Millions of women not registered to vote, reports blame violence, cultural tension; Police arrest Musharraf over Benazir charges; Islamic clerics’ council calls on citizens to vote; Amnesty International calls on government to investigate political violence; India in talks with Iran about pipeline; Fraud case exposes thousands of fake bomb detectors; Pakistan Navy looking to China for new ships; Bomb rocks MQM office, killing four; U.K. jails three for terrorism after training in Pakistan; Four die in Karachi violence; Militants bomb gas pipeline; Bomb injures three in Jandul; Two police, six militants die in firefight.
Domestic Politics and Elections
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On Thursday, the Federal Investigation Agency formally arrested former President Pervez Musharraf on charges related to the Benazir Bhutto assassination case. Musharraf will remain under house arrest in his farmhouse outside Islamabad until his trial on Friday.[1]
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On Thursday, the Chairman of the Pakistan Scholars Council Allama Tahir Ashrafi announced that the over 300-person council, made up of Islamic clerics from various schools of Islam issued, an edict “declaring casting a vote compulsory under Islamic injunctions.” The scholars’ announcement is directly contradictory to the Taliban narrative that democratic government is contrary to Islam, and comes just before the May general elections.[2]
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On Thursday, Amnesty International called on the Pakistani government to investigate the numerous attacks against political targets and their supporters leading up to the general elections in May. Amnesty cited at least 37 political deaths and 183 more injuries as evidence that political violence is both rampant and continuing across Pakistan.[3]
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According to reports, of 180 million Pakistanis, only 37 million women, contrasted with 48 million men, are registered to vote in the upcoming elections. Reports point to threats of violence from various militant groups, bans from tribal leaders, and a widespread lack of identification cards as reasons preventing women from voting.[4]
Iran-Pakistan-India Pipeline
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On Wednesday, the spokesperson for the Iran Oil Ministry Alireza Nikzad-Rahbar announced that the Indian government is negotiating with Iranian government officials about potentially rejoining the pipeline project extending from Iran into Pakistan. India originally pulled out of the deal after threats of U.S. sanctions against Iranian oil dissuaded the Indian government from participating.[5]
Fake Bomb Detectors
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According to reports on Thursday, a British man sold approximately £50 million worth of fake bomb detectors to a number of countries, including Pakistan. The report explains that the bomb detectors are popular across Pakistan, despite being functionally useless. Authorities who use the detectors will need to replace them with working detectors, and the article speculates that many lives were lost across Pakistan from bombings that might have been prevented had the detectors been legitimate.[6]
Indo-Pak Relations
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On Wednesday, Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Sharat Sabharwal met with interim Punjab Chief Minister Najam Sethi at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat in Lahore, where the two discussed promoting peaceful dialogue and bilateral cooperation.[7]
Pakistan Navy
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On Wednesday, Defense News published an article about the stunted growth of the Pakistan Navy, particularly discussing Perry frigates that Pakistan hoped to receive from the U.S. The article explained that tensions between the U.S. and Pakistan, as well as the U.S. sensitivity to Indian concerns, as India would strongly protest the arms deal, likely means the U.S. will not give Pakistan the six Perry frigates they are hoping for. As such, it is possible that the Pakistan Navy will turn to China for new naval armaments.[8]
Militancy
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On Thursday, a bomb detonated outside a Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) office in North Nazimabad, Karachi, killing four people and injuring nine others.[9]
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On Thursday, three British Muslims who trained in Pakistani terror camps between 2010 and 2012 were jailed in London for inciting and participating in terrorism.[10]
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According to reports on Thursday, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) distributed fliers across parts of Peshawar, Buner, and Karachi warning voters against participating in elections, on threat of violence. TTP spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan called democracy un-Islamic and pledged that the TTP will continue to fight against democracy and its proponents.[11]
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On Wednesday, a policeman was killed and another injured in a bomb attack in Tor Ghar’s district headquarters, Judbah, in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.[12]
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On Wednesday, three people were injured in a bomb blast in Jandul, Lower Dir district.[13]
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On Wedensday, two policemen and two civilians were gunned down in targeted attacks in Karachi. One policeman was killed and another injured when they were shot in Sohrab Goth by unknown motorcyclists. Another police officer was shot to death in Manghopir by motorcyclists. In North Karachi, four motorcyclists shot and killed a man outside a shop. In a separate attack, a man was gunned down in Korangi Industrial Area. On Thursday, over 500 Karachi Rangers arrested several militants during a mass operation in Sohrab Goth’s Faqeera Goath and Shahfaisal’s Green Town.[14]
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On Thursday, two policemen and six militants died in a firefight in Babra Banda area, Karak, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, after militants attacked their check post there.[15]
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On Wednesday, unknown militants blew up a gas pipeline in Rasheed Wagan area of Larkana, Punjab, cutting gas supply from Sui, Balochistan, to Rito Dero, Shahdad Kot, Qamber, Larkana and Mehar.[16]
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On Wednesday, a bomb in Jan Muhammad Road injured two people, in the eighth bombing in Quetta in just 24 hours, which totaled eight deaths and over forty injured casualties.[17]
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On Thursday morning, one person was killed and three others injured when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated on the road near them in Parachinar, Kurram agency.[18]
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On Thursday, militants injured two people in Noshki area, Balochistan, when they attacked them with a grenade outside an election office for the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).[19]
Iran-al Qaeda Relations
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On Wedensday, Reuters released an article explaining the deteriorating relationship between Iran and al Qaeda, specifically citing al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri’s chastising remarks against Iranian support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The article explains that, despite religious differences, Iran has previously hosted al Qaeda fighters and permitted their travel. However, the article reports that travel between Iraq and Pakistan continues, but that Iran would not condone anti-Western plotting in its territory.[20]