TTP expresses confidence in conclusion of APC conference; Pakistan will begin construction of Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline on March 11; Malik says LeJ involved in 80 percent of terrorist attacks in Pakistan; Lahore police issues most wanted terrorist list; Several dead in Karachi; Eight militants killed in Orakzai agency; Zardari meets with Hazara delegation; Pakistan releases Indian prisoners; PAF chief wants normal relations with India; WHO will hold a meeting in Egypt to discuss attacks on polio vaccination teams; Pakistani officials delays pursuing bailout package.
Taliban Negotiations
- Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan stated on Friday that the TTP council expressed confidence in the positive message sent by the All Parties Conference which convened on Thursday. Ehsan said that the Pakistani Taliban is still waiting for a positive response from the Pakistani military, stating the TTP is willing to endorse a ceasefire, but will only do so when the negotiations begin.[1]
Iran-Pakistan Relations
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According to a report by Express Tribune published on Friday, a senior Pakistani official stated that Pakistan and Iran will begin the construction of the controversial Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline on March 11. The report was published after Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari and Iranian leaders Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei met on Thursday. Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar issued a statement on Thursday saying “Pakistan has to do what it deems fit and what is in its national interest.” According to the report the gas pipeline is almost complete on the Iranian side.[2]
Militancy
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Speaking to the media in London on Friday, Interior Minister Rehman Malik claimed that Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), a terrorist group that claimed responsibility for the recent bombing on the Hazara community, is involved in 80 percent of terrorist activities in Pakistan. Malik also asked the Supreme Court and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to consider links between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and LeJ.[3]
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On Friday, Geo reported that the Pakistani government has decided to buy mobile scanners to detect explosive material concealed in vehicles to prevent additional terrorist attacks in Pakistan. The Interior Ministry prepared a purchasing summary which will be sent to Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf for approval.[4]
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On Thursday, the Lahore police published a most wanted terrorist list on their website including 109 terrorists from LeJ, the TTP, Sipha-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), and Tehrik-e-Taliban Qari Ubaidullah Group. The police issued a Rs10 million (approximately $102,000) reward for Matiur Rehman, an LeJ member wanted in connection with an assassination attempt on former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. [5]
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On Thursday, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) launched an aerial assault against militants in Mamuzai sub-district of Orakzai agency, killing at least eight militants and injuring 12 more. The assault also destroyed three militant hideouts.[6]
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Two people were killed on Thursday when an improvised explosive device detonated in Barsagi village of Mohmand agency.[7]
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On Thursday, a bomb disposal unit defused an 8kg improvised explosive device (IED) planted at Sarokhel Bridge near the Doaba Police Station in Hangu district. Police officials suspect the IED targeted the Thal Scouts who often use the route to travel between Thal and Kohat.[8]
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Karachi police captured four people in connection with targeted killings on Friday. A police official stated that the four people arrested confessed their involvement in over 30 killings and are wanted in 25 different cases of sectarian violence.[9]
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In Karachi, four people were killed and two others in injured on Friday. One person was shot and killed in Baldia Town and another in Orangi town. A gunshot victim was found dead on Napier Road in Old City. Unidentified assailants opened fire on two people in Hassan Square killing one and injuring the other. One person was injured in a firing incident in Mehmoodabad area.[10]
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On Friday, police arrested six suspects and recovered several weapons during a raid in Moach Goth area, Karachi.[11]
IMF Bailout
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On Friday, Pakistani officials decided to delay approaching the International Monetary Fund for a new bailout package following the advice of Finance Minister Saleem Mandviwalla and Governor State Bank of Pakistan Yaseen Anwar who suggested that Pakistan would not face a balance of payments crisis .[12]
Domestic Politics
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President Zardari visited Quetta on Thursday to hold a meeting with a delegation of the Hazara community. Zardari reiterated the government’s commitment to bring stability to the region and expressed his sympathies for the victims of the Quetta bombing.[13]
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Engineer Shaukatullah, governor of Khyber-Pakhtunkwha, asked Pakistani entrepreneurs on Friday to invest in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), saying that the government will provide security to facilitate investments.[14]
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On Friday, Pakistan’s former President Pervez Musharraf announced that he will return to Pakistan in March to run in parliamentary elections despite facing arrests warrants for his alleged involvement in the conspiracy to assassinate Benazir Bhutto, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan.[15]
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A report published by the Christian Science Monitor on Thursday examines extremism in textbooks used in Pakistani schools. According to the report, government authorized textbooks contain “blatantly anti-religious-minority, [and] anti-Western material, and many are worried the curriculum is fueling intolerance.” Yasmeen Ashraf, the principal of the Indus Valley School of Learning, believes that extremism can also be defeated “through the education system by properly developing [the] curriculum."[16]
India-Pakistan Relations
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On Friday, Pakistani officials released 11 Indian prisoners at the Wagah land border crossing. The prisoners were arrested for violating Pakistan's maritime boundary, and have completed their prison terms compliant with Pakistani law.[17]
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On Thursday, Tahir Rafique Butt, the Chief of the PAF, met Indonesian Defence Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro to discuss military cooperation. During the meeting, Butt briefed Yusgiantoro on the situation along the Line of Control (LoC) and stated that Pakistan wants to normalize relations with India, as stability in the region would be mutually beneficial.[18]
Polio
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Officials from the World Health Organization will meet with Islamic leaders in Egypt next week to discuss a strategy to stop attacks on Polio vaccination teams which have left 20 dead in Pakistan and Nigeria.[19]