CIA and ISI drone deal revealed; Supreme Court orders Musharraf to answer treason allegations; Musharraf given nomination in Chitral; PTI leader calls for IDP status for Tirah victims; Af-Pak border closes after fight between soldiers and police; Indian military tests nuclear capable missile; Over thirty militants, 23 soldiers, and numerous civilians die in weekend ground operation in Tirah valley; Four LI fighters die in Khyber agency raid; TTP control in Karachi harms ANP’s political chances, threatens activists; Indian hackers attack ECP website; South Waziristan TTP sets conditions for upcoming elections; Forces kill seven in Orakzai raids and airstrikes; Fatima group makes progress on stemming dangerous fertilizer; Militants detonate Uch gas pipeline; Militants fire rockets at Peshawar airport; Blasts and mortars injure civilians and police in Peshawar; Rangers capture TTP leader in Karachi; Dozens die in raids and targeted violence in Karachi; Indian authorities reinstate visa on arrival facility; Indian authorities free 17 Pakistani prisoners; U.S. General Demsey predicts Taliban to be military threat well after U.S. withdraws.
Drone Strikes
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According to a New York Times article released on Saturday, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Pakistani military officials signed a deal in 2004 to secretly cooperate on drone strikes, allowing the CIA to conduct strikes in Pakistan in exchange for granting control over targeting and target prioritization to the Pakistani military. The article explains that the deal was made prior to the first strike in South Waziristan that killed Pakistani Taliban leader Nek Muhammad in 2004, and was made to include conditions whereby the U.S. would never take credit for the attacks and the Pakistani government would either claim credit themselves or not comment. The article explained how internal CIA policy shifted following the deal, largely in response to increasing controversy over its interrogation programs, to killing, rather than capturing, militants. Early on, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) personnel needed to approve every strike, and limited U.S. drones to specific air corridors in the northwest tribal regions. The ISI stressed that drones not fly near Pakistani nuclear facilities or near training camps for India-focused militants in the mountains of Pakistani Kashmir. [1]
Domestic Politics
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On Monday, the Supreme Court ordered former President Pervez Musharraf to answer the numerous treason allegations brought against him for his role in the 1999 coup that brought him to power, and “suspending the constitution, and sacking senior judges” during his reign as president. The court banned him from leaving the country, and ordered either him or his lawyer to appear before the court during a hearing to be held on April 9th. If convicted for treason, Musharraf could face the death penalty. [2]
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As of Sunday, former President Pervez Musharraf has been cleared to contest elections in the northern constituency of Chitral, where his nomination papers were approved. Musharraf’s application to contest seats in Karachi and the Punjab town of Kasur were rejected by Election Commission officials, reportedly due to his previous conduct as president, including his sacking of senior judges and declaration of emergency rule in 2007. His application to compete from a constituency in Islamabad are still pending[3]
Internally Displaced Persons
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On Friday, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Iqbal Afridi called for the government to grant internally displaced persons (IDP) status to 50,000 people who have fled the Tirah valley to escape ongoing violence there. He said the families were struggling and that local authorities were unsympathetic, frequently requesting electronic identification cards that were never available in the valley, and called on the government to provide them relief packages. [4]
Pakistan-Afghanistan Relations
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On Sunday, the Afghan-Pakistan Torkham border was closed for an hour after an altercation between an Afghan police officer and Pakistani security forces. The border opened again after the Afghan commissioner apologized to Pakistani security authorities. [5]
Indo-Pak Relations
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On Sunday, the Indian military successfully test fired a nuclear-capable medium range Agni-II surface-to-surface missile from a coastal testing facility in the eastern state of Odisha. [6]
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On Friday, Indian authorities reinstated the “visa-on-arrival facility for Pakistani senior citizens” that was delayed two months from its originally scheduled start date in January. High tensions from conflict along the line of control (LoC) caused Indian authorities to unilaterally decide against the provision, but with eased tensions recently, the policy that permits 65 years and older persons to enter without an Indian sponsor for 45 days is now back in place. [7]
