Pakistan Security Brief - August 13, 2012

U.S. Justice Department evidence reportedly links al Qaeda member in Spain terror plot to terrorist activities in Afghanistan and Pakistan; Pakistan gives Afghan delegation access to senior Taliban leader; President Obama signs Haqqani Network Terrorist Designation Act of 2012; Pakistani government appeals Supreme Court order requiring Prime Minister Ashraf to reopen old corruption cases against President Zardari; Pakistan and India to consider meeting between spy agency chiefs; Prime Minister Ashraf emphasizes importance of Iranian-Pakistani economic projects like gas pipeline; Pakistani fighter jets bomb targets on separate days in Orakzai, killing 23 suspected militants.

Spain Terror Plot

• New details have emerged regarding the August 2 arrest of three suspected al Qaeda members in Spain for allegedly planning a terrorist attack in Europe. In a court statement released on Saturday, Spanish National Court Judge Pablos Ruz discussed evidence provided by the U.S. Justice Department that linked one of the al Qaeda members, a Russian of Chechen descent named Elder Magomedov, to terrorist activities in Afghanistan and in Pakistan’s Waziristan in 2010. On Saturday, Spanish authorities also released a video in which suspected al Qaeda members appear to be training for a bombing using a model plane. Additionally, authorities released photographs of an underground space at the La Linea house where 5.3 ounces of an explosive substance was discovered.[1]      

Afghan-Pakistan Relations

• According to Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s national security advisor, an Afghan delegation met with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in Pakistan two months ago, a potential signal of Pakistan’s willingness to aid Afghan reconciliation efforts. Afghan officials met with Baradar, the Taliban’s former second-in-command who was detained by Pakistani intelligence agents in 2010, to gauge the Taliban’s position on peace talks with the Afghan government. Afghan officials have long demanded access to Baradar, believing he could play a key role in negotiations with the Taliban leadership. A Western official described Pakistan’s move as “a step in the right direction” toward furthering Afghan-Pakistan collaboration on the issue, yet also noted that the Afghan government would not be satisfied until Pakistan released Baradar into Afghan custody and permitting greater access to other Quetta Shura leaders.[2]  

U.S.-Pakistan Relations

• On Friday, U.S. President Barack Obama signed the Haqqani Network Terrorist Designation Act of 2012. The legislation requires U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to submit a report within a month’s time stating whether the Haqqani Network meets the criteria of a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). Although the State Department has issued sanctions against key members of the organization, it has resisted designating it as an FTO, citing the need to maintain “multiple channels and contacts” for pursing Afghan reconciliation. Announcement of the legislation came a day before a Pakistani official spoke publicly of Pakistan’s repeated requests for the U.S. to seal the border on the Afghan side before it could launch a security operation in North Waziristan agency. His comments referenced recent discussions between U.S. and Pakistani officials regarding the possibility of a joint operation targeting Haqqani Network militants, though Pakistani officials have denied considering such an operation.[3]   

Contempt of Court Notice and Domestic Politics

• The Supreme Court will hear the government’s appeal, filed last Wednesday, concerning the court’s July 12 order requiring Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf to reopen old corruption cases against President Zardari. The appeal followed the court’s decision last Wednesday to issue a contempt of court notice to Ashraf requiring him to appear before the court on August 27 and explain why he had not written to Swiss authorities in regard to corruption allegations leveled against Zardari. Meanwhile, on Sunday, former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani stated that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) would not take the sacking of another prime minister “lying down.” Gilani said Ashraf’s removal would destabilize the country and noted that he was against Ashraf appearing before the court.[4]

• On Friday, President Zardari formed a three-member parliamentary committee to visit Sindh province and reassure Pakistani Hindus of their safety and well-being in Pakistan. The president’s decision came after reports surfaced last week of 60 Hindu families migrating to India due to fears of persecution. Although other reports stated that the families were in fact pilgrims traveling to India for an annual religious event, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan on Friday expressed concern for the situation and called on the government to address the law and order situation of religious minorities in Sindh and Balochistan.[5] 

