Pakistan deploys air defense system along Afghanistan-Pakistan border in response to NATO raid, Kayani and Gilani meet to discuss national security; Khar meets Munter to discuss bilateral relations; Pakistan remains committed to Afghan reconciliation process, says Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry; Zardari to remain in Dubai on doctor’s orders; Gunmen kill HRCP worker; “Extremists” kidnap 12 people in Khyber agency; Landmine injures Pakistani soldier in Kurram agency; Security forces arrest nine militants in Islamabad; Roadside bomb kills three Pakistani soldiers in Karachi; Intelligence agencies foil Muharram terror plot; Bin Laden family free to leave Pakistan.
U.S.-Pakistan Relations
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On Thursday, the Pakistan Army’s Director General of Military Operations (DG MO) Major General Ashfaq Nadeem called the November 26 NATO raid that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers “pre-planned” before a Pakistani Senate defense committee, suggesting that the “CIA and special forces” deliberately coordinated the attack. Later, an unnamed Pakistani military official announced that Pakistan had bolstered its “air defense system” along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border as a preemptive measure to “trace and detect” any future incursion by NATO helicopters or aircraft. The Pakistani official claimed that the air defense weapons system had the capability to “immediately respond” to a threat by shooting down any aircraft that violated Pakistani airspace. Meanwhile, on Friday, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani met with Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani to discuss the national security precautions being taken by the Pakistan Army along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. The two also discussed the “progress on the evacuation” of Shamsi Airbase in Balochistan, which sources announce has been completely vacated by U.S. operators.[1]
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Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar met with U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter on Friday in Islamabad to discuss the “current status of bilateral relations” between the U.S. and Pakistan following the November 26 NATO raid.[2]
Afghanistan-Pakistan Relations
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During a Foreign Ministry press conference on Friday, Pakistan once “again demanded evidence” from Afghanistan for the December 6 Ashura terrorist attacks launched by the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Jhangvi al Almi (LeJ) terrorist group in Afghanistan. The attacks have reportedly ignited “anti-Pakistan sentiment” throughout Afghanistan, as over 2,000 Afghanis gathered in Kabul on Friday and condemned the bombings that killed over 60 people. Later, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry maintained that Pakistan was committed to the “Afghan reconciliation process.”[3]
Zardari’s Health
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After suffering from likely stroke-like transient ischemic attack (TIA) on Monday, President Asif Ali Zardari’s top aides announced that the Pakistani President could remain under the care of doctors at an American hospital in Dubai for another “two days or even more than two weeks." Meanwhile, President Zardari spoke with a journalist on Friday, confirming that he was “fine” and would return to Pakistan “soon.” Interior Minister Rehman Malik staved off rumors that Zardari’s departure to Dubai was part of a “soft coup” attempt. In response to Zardari’s absence and coup speculation, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif asked Pakistanis to “unite against martial law, saying the country could not afford yet another dictatorial regime.”[4]
FATA
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Armed gunmen killed the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) Khyber agency coordinator in Jamrud subdivision on Thursday.[5]
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“Extremists” reportedly kidnapped twelve people, including “truck drivers and laborers,” from Landi Kotal, Khyber agency on Friday.[6]
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A landmine explosion injured one Pakistani soldier in the Talai area of Kurram agency on Friday.[7]
TTP Arrests
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Security forces arrested nine suspected terrorists “affiliated” with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) during several raids in Islamabad on Thursday. A number of the suspects allegedly belong to the TTP Swat Chapter.[8]
Karachi Violence
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Three soldiers in the paramilitary Rangers force were killed by a roadside bomb in Karachi on Friday morning. Four other soldiers were wounded.[9]
Terror Plot Foiled
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Intelligence agencies reportedly thwarted a “large-scale terror bid planned for Lahore during Muharram” targeting Shia Muslims and detained a would-be suicide bomber in addition to a finding a suicide vest and 16 kilograms of explosives. Sources confirmed that intelligence agencies were tipped-off to the would-be suicide bomber’s plans after they intercepted a phone call to the man from Waziristan.[10]
Bin Laden Family
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The three wives and eight children of deceased al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden have been released from Pakistani custody and are reportedly “free to leave Pakistan,” according to Pakistani officials. Two of bin Laden’s wives are expected to return home to Saudi Arabia, while another may be allowed to move to Qatar after being refused admission to her native Yemen.[11]