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On Monday, the Wall Street Journal released an article explaining why Pakistan has not yet granted Most Favored Nation (MFN) status to India, despite pledging to do so by the end of 2012. The article quotes Dr. Abid Sulehri, Executive director of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute, who explains that the primary obstacles delaying MFN status come from “non-tariff barriers to trade.” Pakistani farmers cannot compete with Indian agrarian subsidies, he explains, so the Pakistani agriculture lobby strongly resists MFN status. Sulehri further explains that because India does not recognize Pakistani labeling requirements, industrial standards, and safety codes, Pakistan developed a long list of banned exports from India. This list was also supposed to be phased out by 2013, but, like the MFN status, that process was delayed. [8]
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On Saturday, in a “gesture of good will,” Indian authorities freed seventeen Pakistani prisoners they were holding for various small crimes, primarily “violation of [the] Indian maritime belt.” [9]
Khyber Operation
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As of Monday morning, security forces’ operations over the weekend killed at least thirty militants in the Tirah valley, with friendly force casualties totaling at least twenty-three. An operation Sunday night killed at least ten militants in Akka Khel area of Bara sub-district, as a part of overall strikes against consolidated Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) positions. Frontier Corps (FC) and Pakistan Army soldiers conducted complex attacks with mortar fire, direct assaults, helicopters, and artillery, which cleared militants out of some of their hideouts in the TTP-controlled valley.[10]
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On Sunday, security forces killed four Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) militants in the Shahkot area of the Tirah valley. Security forces initially shelled the area, and but met fierce resistance from LI fighters, halting their ground advance. Five soldiers were injured in the assault. In another incident involving LI fighters, militants unsuccessfully attacked the FC Nargas check post in the Akakhel area of Bara, causing no casualties. [11]
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On Sunday, security forces killed three militants and destroyed two hideouts during a firefight in the Akakhel area of Orakzai agency. Pakistan Air Force jets then bombed the area, killing another three militants in the barrage. [12]
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On Friday, forces attacked militants in the Tirah valley of Khyber agency in a ground assault that resulted in the deaths of fourteen militants and four soldiers, and the wounding of five soldiers.[13]
TTP in Karachi
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According to an article on Monday in The News, the TTP’s presence in Karachi is significantly hurting the Awami National Party's (ANP) prospects of successfully contesting May’s general election. Violence against ANP workers and activists has made Pashtun-dominated suburban neighborhoods like Sohrab Goth, SITE, Orangi Town, and Baldia town, into “no-go areas” for the ANP. The article explains that because the TTP and the Fazlur Rehman-led Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) “share [a] Deobandi background,” the JUI-F is most likely to benefit from TTP support. [14]
Cyber Attack
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On Friday and Saturday, unknown hackers reportedly based in India attacked the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) website in an unsuccessful attempt to bring down the website and possibly steal data. While the attack on Friday successfully “defaced the home page,” the ECP moved its website to another server in Canada, and claims it was able to stem the attack and prevent any major security breaches.[15]
U.S.-Pakistan Relations
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On Monday, The Hill released and article discussing Indiana’s hold on $1.3 billion in grants to Pakistan's Fatima Group which were originally meant to support a new fertilizer factory the group was to build in the state. The article explains that Indiana’s Governor Mike Pence originally issued the hold because of concerns that Fatima group was not doing enough to stem smuggling of their fertilizer into Afghanistan, where it is used to make bombs. During the original congressional hearings, IED expert General Michael Barbero said the group had made no substantive changes to prevent their fertilizer from straying into the wrong hands, and the Pakistani government prevented direct contact with the group. However, Barbero has since said that Fatima is making a concerted effort to rectify the situation, by reworking their formula to make the fertilizer less explosive, ceasing sales and production in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, and beginning a fertilizer buy-back in some areas. [16]
Militancy
