Indian soldiers allegedly wound Pakistani during LoC firing, claim firing is retaliatory; Pakistan frees 337 Indian fisherman; By-election results released for August 22, PML-N leads the way; CIA requests extradition of suspected extremist; Information Minister claims no strings are attached for dialogue with militants, TTP spokesman claims TTP will discuss possibility of talks; “Taliban in Khurasan” releases new issue of Azan magazine; India to train Afghan troops; Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif delays militant executions; Two people killed, 15 wounded in IED attack in Karachi; Details of new National Security Council released; Body of journalist identified in Karachi.
Line of Control Clashes
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According to the Express Tribune, Indian soldiers opened fire across the Line of Control (LoC) near Poonch Sector on Friday, injuring a Pakistani citizen. On the other hand, Indian government sources claim that Pakistani forces fired across the border, injuring a woman and child on the Indian side of the border. The sources did not specify where the firing occurred along the LoC.[1]
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After another Pakistani soldier was allegedly shot and killed by Indian forces near Rawal Kot sector on Thursday, Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani met with Indian High Commissioner TCA Raghavan and conveyed his concern over the continuing LoC tensions. Indian forces called the firing in Rawal Kot a “retaliatory” firing initiated after Pakistan began firing across the LoC.[2]
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On Friday, Pakistan freed 337 Indian fishermen who had been held for violating territorial waters, as a gesture of good faith amid the ongoing LoC dispute.[3]
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Talks on constructing a pipeline involving Pakistan and India have been postponed due to ongoing border clashes, according to sources quoted by a Friday Express Tribune article. The U.S. backed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline will reportedly cost $10 billion to build. Representative from the U.S. State Department and Chevron had invited Pakistan to India to speak about the pipeline on August 22, but Pakistan declined in light of the LoC tensions, delaying the talks.[4]
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According to Afghan Vice-President Karim Khalili on Friday, India is prepared to provide support and training to Afghan security forces past 2014. Khalili met with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during a three day visit to India this week, and noted his confidence in Indian support after 2014.[5]
By-elections
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The Election Commission of Pakistan on Friday announced the majority of the results of the August 22 by-elections, with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz winning the most seats, the Pakistan Peoples Party coming in second, and the Pakistan Tehreek-Insaf party coming in third. The PML-N won five National Assembly and 13 provincial seats, while the PPP won three NA seats and 4 provincial seats. The PTI won two NA seats. The ECP has also called for re-polling in NA-5 (Nowshera) and NA-27 (Lakki Marwat) after women were initially barred from voting in the polling districts by local elders. According to an article in The News on Friday, turnout was low in both urban and rural areas, standing around 11 percent and 15 percent respectively.[6]
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According to Naeem Sheikh, the PTI candidate in Karachi’s NA-254, the presence of the Pakistan Army did not quell election violence or validate election results, claiming that several PTI activists were beaten by other Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) activists.[7]
Peace Talks with Pakistani Taliban
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After Punjabi Taliban leader Asmatullah Muawiya noted that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s offer of peace talks “demonstrate maturity,” Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan spokesman Shahidullah Shahid stated that Muawiya was speaking for himself and therefore not representative of the entire Taliban, but that he was “closely tied to the group’s leadership,” according to a Washington Post report. The TTP will reportedly discuss peace talks with the government on Friday, but Shahid was categorical in saying the TTP would never agree to disarm.[8]
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According to Information Minister Pervez Rashid on Thursday the Pakistani government is still willing to offer peace talks to militants. Rashid also added that there will be no strings attached to the dialogue, or demands of surrender before the talks begin.[9]
Militancy
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According to a Friday The News report, the U.S. is seeking the extradition of Sheikh Aminullah, the founder of the Peshawar Jamia Taleemul Quran and Sunnah Ganj madrassa. Aminullah is reportedly the head of the Peshawar Regional Military Shura of the Afghan Taliban, and has links to al Qaeda. On Tuesday, the United States Treasury placed sanctions on the madrassa, calling it a hub of terrorist activity.[10]
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On Thursday, the “Taliban in Khurasan,” composed of both Afghan and Pakistani fighters, released its third issue of the English-language Azan magazine. The newest issue discusses the failure of democracy in Egypt, includes a copy of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan commander Adnan Rashid’s letter to Malala Yousafzai and includes recruitment offers to lone-wolf jihadists.[11]
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On Friday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced that Pakistan will delay any scheduled executions until September 9. Sharif’s statement comes a week after members of the Pakistani Taliban pledged to begin a war in response to executions of militants.[12]
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In Bhakkar, Punjab on Thursday, Ghulam Muhammad, the General Secretary of Jamaat Ahle Sunnat, was shot and killed on his way home when unknown men on motorcycles fired on him and fled.[13]
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Unknown militants targeted a security convoy on Kohat road in Peshawar on Friday, damaging a vehicle in the blast. No casualties were reported in the incident.[14]
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Two people, including a Pakistan Army soldier, were killed and another 15 were wounded on Thursday evening after an improvised explosive device (IED) planted on a motorcycle exploded in Korangi, Karachi. Another IED was found nearby the first explosion and defused. The explosives were targeting a Pakistan Army truck. MQM chief Altaf Hussain and President Asif Ali Zardari have condemned the blast.[15]
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Three bodies bearing torture marks were found on Friday throughout Karachi.[16]
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Five people, including two doctors and a Muttahida Quami Movement activist, were killed in separate firing incidents throughout Karachi on Thursday.[17]
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The body of a man found in Lyari, Karachi on Thursday has been identified as a journalist of the daily Tawar based in Mastung, Balochistan. The journalist was kidnapped in late March.[18]
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Karachi police conducted search operations throughout the city on Thursday, arresting 35 people in 50 separate raids.[19]
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On Thursday, bomb disposal officers defused two IEDs in Chaman, Balochistan. The explosives had been placed near polling stations for the by-elections.[20]
Drone Resolution
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On Friday, the Punjab Assembly passed a resolution condemning drone attacks in Pakistani territory.[21]
National Security Council
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In a meeting with the Defence Committee of the Cabinet on Thursday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced the formulation of a revamped National Security Council, noting that the new NSC will be chaired by himself, and will include relevant ministers, as well as the chiefs of staff of each branch of the military. The NSC will reportedly, “focus on the national security agenda with an aim to formulate a national security policy that will become the guiding framework for its subsidiary policies.”[22]
Domestic
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Minister of State for Privatisation Khurram Dastagir said before the National Assembly on Friday that the previous PPP-led government borrowed Rs 8,136 billion (approximately $80 billion) with no oversight. An investigation is being performed to uncover the use of the funds.[23]
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Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met with National Assembly Opposition leader Syed Khursheed Shah to consider new appointees for the National Accountability Bureau on Thursday.[24]
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Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced on Friday that the current freeze in recruitments for the Intelligence Bureau will end. Sharif also discussed and approved proposals to improve the Bureau, including the purchase of new equipment.[25]