Pakistan cutting support for peace talks; Survey says young Pakistanis favor Sharia law over Democracy, don’t trust government; Khan dropped as Finance Minister last minute; Rangers arrest four TTP members, two LeJ members; TTP detonates IED, kills four Rangers; Six, including PPP candidate, die in Karachi violence; Muslims and Christians clash; IMF calls for end to power subsidies.
Taliban Peace Talks
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On Tuesday, Afghan foreign ministry spokesman Janan Mosazai said that Pakistan is “cutting back on support” for peace talks with the Taliban. Mosazai said that Pakistan “is changing the goalposts” and setting “preconditions” that require Afghanistan to cut ties with India, that Afghan “army officers be sent to Pakistan for training and that a strategic partnership deal be signed immediately.” The Taliban recently sent ten members and their families to settle in Qatar, possibly with the intention of setting up an office there. Afghan President Hamid Karzai traveled to Doha, Qatar, this weekend with the intention of meeting those representatives, but Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that “nobody from the Taliban side met with Karzai.” [1]
Domestic Politics
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On Tuesday, the Guardian released a British Council survey of Pakistanis ranging from ages 18 to 29 asking their views on the political climate in Pakistan. The survey found that “94% thought the country was going in the wrong direction…71% had an unfavourable opinion of the government, 67% of parliament and 69% of political parties. By contrast, 77% of young people approve of the army, while 74% were favourably inclined towards religious organizations.” When asked about their opinions on democracy, 29% favor a democratic system, 32% favor military rule, and 38% favor rule by “Sharia.” When asked about their political leanings, two-thirds of women and 64% of men described themselves as religious or conservative, the remainder as liberal or moderate. [2]
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On Tuesday at the oath-taking ceremony for the interim cabinet, one of the candidates for minister, Dr. Mushtaq Khan, was asked to leave the oath table after news surfaced that his security clearance had not been approved, thus disqualifying him from taking the oath as the interim finance minister. [3]
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On Tuesday, angry Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) activists stormed a PPP office at Liaquat Bagh, Rawalpindi, to protest what they perceived to be the “unfair distribution of tickets” for the upcoming district elections. [4]
Militancy
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In an attack in Korangi No. 5, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants detonated a bomb killing four Rangers and injuring several others. Rangers and militants exchanged fire after the explosion. In another event on Tuesday, police arrested four TTP militants from Sultanabad, Manghopir. Police also seized a weapons cache and explosives during the raid. [5]
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On Wednesday, police in Surjani town, Karachi, arrested two Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) members accused of committing targeted killings. Police also seized a small weapons cache, explosives, and cameras in the raid. In another high profile arrest, police arrested a well-known “target killer,” Hanif Chatta from Karachi’s Landhi area; Chatta stands accused of killing over 50 people.
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On Tuesday, six people were killed in targeted attacks around Karachi. Two attackers shot and killed a PPP candidate at his home in Orangi Town. In another attack in Orangi Town, unknown attackers shot two men in a barber shot, killing one and injuring another. The man who died was an activist for the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM). Separately, a motorcyclist shot and killed a Shia man in his shop in Malir City. Two motorcyclists killed a man in another incident when he was walking in Padar Ground in Keamari. In another incident, a man was kidnapped and killed in Bantwa Gali on Lea Market Road. [6]
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On Wednesday, armed men stopped and kidnapped former Advocate General for Balochistan Salahuddin Mengal from Quetta’s Sariab Road as he was driving. In response, furious protestors blocked the road in anger at the administration, and then peacefully dispersed when the police came.[7]
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On Tuesday, armed men opened fire on a man as he rode his motorcycle, killing him on Daora Road, Peshawar. [8]
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On Tuesday, police raided a house in Kabal sub-district, Swat, and arrested a militant there. [9]
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On Tuesday, police raided a house in Garhi Habibullah, Manshera, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, found a girl kidnapped last month, and arrested her captor. The girl was then returned to her family.[10]
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On Tuesday, unknown attackers shot and killed a man on his way home in Charat, Nowshera, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. [11]
Religious Clash in Gujranwala
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On Wednesday, a fight between Muslims and Christians in Francis Colony in Gujranwala broke out and escalated in response to an incident Tuesday night when children were beaten, supposedly for playing loud music. After a group of Muslims attacked a church, a large group of Christians began protesting in the streets. Police broke up the brawl by aerial firing, and dispersed the crowds. [12]
International Monetary Fund
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International Monetary Fund (IMF) representatives and Pakistani finance officials will meet from April 14-15, during which time the IMF is expected to request that power subsidies “be gradually phased out within four years.” [13]