Pakistan Security Brief - April 13, 2011

U.S. drone strikes resume in the FATA; CIA pledges to reveal more about its operational activities; PCCF to return to DOD; Admiral Robert Willard expresses concern on expanding reach of LeT; Rana to argue on ISI role in 2008 Mumbai attacks; Eight militants killed in Mohmand; Kashmiri militants believe talks with India won’t succeed; Twelve rockets fired at army fort in Hangu; ‘Target killings’ continue in Karachi; LHC asks government to trace families of Davis victims.

Drone Strikes Resume

• On Wednesday, a U.S. drone strike killed six militants from the Haqqani network (HQN) in South Waziristan. The attack in the town of Angoor Adda was the first since the U.S. drone strike that killed thirty-nine people in North Waziristan on March 17. The attack occurred amid a senior Pakistan official stating that the drone campaign had been “’frozen for the moment’ until the two sides agree on new rules that would reduce the number of CIA missile strikes.” However, there are conflicting reports on whether there would be new constraints on the drone campaign, with U.S. officials maintaining that “aside from pledging to give Pakistan greater visibility into the decisions behind drone strikes, there are no new restrictions on the CIA’s ability to fire.” The Washington Post reports that in Monday’s meeting with CIA director Leon Panetta, ISI head Lieutenant General Pasha did not formally request a halt to the strikes. However, the Los Angeles Times reports that “Pakistan now wants the U.S. to further reduce the frequency of drone strikes.”[i]

U.S.-Pakistani Relations

• The Washington Post reports that during a four-hour meeting between CIA director Leon Panetta and the head of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, Lieutenant General Pasha, the CIA pledged to reveal more about its operational activities in Pakistan and expand cooperation on drone strikes. The media outlet reports that under new terms, the CIA “is expected to provide information on contractors in the country and on some — but not all — of the staff officers who serve undercover as part of the CIA’s clandestine service.” CNN cites a Pakistani security source who said that “The Raymond Davis case brought to our attention that there are about 40-plus people in the country operating. We have asked the CIA to give us visibility -- to work with us and not behind our backs." Meanwhile, Dawn reports that Pakistan’s army chief of staff, General Kayani, wants to reduce the number of U.S. Special Forces soldiers in the country’s northwest region who are involved in training members of Pakistan's Frontier Corps. The Obama Administration reportedly is negotiating the prospect of reducing the number of U.S. intelligence operatives and special operations officers in Pakistan. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said that no decisions have been made on possible force level reductions. [ii]
• As part of the recent budget deal negotiated between Congress and the Obama administration, the Department of State is returning the Pakistan Counterinsurgency Capability Fund (PCCF) to the Department of Defense for the rest of the year. The Obama administration had requested $1.2 billion of the State Department budget for PCCF this year, but the new budget deal “cuts that request by $400 million and transfers the remaining $800 to the Defense Department.”[iii]

Expanding Reach of LeT

• In a statement to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Admiral Robert Willard, the head of the US military’s Pacific Command, expressed his concern about the “expanding reach of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group, warning it was no longer solely focused on India or even South Asia.” He said that the U.S. possesses evidence of LeT’s “presence in Europe and the broader Asia-Pacific region.” Willard additionally stated that India and Pakistan are unlikely to resolve their dispute over Kashmir, reporting that, “Given the turmoil that has been in Pakistan for the past couple of years, it’s hard to imagine that the fragile governance in Islamabad is going to rise to a level where the impasse can be broken in the near term.” [iv]

ISI Role in 2008 Mumbai Attacks

• As Pakistani-Canadian Tahawwur Hussain Rana is set to go to trial on May 16 for his role in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, The Globe and Mail reports that Rana will argue that he “believed [himself] to be working for both LeT and the ISI.” Rana is accused of allegedly supplying terrorist scouts with false identifications that they used while choosing targets in Mumba. He plans to argue that because “he is a Pakistani patriot who was led to believe the ISI wanted his help – and therefore he should get the equivalent of diplomatic immunity.”[v]

FATA

• Eight militants were killed and twelve others injured in Mohmand Agency on Tuesday. The militants were targeted by military jets which bombed suspected hideouts in the Bezai sub-district.[vi]

Kashmir

• Reuters reports that militants on the Pakistan side of Kashmir will pursue new talks with India, but do not believe that they will succeed. Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Abdul Aziz Alvi warned that, “We have not given up arms, jihad, but are just giving another chance to talks. If India does not understand the language of negotiation, then guns will start speaking.”[vii]

Rocket Attacks in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa

• Two civilians were injured after militants fired at least twelve rockets at Thall Fort in Hangu. The rockets were fired from Orakzai Agency and failed to hit the army fort, but injured two pedestrians in the area. Security officers fired at suspected militant hideouts in retaliation.[viii]

‘Target Killings’ in Karachi

• Three members of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) were killed in Mehmoodabad on Tuesday as they were assisting a census staff in Karachi. Meanwhile, an Awami National Party (ANP) supporter was also shot in Gulistan-e-Jauhar earlier on Tuesday.[ix]

Raymond Davis Fallout

• The Lahore High Court (LHC) issued a notice to the federal government asking for the administration to trace the families of Faheem and Faizan, who were killed by CIA-contractor Raymond Davis in January. The families went missing following Davis’ release on March 16. The court had originally given both the federal and Punjab government ten days to trace the location of the families, to which the “Punjab government in its reply showed ignorance about the whereabouts” of the families. The federal government did not reply to the original request.[x]