Tripartite Commission meets in Kabul; Pakistan and Afghanistan argue over cross-border rocket attacks; MQM quits ruling coalition; Drone strikes kill up to twenty-seven in Waziristan; Report shows militants “coerce” children to execute attacks; NATO tankers blown up in Balochistan; Pakistan may have trouble protecting nuclear arsenal; TNSM chief indicted; Hand grenade injures up to nineteen in Karachi teashop; Phone and email records relating to Shahzad murder to be provided.
Tripartite Commission
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On Monday, U.S., Pakistani, and Afghan representatives met in Kabul to discuss security issues along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Pakistan’s Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Afghanistan’s Gen. Sher Muhammed Karimi, and the U.S. and ISAF’s Gen. David H. Petraeus led the delegations. The representatives discussed how to improve cooperation on border security and “avoid misunderstandings.” This was the thirty-fourth meeting of the Tripartite Commission since it first convened in Islamabad in 2003. U.S. Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Ambassador Marc Grossman said he hoped the talks would be an opportunity for Pakistani officials to show they wanted to “participate positively in the [Afghan] reconciliation process.”[i]
Afghanistan-Pakistan Relations
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On Monday, Gen. Kayani met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul to discuss recent Afghan accusations of Pakistani cross-border rocket attacks. President Karzai recently accused Pakistan of firing 470 rockets in Afghanistan in the last three weeks, killing thirty-six people. The Pakistani army has said, however, that militant attacks coming from Afghanistan over the border have killed fifty-five Pakistani security personnel this month. Karzai’s palace has released a statement saying Gen. Kayani agreed to investigate the rocket attacks, but the Express Tribune has not been able to confirm the statement. Meanwhile, Inter-Services Public Relations chief Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas announced that Pakistani rockets could have landed in Afghanistan after being fired at militants “fleeing” back into Afghanistan. He denied, however, that any rockets had intentionally been fired across the border.[ii]
MQM Quits Ruling Coaltion
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On Monday, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) said it would quit the ruling coalition and join the opposition, “after accusing the government of rigging legislative assembly elections held on Sunday in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.” This is the second time this year that the MQM has quit the ruling coalition. The MQM also quit the regional government of Sindh. A senior Pakistani official said President Asif Ali Zardari may attempt to resolve the dispute by meeting with exiled MQM leader Altaf Hussain in London, where Zardari is currently on a diplomatic visit.[iii]
FATA
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On Monday, drone strikes killed twenty-seven in Waziristan. The first strike hit a vehicle in Sarakhawra area near Shawal, North Waziristan, killing six. The second strike hit a house in Mandoi area, South Wazistan, killing twenty one people.[iv]
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In a separate incident on Monday, Shakirullah Shakir, separately described as a commander and as a spokesman of the Fidayeen-e-Islam wing of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), was shot and killed near Miran Shah. Shakir was reportedly involved in training suicide bombers. He was riding his motorcycle when gunmen fired at him from a car with tinted windows.[v]
Militants Use Children in Attacks
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A U.S. State Department report states that militants in Pakistan are kidnapping children or persuading their parents to give them away using false promises in order to use them in operations, including attacks. The report also says “militants often sexually and physically abuse the children . . . [and] pressure the children into believing that the acts they commit are justified.” The report put Pakistan as a Tier 2 country, meaning the Pakistani government does “not fully comply with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s minimum standards” but is attempting to improve compliance.[vi]
Balochistan
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On Monday, three NATO oil tankers were blown up in Mastung and Dasht. An oil tanker driver suffered a gunshot wound when his tanker came under attack in Dasht.[vii]
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On Tuesday, the commission formed to investigate the May 17 Kharotabad incident in which security personnel killed five foreigners they suspected of being suicide bombers submitted their report to the Balochistan government. The commission has recorded witness statements and gathered evidence. Of the five foreigners killed, three were women and one of the women was pregnant.[viii]
Pakistan Nuclear Safety
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An article in the Telegraph says Pakistan is incapable of protecting its nuclear arsenal from violent extremists. The article notes that recent revelations regarding extremists in the security establishment adds to concerns. The article also points to Pakistan’s failure to protect its naval base, the PNS Mehran, from a terrorist attack last month as a reason to doubt their ability to protect nuclear facilities.[ix]
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
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On Monday, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Peshawar decided to indict Maulana Sufi Muhammad, chief of the Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM), on July 18. Maulana Sufi Muhammad and his followers were charged with attacking the Kabal police station in 1994, while Muhammad was also charged with treason.[x]
Karachi
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On Monday night, a hand grenade attack on a teashop in Lyari killed one and injured up to nineteen. Men on motorcycles stopped outside the teashop and threw in the hand grenade, causing an explosion.[xi]
Judicial Commissions
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The commission investigating the murder of journalist Saleem Shahzad has asked the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority and the Federal Investigation Authority to release Shahzad’s phone and email records for the days leading up to his abduction. There have been concerns that parts of Shahzad’s cell-phone records from the three weeks before his death are missing.[xii]
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The commission formed to investigate the May 2 Abbottabad raid that killed Osama Bin Laden has scheduled its first meeting for July 5. The commission was formed to investigate both how Bin Laden could have lived in Abbottabad undetected and how the army failed to prevent U.S. special operations forces from conducting an attack on Pakistani soil.[xiii]
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The State Minister for Minorities’ Affairs Akram Masih Gill has requested the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the assassination of the late Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti. Bhatti had been the only Christian cabinet member in the Pakistan Peoples Party-led (PPP) coalition government. This comes after the recent release of a suspect in the assassination due to insufficient evidence.[xiv]