Germany arrests Pakistani Spy; Afghans fire three shells into Pakistan; Suicide bomber kills 12, injures 31 in Peshawar; TTP increasing activity and influence in Karachi; Gunmen wound six in Gujranwala; Police defuse 3 IED’s in Peshawar; Four killed in Kurram clash; MQM man, 3 others killed in Karachi violence; Karachi Rangers arrest 100 in operation; IED in Karachi injures 2; Militants kidnap and torture polio worker; Musharraf’s bail extended, angry lawyers throw shoe in protest; “Nuclear Father” Khan not contesting elections; WHO announces 240,000 children unvaccinated for polio.
TTP in Karachi
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According to recent reports, TTP militants are dramatically increasing their efforts and abilities to engage in terrorist activities in Karachi. The article explains how the TTP had previously maintained a low profile in Karachi, using it as a rear-operations base, to seek medical treatment and raise money, but have recently switched to pursuing more aggressive violence in the city. In a change from the small scale crime and extortion they had been conducting, similar to other Karachi organized criminals outlets, TTP now actively threatens political parties and residents, especially in Manghopir. Militants are particularly active against three parties: the Awami National Party (ANP), the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), whom they view as “liberal.” Violence and intimidation have been so effective in some cases, that one MQM parliamentary member, Muhammad Aadil Khan will not even return to his constituency, for fear of his life. Despite the police’s insistence that the TTP does not wholly control parts of Karachi, the reports argue that TTP influence is significant. They say that the TTP has begun operating an alternative justice system in Karachi, similar to that it operates in the tribal areas. In certain areas, they post fliers, including phone numbers, which locals can call if they need help. Some local Pashtuns say they consider the TTP “relatively more appealing” than other political parties and crime syndacites, who also plague the area with extortion and violence. [1]
Pakistani Arrested in Germany for Spying
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On Thursday, German authorities arrested a Pakistani man “identified only as Umar R.” in Bremen, accusing him of working for Pakistan main spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), trying to steal “secret studies about the steering and navigation of… drones.” [2]
Afghanistan-Pakistan Relations
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On Friday, three artillery shells fired from Afghanistan landed in Dadum village in North Waziristan, Pakistan. Tensions are high in the region after the Afghan government canceled a military exchange trip to Quetta because of claims that nearly fifty rockets from Pakistan landed across the border on Monday and Tuesday. [3]
Militancy
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On Friday, a suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest near the U.S. consulate in Saddar area of Peshawar, killing twelve people and injuring at least 31, including Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Frontier Constabulary’s (FC) Commandant, Abdul Majeed Marwat. Police say the attack was targeting Marwat’s convoy “when it stopped at a security check post at Fakhar-e-Alam Road.” Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan claimed responsibility for the blast, which, in addition to civilians, killed two Pakistan Army soldiers and an FC soldier.[4]
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On Friday, unknown gunmen opened fire and wounded six people, including Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Gujranwala district chief Bilal Qudrat Butt in Gujranwala, Punjab.[5]
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On Thursday, police in Peshawar defused three improvised explosive devices (IED). Police in the Mera Matani area defused two 15kg bombs that appeared to target police. Bomb disposal unit personnel defused a third bomb near Technical College Peshawar, within Badaber Police Station’s limits.[6]
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On Thursday, four people, including a civilian, were killed in a clash between two armed groups in Kurram agency. Gunmen opened fire and killed three Shabar Kanday tribesmen and a passerby. One of the gunmen was killed when the tribesmen returned fire.[7]
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On Thursday, motorcyclists in Karachi killed one MQM activist and injured two people when they opened fire on them outside a house in Mirchi Gali, Jodia Bazar. In another motorcycle attack, unknown gunmen shot and fatally wounded a Sindh administrative clerk outside his house in Kaghazi Bazar, Kharadar, Karachi In two separate incidents, police recovered a body in Essa Nagri, Aziz Bhatti and another in Northern Bypass, Surjani Town, after the two people were kidnapped, tortured, and killed. In a large operation in Metroville Frontier Colony , Rangers arrested over 100 people and seized a large arms cache. In another incident, two people were injured in Landhi No 4 when an IED detonated near a park. [8]
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On Friday, gunmen shot and killed senior lawyer Chaudhry Mohammad Khan near Fauji Foundation Hospital, Rawalpindi.[9]
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On Tuesday night, terrorists kidnapped and physically beat a polio worker in Khanna Bridge, Rawalpindi, before turning him into police at the Sadiqabad station under accusations of pick pocketing. The police then tortured him, and released him Wednesday night. [10]
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On Thursday, local administrative officials destroyed four militants’ houses in Halimzai sub-district, Mohmand agency. [11]
New Marine Unit Commissioned
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On Thursday, the Pakistan Navy commissioned the 3rd Pak Marines Battalion to operate out of Gwadar Port, in order to “enhance the security of vital assets and installations along the western coast.” The move comes after Pakistan recently transferred control of the port from a Singaporean company to a Chinese company. [12]
Domestic Politics
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On Friday, the Sindh High Court extended former President Pervez Musharraf’s pre-arrest bail for 21 days, and banned him from leaving the country without permission. Musharraf was met by angry lawyers calling him a “dictator” and demanding his execution as he entered the court room; one lawyer threw a shoe at him. Musharraf is currently involved in cases regarding the “murder of former governor and chief minister of Balochistan Nawab Akbar Bugti in August [2006] and the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto… in Rawalpindi in December 2007.” [13]
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On Friday, a spokesperson for Tehrik-e-Tahafuzz Pakistan, the political party led by Abdul Qadeer Khan, who built Pakistan’s first nuclear bomb, announced that Khan will not contest elections in May. Khan intends to support his political allies and party, but decided not to run himself.[14]
Polio Vaccinations
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According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are still over 240,000 Pakistani Children in North and South Waziristan regions who missed the U.N. polio vaccinations. [15]