India investigates bombing in Hyderabad, Pakistan offers condolences; Zardari addresses U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, says drones counterproductive; General Allen says Pakistani tribal areas greatest threat; U.S. Army plans to build drug combating centers in Karachi, Islamabad; Khar expresses satisfaction with trajectory of U.S.-Pakistan relations; LeJ leader Malik Ishaq arrested over Quetta bombings; FC raid kills militants in Quetta; IED in Quetta injures security guards; Karachi police arrest wanted gangster Rashid Rekha; Raids in Karachi capture ten, including TTP fundraiser; Three killed in Karachi targeted killings; Nuland warns Pakistan of signing agreement with Tehran; Afghan officials refuse extradition of Maulvi Faqir Muhammad; Foreign office spokesperson states Pakistan is committed to bringing peace to Afghanistan; General Asim Bajwa denies allegations of involvement with LeJ.
India Bombing
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Indian officials are investigating the two bomb blasts which killed over 12 people in Hyderabad, India on Thursday. Officials from the National Investigation Agency and National Security Guards arrived in Hyderabad to aide in the investigation. Although the investigation is not yet complete, Indian media outlets have reported that the Indian Mujahideen, a banned Islamist terrorist organization with possible links to Pakistan, may have been involved. Victoria Nuland, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, said the U.S. is prepared to offer assistance to Indian officials and will help India combat terrorism while India’s interior minister stated that India had prior intelligence of a possible attack. In response to the attack, officials from Pakistan’s foreign ministry stated that “Pakistan fully understands and shares the pain and agony of the people of India.” [1]
U.S.-Pakistan Relations
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On Thursday, Pakistan’s President, Asif Ali Zardari, addressed a delegation of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Islamabad; he called drone strikes are counterproductive and stressed the need to find an alternative solution. Spokesperson for the president, Farhatullah Babar, said that Zaradari emphasized cooperation between the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Afghan security forces to bring stability and peace to the region and voiced concerns over attacks on Pakistani security forces originating from Afghanistan. During his address, Zardari said that Pakistan has developed a strategy to counter improvised explosive devices (IED), but needs international aid and additional resources to do so.[2]
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In U.S. General John Allen’s first public address after formally announcing his retirement on Tuesday following the end of his command in Afghanistan, Allen called Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) the “principal operational threat to American forces in Afghanistan.” He explained that militants against the Afghan and Pakistani governments use the FATA as a staging ground for terror attacks and operations against civilian and military populations.[3]
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In the face of both sequestration and growing national austerity, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers showed its commitment to combating the drug trade in Pakistan with plans to build major, multimillion dollar command centers in Islamabad and Karachi. The Wired article announcing the projects on Thursday explained that U.S. Army sees the war on terror and the War on Drugs as intertwined, and cutting resources for terror groups by removing drugs as a revenue source as an operational priority. [4]
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Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar expressed her satisfaction regarding U.S.-Pakistan relations while meeting with U.S. Ambassador Richard Olson and U.S. Senator Robert Menendez. Khar said she hoped that the relations between the two countries would strengthen on the basis of mutual interests while Menendez assured continued support for the people of Pakistan.[5]
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On Thursday, State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland warned Pakistan against signing a “sanctionable” agreement for the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline. Nuland, however, did say that the U.S. will help Pakistan overcome its energy crisis.[6]
Militancy
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On Friday, police arrested Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) leader Malik Ishaq in Rahim Yar Khan, in connection with the Hazara attack in Quetta on Saturday that killed at least 90 people and wounded hundreds more. Police detained Ishaq under preemptive law, and sent him to a high security jail for one month.[7]
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On Friday morning, Frontier Corps (FC) paramilitary soldiers raided a compound in the Nawan Killay area of Quetta and killed two militants suspected of being involved with the Hazara bombing last week. Soldiers seized an extensive arms and explosives cache during the raid, which left four soldiers and four militants injured.[8]
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Three security guards were injured when unknown attackers detonated a remote-controlled bomb in Quetta’s Bolan district on Thursday as the guards drove by.[9]
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FC soldiers and police arrested over 200 people in Bara sub-district of Khyber agency on Thursday in a massive operation that detained suspects in the Gudmalang, Droadda and Baazgarah areas. Suspects were shifted back to the FC base at Fort Salop.[10]
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One person was killed by a mortar shell fired by unknown attackers in the Takhtaki area of the Tirah valley in Khyber agency on Thursday.[11]
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Unknown armed men shot and killed a policeman and his cousin in the Darband area of Mansehra district on Thursday while they were walking between villages.[12]
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Three tribesmen were killed in two clashes in the Kashmore and Umarkot areas of Sukkur district, Sindh Province on Thursday. Police said one member of the Tunia clan died from gunshot wounds and another two people in the Dar tribe were shot and killed in separate fights within their respective groups.[13]
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On Thursday night, a group of gangsters in Karachi opened fire on paramilitary Rangers personnel who were responding to gunshots, and in the ensuing battle, Rangers killed a wanted gang leader named Rashid Rekha. [14]
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Three people were killed in assorted incidents of gun violence in Karachi on Friday, including local Pakistani Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Maqsood Ahmed who was shot in the Khwaja Ajmer Nagri area. One man was shot and killed in Korangi, while another was killed by unknown attackers in the SITE area.[15]
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On Thursday, police conducted two targeted operations in Faqeera Goth and Jamali Goth and detained at least ten suspects accused of targeted killings, robbery, extortion, and murder. Among those captured was Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) activist Anwar Khan Mehsud, who was a fundraiser for the TTP’s Wali-ur-Rahman group. Police also recovered weapons, explosives, and narcotics from the raids.[16]
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Early Friday morning, unknown, armed men killed a man and abducted two women in the Naushahro Feroze area of Moro, Sindh.[17]
Afghan-Pakistan Relations
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On Thursday, officials from the Afghan government refused Pakistan’s request for the extradition of arrested TTP commander, Maulvi Faqir Mohammad. Officials from the Afghan foreign ministry stated the there is no agreement concerning extradition between the two countries. An article by the Express Tribune, states that Afghan foreign ministry spokesperson, Janan Musazai, said that Pakistan had refused to return Taliban prisoners to Afghanistan, because it said no extradition agreement existed, during a trilateral conference held earlier last week, and that the Afghan rejection could be a tit-for-tat response.[18]
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Foreign Office Spokesperson, Moazzam Ahmed Khan, stated on Thursday that Pakistan is committed to bringing permanent peace in Afghanistan. Khan also mentioned that the U.S. and Pakistan have been working together to develop a strategy ensuring a stable passage for the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.[19]
Terrorism
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On Thursday, Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) General Asim Bajwa said that the Pakistani army was not in contact with any militant organizations to include LeJ in response to recent allegations by human rights organizations claiming that the army has been negotiating with LeJ.[20]
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On Thursday, the leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman, said that a delegation of tribal elders will meet with government officials during an All Parties Conference scheduled for February 28. Rehman said the meeting will be held to discuss a strategy for peace negotiations between the government and militants.[21]
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Peshawar High Court (PHC) Chief Justice Dost Muhammad Khan stated on Thursday that the recent terrorist attacks on the Hazara community indicate a failure of Pakistani security forces and intelligence agencies. Khan said the country is facing many challenges because of the political differences between Pakistani leaders and suggested that all the parties should put aside political differences to defeat terrorism and ensure the survival of Pakistan.[22]
Reserves fall
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Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves fell from $13.395 billion to $13.058 billion in one week.[23]