Pakistan Security Brief - May 31, 2013

 TTP confirms Wali-ur-Rehman’s death, White House declines to confirm; Militant assault in Orakzai kills 23; Three bombs detonate in Bannu; IED kills anti-Taliban militia member; Pakistani military operations in Kurram and Khyber agencies continue; Gang apprehended stealing from NATO containers; Indian PM optimistic in talks with incoming PM Nawaz Sharif; Pervez Khattak elected chief minister in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa; Imran Khan urges crack down on drones; JUI-S chief criticizes drones; Musharraf to remain in Pakistan; Ambassador Dobbins visits Pakistan.

Death of Top Taliban Leader

• The TTP on Thursday confirmed the death of Wali-ur Rehman, which occurred on May 29, and declared they were withdrawing from peace talks with the incoming Nawaz Sharif-led Pakistani government. According to TTP spokesman Ehanullah Ehsan, the TTP will “seek revenge from Pakistan and the United States and teach them a lesson.” According to several Taliban commanders from Rehman’s home agency of South Waziristan, Taliban commander Khan Said was picked by six commander's from Rehman's faction to replace him, though this decision has not been approved by the central TTP leadership, indicating the possibility of internal divisions within the TTP. The Obama administration has not yet confirmed the death of Wali-ur-Rehman.1

Militancy

• On Friday, an assault by approximately 100 militants on a security post in Mamuzai, Orakzai agency, left 3 Pakistani soldiers and 20 militants dead, with another 15 soldiers and 13 militants wounded. Security sources believe that the attack occurred in response to the death of Wali-Ur-Rehman’s, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) second-in-command, who was killed on Wednesday in a U.S. drone strike.2

• Three blasts rocked Bannu district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, on Friday, killing one security guard, and wounding three others. Two of the blasts occurred one after the other in Bannu’s Janikhel area. Militants also demolished a girls’ primary school in the Maryan area with explosives, though no casualties have been reported.3

• An Improvised Explosive Device (IED) exploded in Peshawar early on Friday morning, killing a Masho Khel anti-Taliban milita member. 4

• The Pakistan Air Force killed 18 militants and destroyed five militant shelters in airstrikes on Thursday in the Parachamkani region of Kurram agency, as part of a Pakistani military operation in the area which began on May 11. 5

• In conjunction with the air strikes, Pakistani security forces also managed to regain a footing on the western Maidan area of Khyber agency. Following a Thursday night assault by militant forces, in which three soldiers were killed, Pakistani forces gained control of Mohammadi Top. According to an official, over 20 militants were killed in the operation. 6

• A gang was apprehended while stealing from NATO containers at a warehouse according to a local police official on Thursday on the Grand Trunk Road in Nowshera district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.7

Domestic

• PTI chairman Imran Khan on Thursday urged Nawaz Sharif to make ending U.S. drone strikes within Pakistan the primary goal of Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party. While speaking at a press conference in Lahore, Ejaz Chaudry, PTI’s Punjab President, quoted Khan as saying he urged the PML-N to “fulfill its responsibility” as a party running on a platform against General Pervez Musharraf’s tacit assent to U.S. drone strikes, and end all U.S. strikes within Pakistan’s territory as it enters office next week. If negotiations fail to have the desired effect, Khan also noted that the use of “force,”should be considered against U.S. drones.According to Dr. Shireen Mazari, information secretary of PTI, “the latest drone attack in North Waziristan sends the signal that U.S. cares a hoot for the mandate of Pakistani people.” Mazari also claimed that U.S. drone strikes are a clear violation of international and human rights law. 8

• Pervez Khattak, of Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, was elected as the chief minister of Pakistan’s Khyber-Pahktunkhwa province on Friday. Khattak’s closest challenger was Maulana Lutfur Rehman, of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islami-Fazi (JUI-F), who secured 37 votes to Khattak’s 84 votes. 9

• General Musharraf expressed his desire to remain in Pakistan and face trial for his role in the Benazir Bhutto and Akbar Bugti murder cases. On Friday, according to All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) Information Secretary Aasia Ishaq, Musharraf, the chief of the APML, stated, “It is not in my nature to run away or show my back”10

Indo-Pak Relations

• Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced on Friday that early signs indicate that Pakistani prime minister-in-waiting Nawaz Sharif is committed to a peaceful bilateral relationship between the two nations. According to Singh, immediately following the results of the May 11 elections in Pakistan, Singh telephoned Sharif to congratulate him on his success. Both Singh and Sharif also extended invitations to visit each other’s respective countries. 11

U.S.-Pakistan Relations

• On Friday, in a meeting in Lahore with James Dobbins, U.S. special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif urged the U.S. to reach an understanding with Pakistan regarding drone strikes, two days after Wali-ur-Rehman was killed by a strike in North Waziristan. According to Sharif, Pakistani support for the U.S.'s exit strategy in Afghanistan could hinge upon American cooperation on drone strikes within Pakistani territory. 12

• Ambassador Dobbins also visited other prominent Pakistani officials during his two day stay in Pakistan, including Chief of Army Staff Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, as well as Foreign Secretary Syed Jalil Abbas Jailani. According to the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Dobbins discussed Pakistan’s recent elections and the U.S.'s 2014 troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. 13