Pakistan to train 8,000 troops to protect nuclear weapons; Gilani visits St. Petersburg to discuss SCO membership; Five soldiers killed in Taliban attack in South Waziristan; Pro-government elder killed in South Waziristan; Funds released for victims of sectarian violence in Kurram agency; Intelligence officials foil terror plot; Interior Ministry issues list of banned organizations; ATC charges two police officers in Bhutto assassination; ANP leader killed in suicide attack; Militants attack home of tribal elder; Body of tortured journalist found in Balochistan; Street crime becoming increasingly common in Karachi; Turkmenistan to sign TAPI pipeline agreement; PML-Q dissidents negotiate with Imran Khan.
Nuclear Weapons
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As a possible response to an article in The Atlantic magazine’s December issue which questioned the safety of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, the Pakistani military announced plans on Sunday to train 8,000 people to defend Pakistan’s nuclear weapons, while maintaining that its nuclear weapons are “well-defended.” Meanwhile, the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad released a statement on Monday expressing confidence in Pakistan’s ability to defend its nuclear arsenal against a “range of threats.”[1]
Pakistan-China Relations
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Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani visited St. Petersburg on Sunday to “seek full membership of the important regional security grouping of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO),” in which Pakistan currently holds “observer status.” Meanwhile, Gilani met with the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Monday and the two reportedly discussed “their resolve to further strengthen bilateral ties in economic, defense, and energy sectors for the mutual benefit of [Pakistan and China].” Jaibao applauded Pakistan for its role in the war on terror and “commended Pakistan government's principle stand to safeguard its sovereignty without bending to undue pressure.”[2]
FATA
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On Saturday, Taliban militants armed with rockets, grenades, and automatic weapons launched an attack on a military convoy near Zangara, South Waziristan, killing five soldiers and wounding another three. According to a Pakistani security official, the soldiers who were killed were part of a bomb disposal unit on its way from Spina Mela to Zangara.[3]
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A pro-government elder was killed along with two other people when “masked gunmen opened fire on them in Azam Warsak bazaar” in Barmal sub-district, South Waziristan on Sunday. Another four people were injured in the attack.[4]
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On Sunday, FATA Chief Secretary Ghulam Dastagir announced that Rs1.7 billion had “been released for distribution among the affectees of sectarian violence in Kurram agency,” and called on Sunni and Shia tribesmen to assist the government in maintaining the region’s peace.[5]
Terrorism
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Intelligence officials have reportedly “foiled an attempted spree of terrorist attacks…against several key state institutions” including the Pakistan Army’s General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi and the Presidency in Islamabad. The plot was foiled after police detained a Miram Shah, North Waziristan native associated with Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) who revealed the identities of two men involved in the planned terrorist attacks. The men, who received “terrorist training” in South Waziristan, are still at large.[6]
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On Saturday, Pakistan’s Interior Ministry “issued a list of 31 banned organizations, as is traditional before Eid-ul-Azha each year as a reminder that these groups must not be allowed to collect donations in the form of animal hides.” According to the Express Tribune, a UN designated terrorist group called Jammat-ud-Dawa (JuD) was not included on this year’s banned list, despite being a known front for the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). JuD maintains that it is a charity organization with no ties to Pakistan’s militancy. Meanwhile, Interior Minister Rehman Malik released a statement on Sunday inviting all terrorists groups, specifically the Taliban, to “throw away [their] weapons” and “adopt peace.”[7]
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Two Rawalpindi police officers have been charged by a Pakistani anti-terrorism court (ATC) over the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in 2007. Saud Aziz, Rawalpindi’s chief of police at the time, was charged alongside another police officer for his role in altering security plans as well as failing to protect the former Prime Minister. Furthermore, a mishandling of the crime scene, among other things, has “raised questions about the possible involvement of the military government, then led by General Pervez Musharraf, Ms. Bhutto’s rival.” Five Pakistani Taliban militants have also been indicted for “criminal conspiracy over Bhutto’s death.”[8]
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
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A former Awami National Party (ANP) leader, Malik Hanif Khan Jadoon, was killed during a Monday suicide attack on his vehicle in the Malikabad area of Swabi. Two people, including one of Jadoon’s guards, were killed and another nine were injured in the attack. Jadoon was returning from Eid prayers when the incident occurred.[9]
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On Sunday, Afghanistan-based militants attacked the home of a tribal elder in Nawagai tehsil, killing one woman and injuring another three people. Meanwhile, militants “made a failed attempt to blow up the tomb of [Saint] Akhun Baba” in Nowshera on Sunday.[10]
Balochistan
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The tortured body of a kidnapped journalist, Javed Naseer Rind, was recovered by police in Khuzdar on Saturday. Rind, who was a sub-editor for a “pro-nationalist newspaper,” was abducted near his home on September 10.[11]
Karachi Violence
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Street crime in Karachi is becoming more prevalent, according to Dawn, which reports that over 14,000 people have been victims of “street crime at gunpoint” during the past year. Ahmed Chinoy, chief of the Citizen’s Police Liaison Committee (CPLC), says that due to a lack of effective police effort against such crime, many “people have gradually accepted street crime as a part of regular life” and no longer report it. Meanwhile, Interior Minister Rehman Malik articulated that the overall “law and order situation” in Karachi was “under control” despite reports of street crime, while Karachi police arrested 32 “suspects” ahead of the Eid holidays in an attempt to tighten security and prevent “any untoward incident.”[12]
Energy
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Turkmenistan announced Friday that it would sign an agreement allowing for the “sale and purchase of natural gas” using the proposed TAPI gas pipeline, which will connect the countries of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India.[13]
Pakistani Politics
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Former cricket star turned politician, Imran Khan, has been gaining momentum amongst a “group of about two dozen former ministers and dissidents belonging to the country’s major political parties, mostly from the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q),” according to Dawn. This group of former political leaders has allegedly been “negotiating terms” with Khan for “formally joining” Khan’s Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) party.[14]