
• An explosion in Dera Bugti on Monday has killed a security officer and wounded one other. Their vehicle hit a mine in the Toba Nokhani area, killing the security official on the spot.[xiv]