Pakistan Security Brief - October 11, 2011

DNI applauds improved U.S.-Pakistan relations; Karzai asks the U.S. to place more pressure on Pakistan; Karzai’s office downplays role of bodyguard in assassination plot; Cross-border attack threatens Afghanistan-Pakistan relations; Kayani and Pasha to brief Pakistan Senate Committees; Zardari’s NAB appointment challenged; UN cites contributing factors in slowing of aid to flood victims; Malik warns decrease in violence only temporary; Rangers arrest 36, two political workers gunned down; Sindh Home ministry bans PAC; Rangers arrest 55 MQM activists in Karachi; Sunni Tehrik activists protest arrest of leaders; HRCP releases report on Karachi violence; Former peace lashkar tribesmen killed; KP provincial governor targeted by rocket attack; TTP sets conditions for negotiations with government; Security forces injured by roadside bomb in SWA; Militants destroy armored vehicles en route to Afghanistan; Gilani calls on Pakistan Army recruits to bring prosperity to Balochistan; Militants kill 4, injure 6 throughout Balochistan; London Post reporter murdered in Lahore; Brother of killed man encourages death sentence; Teen set on fire by police in Faisalabad; Masked men threaten teachers and students at girls’ school; Qadri death sentence suspended; New leads on Taseer kidnapping.

U.S.-Pakistan Relations

• U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper lauded the improved relations between U.S. and Pakistani intelligence officials on Friday. Clapper’s statement came after Pakistani security forces granted the CIA access to five al Qaeda suspects arrested by Pakistan. Similarly, Pakistan recently curtailed demands that the U.S. suspend its drone strike operations in Pakistan.[1]

• On Saturday, Afghan President Hamid Karzai met with U.S. Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Marc Grossman and requested that the U.S. place more pressure on Pakistan to act against militants within its territory. According to the AFP, both the U.S. and Afghanistan have exerted greater pressure on Pakistan in recent weeks. On Sunday, U.S. diplomatic officials pushed Afghanistan and Pakistan to convene a joint peace commission in which Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and Pakistani military heads would meet with their Afghan counterparts to discuss important regional security issues. U.S. officials further suggested that Karzai seek Pakistani assistance in engaging the Taliban in negotiations.[2] 

Afghanistan-Pakistan Relations

• On Saturday, Afghan officials downplayed the importance of Karzai’s bodyguard, Mohebullah Ahmadi, in the foiled plot to assassinate President Karzai. Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS) initially cited Admadi as a trusted guard, but Karzai’s office announced that Ahmadi “had no authority to act on his own and was just guarding a gate outside the presidential palace.” Afghan security officials claimed that the plotters may have been trained by the Haqqani Network in North Waziristan.[3]

• According to military officials, Pakistani soldiers killed 30 militants that crossed into Upper Dir from Afghanistan late Sunday night. One Pakistani officer was killed and four others were wounded in the raid which was conducted by over 200 Afghan militants.[4]

Pakistani Politics

• The Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy chief Lieutenant General Ahmad Shuja Pasha will brief three Pakistani Senate committees on Thursday. The briefing comes in response to requests by committee members to be informed of Pakistan’s security situation to better address U.S. and Afghan concerns about militants in the country.[5]

• On Thursday, President Asif Ali Zardari nominated former Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Fasih Bokhari to be the head of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), which has been operating without a chief for the past seven months.  On Sunday, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) expressed reservations about the appointment. PML-N Secretary Information Senator Mushahidullah Khan highlighted concerns about Bokhari’s possible connection to the Agosta submarine scandal and described the nomination as “nothing but cronyism.”[6]

• The United Nations (UN) cited concerns over the accuracy of government figures and proper oversight of donated funds as contributors to the slowing of international aid in response to Pakistan’s extreme flooding. A secret UN cable obtained by the Express Tribune from September 27 attributed visa restrictions, lack of accountability, and limited direct access to beneficiaries as further inhibiting international aid to Pakistan’s flooded regions.[7]

Karachi Violence

• On Saturday, Interior Minister Rehman Malik cautioned that the recent decrease in Karachi violence was only temporary. He claimed that “The government is working on a long-term plan to bring permanent peace to the city.” President Zardari recently approved a Rs 5 billion allocation to Karachi to provide equipment and training for the Karachi police force.[8]

• Rangers arrested 36 suspects in a search operation in Pak Colony on Saturday night. In a separate incident, two men were killed when gunmen opened fire on a political office in Sachal. Interior Minister Malik called for an investigation into the incident.[9]

• On Sunday, the Sindh Home Ministry banned the People’s Amn Committee (PAC), citing its violations of the Anti-Terrorism Act. The notification solidified a presidential order issued by Zardari in March which called for the disbanding of the group.[10]

• Rangers arrested over 55 Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) party members in raids and search operations conducted throughout Karachi on Monday. One MQM activist apprehended in the raids confessed to his involvement in over a dozen murders throughout the city.  Following the raids, MQM supporters staged protests and forced the closure of shops throughout the city.[11]