International Relations

• Express News reported that India and Pakistan are considering arranging a meeting between the heads of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). The meeting, part of a series of confidence-building measures both countries are considering to improve relations, would precede Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s expected visit to Pakistan later this year. A Pakistani official, however, stated that it was “too early” to know whether a meeting would in fact take place, suggesting only that Western countries, especially the U.S., were pushing for greater interaction between the long-time rivals in anticipation of NATO’s scheduled withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014.[6]      

• Officials in Pakistan’s finance ministry were critical of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) decision last week to require President Asif Ali Zardari to sign a letter of intent before Pakistan could receive financial assistance from the organization. The IMF’s move—an unusual one, since a country’s finance minister typically signs the letter on behalf of the country’s state bank—came in light of Pakistan’s ongoing political situation and upcoming elections. Finance ministry officials, however, responded that the IMF’s decision unfairly singled out Pakistan, and that regardless of the country’s political situation, its leadership was obligated to uphold previous international treaties and agreements. Officials also criticized the IMF’s meetings with various Pakistani stakeholders without first consulting the finance ministry and foreign office.[7]

• Speaking with Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan Alireza Haqiqian, Pakistani Prime Minister Ashraf called for an immediate end to the $10 billion ceiling on Iranian-Pakistani trade. During his meeting, Ashraf spoke of the two countries’ deeply rooted ties and emphasized the importance of continuing with their bilateral projects, including the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline. He also conveyed Pakistan’s interest in working with Iran during the upcoming Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit being held in Tehran.[8]   

Militancy

• Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan dispelled rumors of a rift in the organization by stating on Friday that there were no differences between TTP head Hakimullah Mehsud and leading commander Waliur Rahman. Responding to claims by the Awami National Party that the TTP was willing to hold talks with it, Ehsan said the country’s current rulers were secular and that, as a result, the TTP would hold no talks with any political party. He added that the TTP remained a formidable force in South Waziristan and attacks against NATO supply containers would continue.[9]

• Pakistani security forces targeted militant hideouts in different parts of Orakzai agency on Sunday, killing 10 militants. The attacks were carried out by fighter jets on the areas of Mamuzai, Nindar Mela, and Barmela. According to officials, security forces have cleared 92 percent of the agency. On Friday, jet fighters targeting four hideouts in the Mamuzai area killed 13 militants and injured another eight.[10]

• On Sunday night, unknown militants fired rockets and small arms at locations around Kalat, Balochistan. Elsewhere, militants launched rockets at a military encampment in Panjgor. Security forces returned fire in both instances, and no casualties were reported.[11]

• A blast in the Takhta Baig area of Jamrud sub-district, Khyber agency destroyed a vehicle carrying NATO supplies on Saturday. The explosion reportedly took place in the container, injuring the driver and his assistant.[12]

• On Sunday, three military personnel were killed and three others injured after their vehicle hit a landmine in the North Waziristan agency’s Mir Ali.[13]

• A Levies forces vehicle struck a landmine in the Phelawagh area of Dera Bugti, Balochistan on Sunday, killing one Levies personnel and injuring two others.[14]

• On Saturday, suspected militants detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) wrapped around a donkey in Jalka Mela bazaar in Orakzai agency’s Ferozkhel area. Three shops were destroyed but no casualties were reported.[15]

• Following a tip off, members of an anti-Taliban militia raided a house in the Akhorwal village in Darra Adamkhel, Orakzai capturing a Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commander.[16]

• Incidents of violence in Karachi over the weekend left four people dead. On Saturday, a firing incident at Jinnah Hospital left one person dead and two others injured. On Sunday, three people, including a Muttahida Qaumi Movement worker and a policeman, were shot dead in the New Karachi, North Nazimabad, and Sharafi Goth area.[17]