Thousands of NATO vehicles containers remain stranded at Karachi port; Senate Intelligence Committee leader says trust between U.S. and Pakistan “very low”; Pakistan Olympic mission denies scam involving “potential terrorists” being smuggled into London; U.S. drone kills 14 militants in North Waziristan; ISI chief to call for end to U.S. drone strikes in meeting with CIA chief; Pakistani government asks Supreme Court to dismiss order for prime minister to reopen corruption cases against President Zardari; Armed men attack NATO container trucks near Torkham border crossing; Gunmen in Balochistan’s Gwadar town kill eight Coast Guard personnel.
NATO Supply Route
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Karachi Port Trust (KPT) General Manager Azhar Hayat has said that no NATO containers or vehicles had left the KPT since Pakistan’s reopening of the ground lines of communication (GLOCs) on July 3. Hayat stated, however, that he expected the clearance process to begin this week. He also noted that NATO would incur over $26 million in storage charges, also known as demurrage charges, for storing its containers and vehicles at the KPT for an extended period of time. Although port authorities previously estimated that they could clear the backlog of stored containers in 24 days, they expect the process to take longer now due to the onset of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Currently, NATO has 3,851 vehicles and 1,983 containers stored at the KPT.[1]
Drone Strikes
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A U.S. drone fired at least six missiles at a compound owned by militant commander Sadiq Noor in the village of Dray Nashtar in the Shawal sub-district of North Waziristan on Monday, killing up to twelve militants with suspected ties to Hafiz Gul Bahadur. Torabi Markaz, the compound targeted in the attack, was being used as a training facility by militants, according to the Express Tribune. It is unclear whether Noor, a close ally of Bahadur, was killed in the attack.[2]
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Lt. Gen. Zahirul Islam, the new head of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, will meet with CIA director David Patraeus on August 2 to discuss the U.S. drone campaign in Pakistan, according to a Pakistani intelligence official. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the official said that the ISI chief will urge the U.S. to end drone strikes on Pakistani soil in favor of an alternative arrangement in which the U.S. provides a target list to Pakistan and then the country’s security forces carry out the attack.[3]
International Relations
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Between Sunday and Monday night, a barrage of artillery rounds fired from Pakistan hit Dangam district of eastern Kunar province in Afghanistan. Though no casualties were reported, the firing comes a day after four civilians were killed in the same area in shelling from inside Pakistan. Speaking with Pakistan’s ambassador to Kabul Muhammad Sadiq on Sunday, Deputy Afghan Foreign Minister Jawed Ludin issued a warning, saying “any continuation of such reported shelling against Afghan villages could have a significant negative impact on bilateral relations.” Kunar police Chief Ewaz Muhammad Naziri said 1,960 shells had hit the eastern province of Afghanistan in recent months, an accusation which the Pakistani government denies.[4]
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Speaking at the World Affairs Council on Monday, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein called trust between the U.S. and Pakistan “very low” and said she would like to see “an improved relationship.” She further described Pakistan’s reopening of the GLOCs as “a very good sign” but expressed concern with recent cross-border attacks emanating from Pakistan.[5]
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On Monday, the UK-based tabloid The Sun reported a scam in which Pakistani nationals would be brought into London as participants and officials tied to the Pakistani Olympic delegation. The scam, involving Lahore-based politician Abid Chaudhry and other officials, was allegedly bringing in “potential terrorists.” Aqil Shah, head of Pakistan’s Olympic mission, called the charges “baseless” and “an attempt to malign Pakistan.” Rehman Malik, advisor to the prime minister for internal affairs, created a team to investigate the charges and directed authorities to arrest those responsible for preparing fake passports and documents.[6]
Domestic Politics
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On Tuesday, the Pakistani government asked the Supreme Court to withdraw its July 12 order requiring Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf to reopen old corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari. The government’s statement said that the cabinet had not yet made a decision on the matter and that the prime minister was constitutionally bound by the advice of his cabinet. It also said that the court lacked the authority to summon the prime minister and that it could no longer initiate contempt of court proceedings against the prime minister.[7]
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Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said on Tuesday that holding individuals in contempt of court was an important tool for ensuring implementation of the judiciary’s orders. During the court’s hearing of petitions challenging the Contempt of Court Bill 2012, Chaudhry stated that Article 204 of Pakistan’s Constitution, which outlines the judiciary’s power to initiate contempt proceedings, permits the court, not parliament or the executive, to frame the judiciary’s use of contempt of court. Additionally, he noted that the law appeared to undermine the court’s jurisdiction and that the government’s hasty passage of the law was not correct.[8]
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The Frontier Corps (FC) on Tuesday submitted its reply to the Supreme Court denying that it had any missing persons in custody. The reply came in response to the Supreme Court’s order ten days ago requiring the FC to release eight missing persons allegedly taken by the FC from different parts of Balochistan. The FC also claimed that insurgents dressed in FC uniforms had committed “high profile acts of terrorism.” Chief Justice Chaudhry was not satisfied with the response and ordered paramilitary and civilian officials to appear before the court on Wednesday.[9]
Militancy
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More than twelve armed men riding motorbikes attacked a convoy of up to four container trucks carrying supplies to NATO troops in Afghanistan near the Torkham border crossing on Tuesday, killing two people and injuring three others. According to a local administration official, the container trucks were travelling through Kyber agency without a security escort when the assailants attacked the convoy near a market in Jamrud town on the outskirts of Peshawar.[10]
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Several people were injured in separate incidents of violence in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday. Four children were injured when a rocket landed inside a house in Darra Adamkhel. Meanwhile, unidentified assailants used timed bombs to blow up three shops in Swabi district’s Bacha village. Police near Peshawar’s border with Khyber agency also thwarted an attack by militants armed with heavy weapons on a checkpost in Bara Shekhan on Monday night.[11]
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Bomb disposal personnel in Karachi defused a second bomb planted on a motorcycle near the Chinese Consulate on Monday night, only hours after an earlier explosion near the consulate injured three people. According to local police, the second explosive device may have targeted Rangers personnel who were deployed to respond to the first explosion.[12]
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On Tuesday, acting upon a tip from a “target killer” arrested earlier, security forces in Karachi arrested eight suspects charged with murder, kidnapping, and extortion and seized several weapons in targeted raids carried out in Jannat Gul Town, Ali Village and 500-Quarters, Alfalah, and Shah Faisal Colony.[13]
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Pakistani security forces shelled two militant hideouts in Orakzai agency’s Mamuzai and Kotakhel areas on Tuesday, killing at least seven militants.[14]
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Eight Pakistani Coast Guard personnel were killed and another four injured when gunmen on motorcycles stormed the Pashookan check post near Gwadar, Balochistan on Saturday. No group has claimed credit for the attack. Meanwhile, on Monday, unidentified gunmen killed a civilian in the Rodanjo area of Kalat district in Balochistan.[15]
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Unidentified assailants in Landi Kotal, Khyber agency shot and wounded a civilian in Mazrina Sultan Khel on Sunday night as he returned home from the main mosque of Sultan Khel.[16]