Pakistan arrests CIA informants who aided in lead-up to Bin Laden raid; Secretary Gates emphasizes importance of U.S.-Pakistani relationship to peace in the region; Drone strike kills ten in South Waziristan; “Target killings” continue in Karachi; Eyewitnesses say unarmed man killed in Karachi had not committed any crime;  Doctors’ protests continue in Quetta.

 

CIA Informants Arrested

  • The New York Times reports that “the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has arrested . . . several men alleged to be “Pakistani informants who fed information to the Central Intelligence Agency”  as part of the effort to track down Osama bin Laden. Of the five detained, the New York Times claims one was “a Pakistani army major who officials said copied the license plates of cars visiting Bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad.” In a press release on Wednesday, the Pakistani army refuted the New York Times articleand vehemently denied that an army major was among the detained. According to the article, “[s]ome in Washington see the arrests as illustrative of the disconnect between Pakistani and American priorities.” The New York Times also reports that the ISI “[has] been generally unwilling to carry out surveillance operations for the C.I.A.” since U.S. contractor Raymond Davis was accused of killing two Pakistani men in January.    The New York Times article also reports that last week deputy CIA director Michael J. Morrell told the Senate Intelligence Committee that he would rate Pakistan’s intelligence cooperation with the U.S. as three out of ten. The article also reports that the 120 U.S. military personnel tasked with training Pakistan’s Frontier Corps (FC) have “left the country” following Pakistan’s request of a reduction in the number of U.S. military personnel in the country after the Abbottabad raid. Additionally, fear that Pakistan will further restrict the use of U.S. drones in Pakistan has caused the CIA to look into sending drones from a base in Afghanistan into the tribal areas instead of going through Pakistan. This comes after months of tension in the U.S.-Pakistani relationship, most notably resulting from the Raymond Davis incident and the May 2 U.S. raid in Abbottabad killing Osama Bin Laden.[i]

U.S.-Pakistan Relations

FATA

  • The Express Tribune reports a drone strike killed ten in Wana, South Waziristan on Wednesday. The report claims, “a resident said two missiles apparently hit a sprawling compound belonging to Mullah Nazir’s group.” Local officials, however, say the compound was empty, but that a “vehicle targeted in Sherano Algad . . . resulted in the death of 10 people.”[viii]

Karachi

  • Geo reports that twenty-four people have been killed in Karachi in the last three days. Many of those killed beginning on Monday night were political activists. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Awami National Party (ANP) released statements saying they “condemned the renewed wave of killings in the city and agreed to work together to prevent such incidents and weed out criminals who were causing a breakdown of law and order.” They emphasized that those committing the target killings had “no political support.”[ix]

Security Force Abuses

  • The Express Tribune reports that “eyewitnesses” to the killing of unarmed 22-year-old Sarfaraz Shah did not see him “commit any crime.” Shah was shot and killed by paramilitary Rangers personnel who claimed he was attempting robbery in a public park and attempted to seize a weapon when confronted. Widespread outrage has followed the release of a video of killing. Another video has reportedly surfaced showing “a man in fatigues is seen sexually assaulting and beating at least four blindfolded men whose hands are bound to window and door frames,” but the authenticity of the video has not been confirmed.[x]

Balochistan

 


[i] “Pakistan Arrests C.I.A. Informants in Bin Laden Raid,” New York Times, June 15, 2011. Available at
“CIA informants: Army denies Major among those arrested,” Express Tribune, June 15, 2011. Available at
[ii] “Ties with Pakistan crucial for peace in region: Gates,” Express Tribune, June 14, 2011. Available at
[iii] “Pakistan didn’t know about Bin Laden: Musharraf,” Express Tribune, June 15, 2011. Available at
[iv] “No evidence of links between ISI, Haqqani network,” Geo, June 15, 2011. Available at
[v] “Legislation endorsed: US panel seeks to limit Pakistan aid,” Express Tribune, June 15, 2011. Available at
[vi] “Linchpin in hunt for bin Laden back with al-Qaida,” AP, June 15, 2011. Available at
[vii] “Rogers: Pakistani services aided bin Laden,” Washington Times, June 14, 2011. Available at
[viii] “Drone strike kills 10 in Wana, South Waziristan,” Express Tribune, June 15, 2011. Available at
[ix] “Death toll reaches 24 in Karachi violence,” Geo, June 15, 2011. Available at
“Death toll rises to 15 in Karachi violence,” Dawn, June 14, 2011. Available at
[x] “Rangers killing: ‘Youth did not commit any crime,’” Express Tribune, June 15, 2011. Available at
“Physical abuse: New video poses new questions for the army,” Express Tribune, June 15, 2011. Available at
[xi] “Police torture Quetta doctors, strike continues,” Geo, June 15, 2011. Available at
“Young doctors to observe country-wide strike,” Express Tribune, June 14, 2011. Available at
[xii] “Committee to investigate moves to destroy evidence in Kharotabad incident,” Dawn, June 15, 2011. Available at
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