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On Friday, the Mullah Nazir Taliban faction hosted a meeting of nearly 50 electoral candidates in South Waziristan for the upcoming elections, wherein they assured the candidates that they could hold free elections and would be guaranteed safety, provided they complied with four key points. Those conditions were that “candidates will have to stage public rallies in an open place outside Rustam Bazaar,” that “candidates with no popular vote …should…not… contest the elections,” that “candidates have to avoid indecent criticism of their rivals,” and that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), and ANP candidates should “avoid open election campaigns, use of party flags and banners in public places” due to the security threats against them. [17]
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On Sunday, militants attached explosives to an 18 inch gas pipeline in Goth Mir Muhammad Bugti area of Nasirabad district and blew it up, cutting the gas supply to Uch power plant and ceasing power generation to the area. [18]
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On Saturday, motorcyclists shot and killed a policeman in Eidgah Khwar, Nowshera district. [19]
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On Friday, unknown militants detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) near Ghauriwala Police Station, Bannu province, destroying a mobile phone store and injuring the shopkeeper. [20]
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On Sunday, unknown militants blew up a CD shop at the main bazaar in Hangu district, destroying the shop but causing no casualties. [21]
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On Monday, unknown militants fired at least four rockets at Bacha Khan international airport in Peshawar, but the rockets fell short and landed around Canal Road, causing no significant damage and wounding a small girl. In another incident on Monday, a bomb detonated outside former senator Nasir Khan Afridi’s house in Hayatabad Phase-II area of Peshawar. [22]
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On Sunday, Peshawar police recovered the body of a man who was kidnapped in January and recently killed in Mathra area, Peshawar. In a separate incident on Charsadda Road, two blasts went off, injuring a police man. The first blast destroyed the generator at a bank, and a second bomb injured the policeman when he responded to the explosion at the bank. [23]
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On Friday, unknown attackers fired three mortar rounds into Hayatabad, Peshawar, killing one person, injuring four civilians and damaging a road and a house. [24]
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On Friday, two bombs detonated near a police check post in Matani, and another exploded in Khazana area, Peshawar, causing no damage or casualties. [25]
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On Sunday night, Gulshan-e-Maymar police killed one suspected terrorist and arrested another when they exchanged fire near Jangal Goth area, Karachi. Five people were also killed in various targeted attacks around the city. Motorcyclists shot and killed a man as he was collecting rent from his tenants in Muhammad Mustafa Colony, Karachi. Another man was killed when a motorcyclist shot him in Orangi Town. Separately, two motorcyclists shot and killed a young man near New Sabzi Mandi. Another man died when he was shot to death in a fight near his house in Hashim Goth. In FBR Colony, a man was shot when unknown attackers opened fire in a jirga, killing him. Police recovered the body of a man who was kidnapped, tortured, and shot in Surjani Town. [26]
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On Saturday, Karachi police arrested 25 people in a raid on the Badar Commercial area of Defence. During a separate raid in Ittehad Town area of Baldia Town, police killed two kidnappers and freed their victim. Two other suspected kidnappers escaped the raid, but police seized a small weapons cache. [27]
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On Friday, Rangers raided a compound in Sohrab Goth, Karachi, and killed one TTP leader, arresting two others. In another incident, police recovered the body of a man who was kidnapped and tortured to death near Northern Bypass, Karachi. Separately, police found a couple who had been tortured, shot dead, and dumped in Mawach Goth, Baldia Town, Karachi. Four more people were killed in various targeted attacks around the city. Unknown motorcyclists shot a man to death in Orangi Town as he was returning from Friday prayers. Another man was shot in a fight in his house in Mawach Goth. A third man was shot to death when militants opened fire on him in Old Golimar, Pak Colony. In an unrelated event, two motorcyclists killed a man in Shaheen Hotel in Shershah.[28]
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On Monday, four people were injured when a bomb detonated outside the NADRA office in Kharan, Balochistan, the second attack of its type in the last week. [29]
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On Saturday, Islamabad police recovered the body of a man who was kidnapped and shot in Koral Police Station limits, Islamabad. [30]
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On Sunday, three unknown gunmen opened fire and wounded two shop owners after robbing them and their store in Afandi Colony, Sadiqabad, Punjab. [31]