Clinton holds talks with high-level Pakistani officials in Islamabad; Clinton asks Pakistan to protect U.S. interests in region; Pakistan elected to UNSC; Fazlullah to return to Pakistan; Musharraf blames U.S. for Pakistan’s militancy; U.S. charges Pakistani man for role in recruiting jihadists; Extremists threaten attacks in Karachi; PML-Q in support of South Punjab province; Police confiscate large arms cache; Militants launch assault on pro-government elder; Balochistan Assembly to bring Mastung massacre perpetrators to justice.
U.S.-Pakistan Relations
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U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with high-level Pakistani officials, including Pakistan’s Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy chief Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha, for four hours of talks on Friday in Islamabad. In the meetings, Clinton appealed to the Pakistani government to bolster its efforts against Pakistan-based militants, specifically referencing the Haqqani Network, calling on Pakistan to address the militant threat immediately. Clinton praised the All Parties Conference (APC) convened in Pakistan last month, labeling it a “significant statement” on Pakistan’s support for the “peace process” but warned that Pakistan must continue to eradicate terrorist safe havens for regional peace to exist. Clinton dispelled Pakistani fears that the U.S. may launch a military operation in Pakistan, saying that the U.S. had “no intention” of such action. Meanwhile, Gilani asked Clinton to “give peace a chance,” asserting that Pakistan would not launch a military operation in North Waziristan, despite U.S. pressure. Later, CIA Director David Petraeus and ISI spy chief General Pasha reportedly met to discuss intelligence sharing between the U.S. and Pakistan.[1]
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In a separate meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari, Clinton expressed U.S. hopes to maintain a long-term relationship of mutual respect with Pakistan, acknowledging the sacrifices Pakistan has made in the war on terror, but added that Pakistan must help maintain U.S. interests in the region for such a relationship to exist. Zardari argued that the U.S. must put an end to its “public criticism” of Pakistan, noting criticism’s role in undermining Pakistan’s “struggle against [regional] militancy.” In a later press conference with Pakistani media, Clinton pledged to manage U.S.-Pakistan relations “better privately and publicly.”[2]
Pakistan Elected to UNSC
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Pakistan was voted to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Friday, beating out competitor Kyrgyzstan for the Asia Pacific seat. Pakistan will serve on the council for 2012 and 2013.[3]
War on Terror
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Following Clinton’s visit to Pakistan, Pakistani Taliban leader Maulvi Fazlullah, who is described as a “leading figure in the insurgency,” has pledged to return to Pakistan and “wage war” on the country for its continued support of the U.S. war on terror. Fazlullah has vowed to implement Sharia, or Islamic law, in “the Malakand region and rest of Pakistan.”[4]
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During an address in Arkansas, former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf charged Pakistan’s current military of “negligence” for failing to detect deceased al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden’s presence in Pakistan before the May 2 raid by U.S. Special Operations Forces on bin Laden’s Abbottabad compound. Musharraf also noted the Pakistan military’s ineffectiveness in targeting “Taliban-affiliated militants” within Pakistan, but blamed U.S. “mistakes in Afghanistan for the Taliban’s re-emergence.”[5]
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On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the charges against an 18-year-old Pakistani man, Mohammad Hassan Khalid, for his involvement in creating a “violent jihad organization” and using the internet to recruit individuals to carry out terror plots in Europe and South Asia. Khalid worked in conjunction with an Algerian man and an American woman known as “Jihad Jane.”[6]
Karachi Violence
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Karachi police have received a letter from an unknown terrorist group demanding the closure of brothels in the Defence and Clifton neighborhoods of Karachi, threatening large-scale terrorist attacks in Karachi between October 22 and October 30 if its demands are not met. In response, Karachi police have taken preemptive security measures throughout the Defence and Clifton areas.[7]
Punjab
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The Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) has “submitted a resolution” to the Punjab Assembly “supporting South Punjab’s demand that it be made into a separate province” and calling for a constitutional amendment to be passed to allow for the division of the province.[8]
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
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Police confiscated a truck loaded with a large arms and ammunition cache bound for Karachi in Kohat district on Thursday.[9]
FATA
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Over “30 militants armed with rockets and machine guns” launched an assault on the home of a pro-government elder in Mohmand agency on Friday, killing three of the elder's children. Pakistani government officials blamed Afghanistan-based militants for the attack, which took place 2.5 miles from the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. The militants also set fire to a local girls school as they retreated.[10]
Balochistan
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On Thursday, the Balochistan Assembly “passed a resolution, unanimously seeking to bring the perpetrators of [the September 20 Mastung] massacre…to justice.” Similarly, Balochistan’s Minister for Works and Communication “demanded collective measures to secure peace in the region.” Meanwhile, a man was killed by unidentified gunmen on Thursday in Turbat district.[11]