Pakistan Security Brief - September 7, 2011

Twin suicide bombs in Quetta, bombings claimed by TTP; Deadly New Delhi blast linked to al Qaeda, Pakistan publically condemns New Delhi terrorist attack; TTP kidnapping plan to free bin Laden family; Army Chief in Karachi to discuss political violence; Target killers responsible for Karachi violence arrested; Video footage allowed in Supreme Court Karachi violence case; Militants blow up school in Khyber; Pakistani Taliban issues demands for release of kidnapped boys; U.S. Defense Secretary comments on the arrest of al Qaeda militants in Pakistan; September 11 takes tolls on Pakistanis; Ambassador released after attempting to visit Abbottabad compound.

Quetta Suicide Attacks

• A suicide attack in Quetta killed 21 people and injured over 40 when a car loaded with explosives went off outside the home of the Frontier Corps (FC) Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Farrukh Shehzad.  Shortly after, a suicide bomber allegedly blew himself up inside the residence.  Among those confirmed dead are “three FC personnel, [the] wife of DIG FC Farrukh Shehzad, Colonel Khalid and two children.” The DIG was also confirmed as injured in the blast, which took place in a neighborhood of “government buildings and official residencies in the city.”  Over 100 kg of explosives were thought to have been used in this attack.[1]

• Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has officially claimed responsibility for the twin suicide bombings in Quetta.  Pakistani Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan stated that the suicide attack served as retribution for the recent arrest of TTP’s “mujahedin brothers by Pakistani security forces in Quetta,” likely referring to the Monday arrest of three senior al Qaeda members, including Younis al Mauritani.[2]

Bomb Attack in India

• At least 11 people were killed and 76 wounded when a briefcase bomb exploded outside New Delhi’s High Court.  The militant group Harkat-ul-Jihad Islami (HuJI), a known al Qaeda affiliate which operates out of Pakistan and Bangladesh, allegedly claimed responsibility for the blast in an e-mail to India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA).  The same e-mail “called on India to repeal the death sentence of a man convicted in connection with an attack on the Indian parliament in 2001 and warned it would otherwise target major courts in the country.”[3]

• Pakistan officially condemned the terrorist attack that occurred in New Delhi earlier today, calling the attack “heinous.” A statement issued by President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani issued condolences to the families of victims and “expressed the hope that the perpetrators…will be brought to justice.”[4]

TTP Kidnapping Scheme

• Pakistan’s interior ministry warned all government employees to “stay vigilant” Wednesday after receiving information that the Pakistani Taliban may plan to kidnap high ranking officials in “an attempt to mount pressure on the government to release Osama bin Laden’s family from custody.” The family of deceased al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has been in custody since the Abbottabad raid on May 2.[5]

Karachi Violence

• During a visit to Karachi, Army Chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani met with the Corps Commander Karachi and the Director General (DG) of the Sindh Rangers to discuss the city’s volatile security situation. General Kayani reportedly instructed the DG Rangers to “remain neutral and take non-discriminatory action against individuals and groups responsible for the ongoing bloodshed in Karachi.” In a later press conference, DG Rangers Sindh Major General Muhammad Ejaz Chaudhry acknowledged the role of the Rangers in maintaining law and order and cited a “long-term and comprehensive strategy” for combating Karachi violence. He reaffirmed that the top priority of the Rangers was to “nab target killers, irrespective of their political or ethnic affiliations.”He further warned against the premature curtailment of the Rangers’ special “police powers,” citing a return to political violence if the special provisions were withdrawn.[6]

• Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Wassan announced the arrest of 63 people allegedly involved in target killings in a Karachi press conference and noted that the suspects were arrested as the result of multiple search operations in the city carried out by the Rangers and police.[7]

• The investigation into violence in Karachi initiated by Pakistan’s Supreme Court continued on Tuesday with the bench continuing to criticize the Sindh Police for the weakness of its investigative reports into the killings. Sindh advocate-general Abul Fattah Malik presented video footage on the case, some of which revealed the existence of “torture cells” discovered by Rangers personnel that were used by those involved in the political violence.[8]

FATA

• A blast in the Sapah region of Khyber destroyed a government school, however no casualties were reported.  The explosives were reportedly placed outside of the school building by unidentified militants.  Local authorities are currently investigating the blast.[9]

  Taliban Issues Demands for Hostages

• Bajaur TTP leader Maulana Dadullah confirmed to have 27 Mamund boys, ages 18 to 20, in custody and set conditions for their release in a video reportedly released from Kunar, Afghanistan.  Dadullah called for locals in Bajaur to abandon their support of the government, release “children and women languishing in various prisons,” and demanded that tribesmen put an end to the formation of anti-Taliban militias. The boys have been held in Afghanistan for nearly a week after reportedly crossing the border on Eid, although some of the boys interviewed by reporters claim they never left Pakistan. The video statement by Dadullah claimed that the hostages’ lives would be in jeopardy if TTP demands were not met.[10]

U.S.-Pakistan Relations

• U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta commented on the capture of al Qaeda operatives by Pakistani authorities earlier this week, calling the counter-terrorism operation an “encouraging sign” for U.S.-Pakistan relations following the May 2 Abbottabad raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound.  Panetta also alluded to the possible interrogation of al Mauritani by U.S. officials, although arrangements have yet to be made public.[11]

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa

• In the decade since 9/11, Peshawar has been assaulted by Islamist militants who are “opposed to Pakistan's cooperation in the U.S. war on militancy.”  According to a Reuters report, the city has seen a significant rise in the incidence of suicide bombings and tourists and traders no longer visit Peshawar, which was once seen as a “crossroads of culture and trade between Afghanistan, South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East.” After 9/11, the Taliban took root in Peshawar and now severely threatens the livelihoods of thousands and the survival of the entire region.[12]

 Danish Ambassador Released

• The Danish ambassador, Uffe Wolffhchel, and his wife Susie Andersce-Ruff, who were detained briefly by Abbottabad police have been released by Pakistani officials “following the intervention of some high-ups in Islamabad.”  The couple was allegedly trying to visit the now-famous compound of Osama bin Laden when authorities became suspicious of their vehicle. The ambassador and his wife, along with their Pakistani driver, were held by police for lacking required travel documents indicating permission of the interior minister to travel in the area.[13]