Pakistan Security Brief - October 5, 2011

Afghanistan reassures Pakistan; Panetta stresses building “trusting relationship” with Pakistan; U.S. military aid to Pakistan “suspended”; TTP willing to negotiate; Gilani calls for amendments to Anti-Terrorism laws; Zardari seeks recognition for war on terror sacrifices; Tribesmen attacked by Afghan lashkar; Militants kill solider in South Waziristan; Militants active in Khyber agency; 100 detained in militant crackdown; NATO tanker convoy torched; HRCP accuses Pakistan Army of extra-judicial killings; Politicians walk out of NA; Pakistanis protest over electricity shutdowns; Islamabad research center reports increase in drone strikes.

Afghanistan-Pakistan Relations

• After signing a strategic agreement with India on Tuesday, which will allow India to train Afghan security forces, Afghan President Hamid Karzai attempted to reassure Pakistan that the move was done to benefit Afghanistan and would not affect Afghanistan’s relationship with Pakistan.  Karzai said, “Pakistan is a twin brother.  India is a great friend.” This statement came a day after the National Directorate of Security (NDS), Afghanistan’s intelligence service, accused Pakistan of refusing to aid in the investigation of peace envoy Burhanuddin Rabbani’s assassination.  Pakistan’s Foreign Office rejected the accusation, maintaining Pakistan’s commitment to the investigation.[1]

U.S.-Pakistan Relations

• In an interview with CNN which aired on Monday, U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta stressed the importance of building a “cooperative and trusting” relationship with Pakistan. Panetta stated that the U.S. had repeatedly “urged” the Pakistanis to take action against terrorists, saying that Pakistan cannot “pick and choose among terrorists.  If you’re against them, you’ve got to be against all terrorism.”[2]

• A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Mark Stroh, said on Tuesday that U.S. military aid to Pakistan had not been cut off but had instead been suspended pending Pakistani cooperation on counter-terrorism efforts.  Stroh noted that U.S. aid to Pakistan’s civilian sector would continue without suspension.[3]

Terrorism

• Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) deputy commander of Bajaur agency, Maulvi Faqir Muhammad, spoke to the BBC from an undisclosed location on Tuesday, saying that the TTP would not reject negotiations with the Pakistani government, although Muhammad believed that negotiations could not be successful until after  U.S. troops withdraw from Afghanistan in 2014.  This statement came shortly after the spokesman welcomed Prime Minister Gilani’s offer to conduct negotiations with the government.  Reports have emerged that the Haqqani Network may also be pushing the TTP to broker a peace deal with the government.  Fearing a U.S. offensive in the region, Pakistani tribal elders recently met with Khalil Haqqani, brother of Sirajuddin Haqqani, encouraging him to exert his influence to “make peace between anti-Pakistan and pro-Pakistan militants in North Waziristan.”[4]

• Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani directed the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Law on Tuesday to “propose comprehensive amendments” to the country’s 2010 Anti-Terrorism Act to deter criminals from participating in “abhorrent activities against society and [the] state.”  Later, Gilani met with Interior Minister Rehman Malik to discuss Pakistan’s law and order situation. Gilani asked Malik to increase cooperation between the federal government and provincial governments.[5]

U.K.-Pakistan Relations

• During a Tuesday meeting with the United Kingdom’s Shadow Foreign Secretary, Douglas Alexander, President Asif Ali Zardari said he hoped that the two countries would “maintain momentum” in their relationship.  Zardari indicated that Pakistan, which he said has paid the heaviest price in the war on terror, expected recognition for its sacrifices. Alexander voiced a general sense of appreciation for Pakistan’s struggles and told Zardari that he hoped that the international community would assist Pakistan in capacity building and flood relief.[6]

FATA

• Pakistani tribesmen in Bajaur agency reportedly fought off a lashkar, or tribal militia, of 500 Afghan soldiers and conscripts, led by Malik Saifur Rahman, on Tuesday.[7] 

• A soldier at a security check post in Tiarza sub-district, South Waziristan was killed when the check post was hit by one of three militant-fired missiles on Tuesday.   In North Waziristan, militants stormed a hotel and set it on fire.  In an incident on Tuesday night in the Baba area of Shangla district, militants used explosives to destroy a government school for girls.[8]

• In Khyber agency, two soldiers were injured when militants opened fire on a convoy of security forces in on Tuesday.  On Wednesday morning, two NATO containers were targeted with remote-controlled roadside bombs, although the containers were undamaged in the attacks.[9]

Balochistan

• Authorities in Balochistan have announced the detention of 100 people in a crackdown on suspected militants following multiple incidents of sectarian violence in the region.  Police reportedly conducted the raids after protests erupted over police inaction in response to Tuesday’s attack on a bus of Shia Hazaras, which killed 14 people. In the National Assembly, political leaders called for the resignation of Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Balochistan’s Chief Minister Aslam Raisani for their failure to “maintain law and order in the province.”[10]

• A convoy of three NATO oil tankers was torched by militants in the Mach area of Bolan district on Wednesday.  This attack was the second in two days to target NATO convoys. No injuries were reported.[11]

• In a recent report on Balochistan by the Human Rights Commission in Pakistan (HRCP), HRCP accused the Pakistan Army of extra-judicial killings and accused Pakistan’s security agencies of corruption. Balochistan’s Chief Minister Nawab Muhammad Aslam Raisani responded to the allegations, calling them “alarming” but “untrue.”[12]

Politics and Energy Crisis

• During a meeting in the National Assembly discussing Pakistan’s current power crisis, the parties of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PLM-N), Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PLM-Q) walked out due to outrage at the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) handling of Pakistan’s dire energy situation.  PLM-Q members also resigned from the government in response to the PPP’s failure to address the crisis, and MQM party leaders planned to meet on Wednesday to discuss whether they should rejoin the PPP-led government after issuing statements of resignation.[13]

• Pakistanis throughout Punjab have been protesting “increasing hours of loadshedding.”  Many citizens have become upset with the federal government’s inability to prevent the severe power outages in Punjabi cities like Rawalpindi.  In response to recent protests and riots over loadshedding, Federal Minister for Water and Power, Naveed Qamar, announced that the energy crisis would be resolved within 48 hours, saying the government had “released funds for a fuel switch for the power generating companies.”[14]

Drone Strikes

• The Conflict Monitoring Centre, an “Islamabad-based independent research organization, which monitors drone attacks and anti-state insurgencies in South Asia,” has reported an increase in CIA drone attacks in Pakistan since the U.S. accused Pakistan’s ISI of supporting the Haqqani Network.[15]