• On Monday, Sunni Tehrik activists protested last week’s arrest of several party leaders.[12]

• On Saturday, The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) released a report titled “Karachi: Unholy Alliances of Mayhem” which found that 1,406 people had been killed in Karachi between January 1 and August 31 of this year. The report echoed last week’s ruling of the Supreme Court (SC) and cited Karachi’s political parties as the root of the violence. The HRCP also attributed the violence to Karachi’s “inefficient, ill-prepared, [and] poorly resourced” police force. According to the HRCP, the violence in Karachi stems from resistance to the city’s changing demographics and future violence can be avoided once the city’s evolving ethnic realities are accepted.[13]

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa

• Two Mehsud tribesmen who were former members of a peace committee were killed by unidentified gunmen on Monday in Chadrarh village of Tank district.[14] 

FATA

• The convoy of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Governor, Syed Masood Kausa, was targeted by a rocket attack in Orakzai agency on Tuesday. Kausa was scheduled to attend a political rally of tribal elders, which was also targeted by a rocket attack.  Six rally attendees were injured.[15]

• A Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman announced that the TTP would engage in negotiations with the Pakistani government if other Arab governments, such as Saudi Arabia, were present as mediators.  The TTP’s statement came in response to last week’s decision by the All Parties Conference (APC) to seek peace negotiations with militant groups within Pakistan. Although there is no formal mechanism in place for such talks, an APC participant suggested that the High Peace Council (HPC), which President Karzai set up, may be used as a model.[16]

• Three soldiers were injured on Tuesday when their convoy was targeted by a remote-controlled roadside bomb in Wana, South Waziristan.[17]

• A trailer truck carrying two armored vehicles to be used by U.S. troops in Afghanistan was targeted and destroyed by the militant group Abdullah Azzam Brigade on Monday. The trailer was travelling along the Landi Kotal bypass road in Khyber agency when it was struck by a roadside bomb.  Abdullah Azzam Brigade spokesman Abu Masab claimed responsibility for the attack and threatened to destroy all trucks and oil tankers “involved in the NATO supply.” One person was killed in the attack.[18] 

Balochistan

• The Pakistan Army celebrated the recruitment on 5,000 soldiers from Balochistan in a “passing-out parade” in Quetta on Tuesday.  Prime Minister Gilani spoke at the event, which was attended by Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and other senior military and civilian leaders, emphasizing the role of the recruits in paving the way for prosperity in Balochistan and Pakistan.  Gilani applauded the Baloch youths for “choosing the path of peace” and uniting to safeguard Pakistan’s sovereignty and integrity from the forces of extremism and terrorism.  Gilani further called upon Balochistan’s militants to “opt for reconciliation” to allow for regional development.[19] 

• A landmine blast in Kohlu district killed one child and injured four people on Sunday.  In a separate incident, two Frontier Corps (FC) forces were injured when their vehicle struck a landmine in Barkhan district.  Meanwhile, the mutilated bodies of two men were found and Khuzdar district and unidentified gunmen killed another man in Quetta.[20]

Punjab

• The mutilated body of The London Post reporter, Faisal Qureshi, was found at his residence in Lahore on Friday.  Faisal had reportedly received threats causing police to launch an investigation into the reporter’s death.[21]

• The brother of a youth who was killed by security officials in June has called for his brother’s killers to receive the death sentence.  The six men convicted of the murder had previously received life sentences from an anti-terrorism court (ATC).[22]

• A 16-year-old boy who had been charged with motorcycle theft was reportedly severely tortured and set on fire by police on Saturday.  The boy, who was identified as Azeem, was listed as in critical condition after suffering burns to 35 percent of his body.  Azeem’s family maintained that the boy had been falsely implicated in the crime as senior police officials ordered a formal inquiry into the incident.[23]

• A gang of 60 masked men entered a girls school in Rawalpindi on Friday, warning female students and teachers to “dress modestly and wear hijabs” or face the consequences.  Multiple beatings were reported, and the incident prompted Rawalpindi District Administration (RDA) officials to shut down all schools in the city.  All girls schools were encouraged to heed the warning and take preemptive measures against future attacks.[24]

Taseer Murder

• A Pakistani court has temporarily suspended the death sentence of Mumtaz Qadri, the man convicted of murdering Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, on the grounds that “Qadri was provoked by the governor and should therefore be tried for murder, not an act of terror.”  This decision came as protestors took to the streets to rally in support of Qadri.[25]

Taseer Kidnapping

• Lahore police claim to have uncovered new details in the kidnapping of Shahbaz Taseer, the son of slain former Punjab governor Salman Taseer.  According to an anonymous source in close proximity to the case, the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) has received important information from four suspects arrested for their involvement in the kidnapping. Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Lahore Malik Ahmed Raza stated that the JIT was examining links to “Taseer family feuds and the death sentence given to Mumtaz Qadri.”[26]