Pakistan Security Brief - April 29, 2011

Thirty-three militants killed in Kurram, Orakzai, and Mohmand; Pakistan test fires missile; Wikileaks: Safe houses in Karachi housed 9/11 terrorists; Pakistan grants India MNF status; ‘Target killings’ continue in Karachi; Clash between militants and policemen in Mir Hasan; Graffiti wars in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa;JKLF protests against arrest of separatist leader Mohammad Yaseen Malik.

FATA

• Thirty-three militants were killed in operations by security forces in Kurram, Orakzai, and Mohmand agencies on Thursday, while two pro-government tribesmen and one soldier were also killed in clashes. Twenty of the militants were killed in military operations in the Mirandi, Sangraba, and Chinarak areas of Kurram, while five more were killed in clashes that erupted in the agency. Eight other militants were killed by security operations in the Khadizai and Mamuzai areas of Orakzai. A soldier was killed and five others were injured by a landmine explosion in the Safi sub-district of Mohmand Agency.[i]

Pakistan Test Fires Missile

• The Pakistani military has announced its successful test firing of the Hatf-VIII missile on Friday. The missile has a range of 220 miles and is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.[ii]

Wikileaks Revelations

• WikiLeaks has revealed that Abdul Rabbani Abu Rahman, an alleged al-Qaeda facilitator currently incarcerated at Guantanamo Bay, has admitted to assisting the movement of seventeen of the nineteen terrorists who conducted the Sept 11 attacks while in Pakistan. In addition, Rabbani told U.S. investigators that one of Osama Bin Laden’s sons lived in Karachi in 2002, residing in a local safe house. Rabbani confessed to working for Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, one of the masterminds behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and running a number of safe houses in Karachi.[iii]

Indo-Pakistani Relations

• On Thursday, Pakistan agreed to grant India “most-favored nation” status by October in order to expand bilateral trade relations and remove non-tariff barriers. India and Pakistan agreed to establish a joint working group to “undertake ‘new initiatives’ to enable the trade of electricity and petroleum products.” Pakistani commerce secretary Zafar Mahmood said that the working group will confer about a cross-border pipeline and hold negotiations on funding should Pakistan import electrical resources from India.[iv]

‘Target Killings’ in Karachi

• Six people were killed in the most recent wave of ‘target killings’ in Karachi on Thursday. Among the dead were two activists of the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP). In addition, an activist of the Kachhi Rabita Council was killed near the Rehmania Mosque in Surjani.[v]

Balochistan

• A clash between militants and policemen in Mir Hasan killed two officers and two militants on Friday. A group of unidentified militants attacked a police vehicle before being targeted with retaliatory fire by the officers.[vi]

Graffiti Wars in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa

• A sectarian group which supports Iran has drawn graffiti that criticizes Saudi Arabia along the walls of a main highway in the Kohat and Hangu areas. In response, Ahle Sunat Wal Jamaat, a rival sectarian faction, has organized a rally in support of the Saudi Arabia royal family. A statement issued by the group said, “The US agents and devilish forces are opposing brotherly relations between the two Muslim countries by carrying out wall-chalking against the royal family.”[vii]

Kashmir

• Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) demonstrators in Srinagar pelted security forces with stones on Thursday in protest against the arrest of JKLF separatist leader Mohammad Yaseen Malik. The security forces responded by firing teargas to disperse the crowds. Malik was previously arrested for staging a protest against the indiscriminate arrests of young people, in violation of rules against the assembly of four or more people without permission from the state administration. JKLF spokesman Altaf Khan defended Malik against the allegations and said that his detainment was unjustifiable as he had participated in "a peaceful sit-in." Earlier in the week, a bus driver was killed in Baramulla during a stone-throwing protest.[viii]