Sunday drone strike kills 6; Pakistan condemns continued drone strikes; U.S. looks to ISI to arrange negotiations with Taliban and Haqqani Network; 100,000 attend political rally in Lahore; MQM hosts rally in Karachi; Pakistan spied on German police in Afghanistan says German newspaper; KP minister escapes Taliban attack; Pakistan Army to stay in KP until security is established; Roadside IED injures 3 soldiers in Miram Shah; Boy kidnapped by Taliban returns home; NATO oil tanker driver and cleaner kidnapped; Woman threatens self-immolation; Balochistan experiences increase in illegal cattle smuggling; Security officials arrest terror plot mastermind; Police have yet to file charges against man involved in 230 target killings; Political activist killed by gunmen; Gilani calls for repatriation of 3.5 million Afghan refugees.

Drone Strikes

U.S.-Pakistan Relations

  • On Sunday, the New York Times reported on the Obama administration’s change in tactics in dealing with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), noting that the U.S. is “now relying on the [ISI] to help organize and kick-start reconciliation talks aimed at ending the war in Afghanistan.” U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton termed the strategy “Fight, Talk, Build” in a visit to Islamabad earlier this month, citing that the U.S. was optimistic that the ISI could bring the Haqqani Network and the Taliban “to the negotiating table.”[3]

Political Rally

  • Imran Khan, a former cricket star turned politician, led an “anti-government rally” in Lahore on Sunday that was attended by over 100,000 people. Khan’s political party Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI), or the Justice Party, currently holds no seats in Pakistan’s Parliament, but the “rousing welcome” Khan received from the crowd at the rally led several political analysts to speculate whether Khan may emerge as a “serious challenger to the governing Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and its longtime rival, the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N)” in the 2013 general elections. Meanwhile, enthusiasm for Khan has not gone “unnoticed” by PML-N, which reports that it is “closely monitoring [Khan’s] political moves.” [4] 

  • On Sunday, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) staged a massive “pro-Zardari” rally in Karachi also attended by PPP and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leaders. MQM chief Altaf Hussain called for an end to “conspiracies against democracy and…abusive remarks against President [Asif Ali] Zardari,” urging “PPP, PML-Q and [the] Awami National Party (ANP) to organize a ‘peace rally’ in Karachi to spread the message of love and harmony.”[5]

Spy Charges

  • The German newspaper Bild am Sonntag reported Sunday that Germany’s foreign intelligence agency, Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) had “warned its Interior Ministry that Pakistan had spied on 180 German police officers deployed in Afghanistan to train locals.” Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry rejected the accusation on Monday, and Pakistan Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas “said the report was not worth commenting on.”[6]

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa

FATA

Balochistan

Punjab

Karachi Violence

Afghan Refugee Repatriation


[1] Iftikhar Firdous, “Drone strike kills six in N Waziristan,” Express Tribune, October 31, 2011. Available at
Malik Mumtaz Khan, “Four miners killed in North Waziristan drone attack,” The News, October 31, 2011. Available at http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=9973&Cat=13
[2] “2,000 Pakistanis rally against US drones,” AFP, October 29, 2011. Available at
Haq Nawaz Khan and Joby Warrick, “Drones kill al-Qaeda, Taliban leaders in Pakistan’s tribal region,” Washington Post, October 27, 2011. Available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/drone-strike-kills-5-pakistani-taliban-leaders/2011/10/27/gIQAJ5GfLM_print.html
“US has no permission for drone strikes: Gilani,” Dawn, October 30, 2011. Available at
“Drone strikes are “unjustified”: Khar,” Dawn, October 29, 2011. Available at
[3] David E. Sanger and Eric Schmitt, “U.S. Seeks Aid From Pakistan in Peace Effort,” New York Times, October 30, 2011. Available at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/31/world/asia/united-states-seeks-pakistan-spy-agencys-help-for-afghan-talks.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all&smid=fb-share
[4] “Political Shift Seen in Rally in Pakistan,” New York Times, October 31, 2011. Available at
Zia Khan and Abdul Manan, “As PTI sets stage, PML-N watches with bated breath,” Express Tribune, October 30, 2011. Available at http://tribune.com.pk/story/284974/as-pti-sets-stage-pml-n-watches-with-bated-breath/
[5] Azfar-ul-Ashfaque, “MQM stages massive show in support of Zardari,” Dawn, October 31, 2011. Available at
[6] “Pakistan denies spying on German forces in Afghanistan,” Dawn, October 31, 2011. Available at
[7] “KP minister escapes attack in Kohat,” Dawn, October 31, 2011. Available at
[8] “Pak Army urges Afghan govt for action against militant havens,” The News, October 30, 2011. Available at http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=75140&Cat=2
[9] “Briefs...,” The News, October 31, 2011. Available at http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=75317&Cat=2
“Road to Parachinar reopens,” Dawn, October 31, 2011. Available at http://www.dawn.com/2011/10/31/road-to-parachinar-reopens.html
“Thall-Parachinar Road reopens as Murree accord implemented,” The News, October 31, 2011. Available at http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=75370&Cat=7
[10] “Bajaur Agency: Kidnapped boy returns home,” The News, October 31, 2011. Available at
[11] “NATO oil tanker's driver, cleaner abducted in Bolan,” The News, October 31, 2011. Available at http://www.thenews.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=25719
[12] Shehzad Baloch, “Girl threatens self-immolation outside Balochistan Assembly,” Express Tribune, October 28, 2011. Available at http://tribune.com.pk/story/283790/girl-threatens-self-immolation-outside-balochistan-assembly/
[13] Shehzad Baloch, “Porous borders: Cattle smuggling from Balochistan spikes,” Express Tribune, October
[14] Syed Ali, “Former SSG commando behind Parliament attack arrested,” Express Tribune, October 30, 2011. Available at http://tribune.com.pk/story/285051/former-ssg-commando-behind-parliament-attack-arrested/
[15] S. Raza Hassan, “Police reluctant to file charges against ‘hit man,’” Dawn, October 31, 2011. Available at
[16] “ASWJ activist shot dead,” Dawn, October 31, 2011. Available at http://www.dawn.com/2011/10/31/aswj-activist-shot-dead.html
[17] Muhammad Saleh Zaafir, “Gilani calls for repatriating 3.5m Afghan refugees,” The News, October 30, 2011. Available at  http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=9957&Cat=13
 
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