Pakistani government: CIA link no bearing on Davis trial; Punjab officers attempt to arrest U.S. consulate workers; Washington Post: hundreds of Raymond Davises in Pakistani streets; Crowley: U.S. won’t cut aid; 700 families return to Mohmand; Road blocked in NWA; Eight militants killed in Kurram; Two soldiers killed in Wana; Aide of Baitullah Mehsud arrested; PML-N expels PPP from Punjab govt; Seven injured in Gwadar; Rocket attack in Hangu; Fourteen injured by bomb in Peshawar; Search operation in Rawalpindi.
U.S.-Pakistani Relations
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On Tuesday, the Pakistan government insisted that Raymond Davis’ CIA link will have no bearing on the murder trial. A spokesperson for President Zardari stated, “Regardless of whether he now turns out to be a CIA employee, the matter will be decided by the court.” The New York Times has additionally reported on the legal technicalities of the case, which may play a role in deciding Davis’ fate. According to the article, Davis’ role as either an embassy or consulate worker is significant, as consular officials are granted relatively weaker legal protections because they are viewed as administrators, rather than diplomats. In the days following the incident, Davis was described as both a staff member for the U.S. Consulate and a technical staff member for the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad. The distinction is critical since as an embassy worker, Davis would be covered by the 1961 Vienna Convention. As a consulate worker, Davis would be covered by a 1963 treaty which opens him up to prosecution for “grave crimes.”[i]
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Dawn reports that Punjab police officers arrived at the U.S. Consulate on Tuesday to arrest the American consulate workers involved in the vehicle accident that killed a Pakistani man on January 27. The officers were denied entry to the consulate upon arrival.[ii]
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The Washington Post reports on the alleged army of hundreds of U.S. operatives which work in Pakistan, inciting skepticism and suspicion among Pakistani citizens. The article states that it is unknown how many of the U.S. mission's employees are private security contractors or intelligence agents, many of whom work with Pakistani security agents on counterterrorism operations. Pakistani commentators have declared there are “thousands of Raymond Davises” operating in the streets of Pakistan, while the Pakistani Embassy in Washington says that 3,555 U.S. diplomats, military officials and employees of "allied agencies" were issued visas in 2010.[iii]
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Assistant Secretary of State Philip J. Crowley has declared that the U.S. is not considering cuts in economic and military aid over the Davis case. He stated, “We’re building a strategic partnership with Pakistan. It’s important to the future of the region. It’s also important to the security of the United States. We are engaging Pakistan in good faith. We want to see this resolved as soon as possible so it does not become an impediment in our relationship and it does not measurably interfere with the work we are doing together in fighting extremism that threatens Pakistan and threatens us.”[iv]
FATA
- Over 700 displaced families returned to Sagi in Mohmand, following a military operation in the agency. The Political Agent of Mohmand Agency, Amjad Ali Khan, said that the families returned from the Nahqi camp in convoys and have been provided food assistance. Khan also stated that Dawezai area of Pandyalai sub-district would soon be cleared and 1,200 families from the area would be sent back to their homes.[v]
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A main road in North Waziristan has been blocked by two rival tribes for the past five days. The Mir Ali-Thall Road has been closed following a land dispute between the Miami Khwaja Khel and Miami Madda Khel tribes in the Shawal Valley. Schools have additionally been closed due to the fighting.[vi]
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Eight militants were killed by security forces in the Spair Kat and Chanarak areas of Kurram Agency on Wednesday. Two militants and a vehicle were also destroyed in the security operation. [vii]
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Two security personnel were killed and two injured in an attack by unidentified armed men in Wana on Sunday night. Meanwhile, two rockets were fired at Wana, though no casualties have been reported.[viii]
Operation in Sindh
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A close aide of Baitullah Mehsud and a member of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) were among five men arrested in Sindh. Mehsud’s aide, Alauddin Barki, was arrested in Sohrab Goth with a pistol in his possession. Meanwhile, a member of LeJ, Sajid, was arrested in Aziz Bhatti area and reportedly confessed to planning various ‘target killings.’[ix]
Internal Politics
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The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) took the decision to remove members of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) from the ruling provincial cabinet in Punjab. Some vacated seats were assigned to members of the PML-Quaid party looking to reunify with the PML-N. The PPP was a junior partner in the ruling coalition of the Punjab provincial government.[x]
Blasts in Balochistan
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Seven people were injured in explosions in Gwadar on Tuesday. A bomb attached to a motorcycle on Fish Harbour road was detonated when a Frontier Corps vehicle passed by, wounding four Frontier Corps personnel in the blast.[xi]
Attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
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A rocket attack in Hangu on Tuesday has resulted in four deaths and seven injuries. A local police official Abdul Rasheed said, “Militants fired six rockets from an undisclosed location in the tribal region of Kurram targeting an army checkpoint of the neighbouring town of Hangu, which struck civilian houses.” The two houses were located in Targhundai, a village in Hangu.[xii]
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Fourteen people were injured by an improvised explosive device in Peshawar on Tuesday. The bomb detonated in Shafi Market, wounding shop owners and employees in the blast. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.[xiii]
Militants Arrested in Rawalpindi
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A search operation conducted in Rawalpindi resulted in the arrest of thirty-two militant suspects on Wednesday. The operation by sixteen teams of Rawalpindi security forces was performed in the areas surrounding the Army General Headquarters.[xiv]