Indian officials claim to have uncovered links between LeT and ISI; Pakistan to close all of its government offices in the vicinity of the LoC; Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif meets with Prime Minister of Azad Jammu Kashmir; Indian and Pakistani forces continue to exchange fire across the LoC; U.S. court sentences imam to 25 years in prison for supporting Pakistani Taliban; Afghan President Hamid Karzai visits Pakistan; TTP fires Punjabi Taliban chief for voicing approval of proposed talks with the government; Interior Minister claims there will be no preconditions for talks with the TTP; Intelligence agencies believe terrorists may be plotting attack on Sukkur; Committee submits report on DI Khan jailbreak; Police detain 29 suspects in Bahakkar; Police seize 12 tons of explosives materials in Khyber agency; Police detain associate of August 15 Islamabad attacker Malik Sikander
Line of Control Dispute
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Indian security officials claim they have revealed links between Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence to smuggle counterfeit money into India and recruit fighters. The intelligence is based on leads generated during interrogations of Abdul Karim Tunda, an LeT-linked militant detained along the Nepalese border last week. Indian officials also captured two more suspects connected to the counterfeiting scheme. Mohammad Abdul Bashir was arrested in Katihar district on Friday and Muhammad Alauddin was detained on Wednesday in West Bengal.[1]
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On Sunday, the government of Pakistan revealed that it will close all of its offices within 3 km of the Line of Control (LoC) for an indefinite period of time.[2]
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President Asif Ali Zardari met with the Azad Jammu Kashmir Prime Minister Chaudry Abdul Majeed on Sunday. Zardari appealed to the government of India to resolve LoC disputes via dialogue, rather than further LoC violations.[3]
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At approximately 0500 local time on Monday, Pakistani military forces exchanged fire with Indian troops in the Nakial Sector of Kotli.[4]
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Indian firing in the Kotli district allegedly killed two civilians on Sunday in Lanjot village. Pakistani troops returned fire.[5]
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Pakistani troops claim that ceasefire violations by Indian forces on Saturday killed a soldier in the vicinity of Kahuta Kallar, and wounded a woman in Poonch.[6]
U.S.-Pakistan Relations
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On Friday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to discuss the ongoing LoC incidents. Kerry separately assured Sharif of full U.S. support in Pakistan’s fight against terrorism.[7]
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On Friday, a court sentenced Florida-based imam Hafiz Khan to 25 years in prison for his role in providing approximately $50,000 to the Pakistani Taliban between 2008 and 2010. Khan was convicted earlier this year on four counts of providing material support to a terrorist organization.[8]
Afghan-Pakistan Relations
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Afghan President Hamid Karzai met with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad on Monday. Karzai solicited the government of Pakistan’s assistance in facilitating talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban. Peace negotiators from the Afghan government included in Karzai’s delegation have requested the government of Pakistan release former Taliban deputy leader Abdul Ghani Baradar, currently in Pakistani custody; Sharif did not comment on this request during his meeting with Karzai. After the meeting, however, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar signed an economic agreement with his Afghan counterpart to strengthen bilateral economic ties and increase trade. A second agreement may have been signed, but no details were immediately available. Although Karzai initially only planned to remain in Pakistan for one day, he has decided to extend his trip in order to continue dialogue between the Afghan delegation and senior Pakistani officials. Karzai will remain in Islamabad through at least Tuesday, when he will meet with Sharif again.[9]
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A Foreign Office spokesman announced on Sunday that the government of Pakistan is prepared to work alongside regional and international allies towards achieving peace in Afghanistan.[10]
Peace Talks with the Pakistani Taliban
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On Saturday, a Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) shura, headed by TTP leader Hakimullah Mehsud, decided to fire Punjabi Taliban chief Asmatullah Muawiya from his leadership position because he vocalized support for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s proposed peace talks. The group’s spokesman, Shahidullah Shahid commented, “He is respectable for us, but he has no relation with the TTP. The decision about the new head of Punjab Taliban will be taken in the next meeting of our decision makers.” The TTP shura has not yet announced his replacement. Meanwhile, Muawiya claims the TTP lacks the authority to make such a decision because the Punjabi Taliban has its own shura council.[11]
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Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali announced on Saturday that the government would set no preconditions for talks with the TTP.[12]
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Maulana Samiul Haq, sometimes referred to as the “father of the Taliban” announced on Monday that he was in favor of the government’s decision to pursue unconditional dialogue with the Taliban. He pledged to support the peace process.[13]
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Unnamed government sources assured the press on Monday that both the civilian government and Pakistan Army leadership are in agreement regarding the prioritization of peaceful dialogue with the TTP, rather than military action.[14]
Militancy
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Intelligence agencies alerted government officials on Monday that a terrorist attack may be imminent in Sukkur, Sindh province. Reports suggest a group of attackers has recently arrived in Sukkur from the FATA.[15]
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On Monday, the committee investigating the July 29 Dera Ismail Khan prison break submitted its report to the provincial government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The report concludes that security officials and prison guards failed to fulfill their responsibilities. The report also found that although the attack deliberately sought to free 14 inmates, it released approximately 200 others to cause a distraction.[16]
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Police detained 29 suspects on Sunday night during a raid in Bahakkar, Punjab province. Security officials also arrested everyone present in the Jamia-e-Khlufa-e-Rashdin seminary of the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ). The raids follow a wave of sectarian violence in the region after Friday’s attack on an ASWJ rally by the Shia Majlis-e-Wehdat-e-Muslameen (MWM) party killed five people and injured eight more. Police imposed a curfew on Bahakkar on Saturday to curb the violence.[17]
- On Sunday, security officials seized approximately 12 tons of explosives and detained one suspected Afghan militant during a raid in the Shahkas area of Jamrud, Khyber agency. Three FC troops were wounded in an explosion while transporting the materials.[18]
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On Saturday, officials arrested one Mobin Khan in Hafizabad district, Punjab province. Mobin allegedly provided firearms to Malik Sikander, currently detained for his August 15 attack in Islamabad. Separately, police now claim Sikander is affiliated with an unspecified, banned group and was detained while fundraising for this group in Dubai in 1998.[19]
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Former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told the press on Sunday that the provincial government of Punjab has officially acknowledged the existence of a “Punjabi Taliban.”[20]
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Unidentified gunmen attacked a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader in his vehicle on Sunday in the Islampura area of Lahore, Punjab province. There were no casualties.[21]
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Unidentified gunmen killed two women at their home on Saturday night in Ajjowal village of Mandi Bahauddin, Punjab province.[22]
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Unidentified gunmen killed a civilian on Monday in the vicinity of Aziz Bhatti Park at Gulshan-e-Iqbal in Karachi.[23]
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Before dawn on Sunday, security officials found the body of a torture victim in Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Karachi. Separately, another person was found shot to death in the Lines Area of the city.[24]
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An ASWJ spokesman and approximately 11 other people died in multiple violent incidents throughout Karachi on Saturday. The death of the ASWJ spokesman may be linked to ongoing clashes between the Sunni ASWJ and the Shia MWM.[25]
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At least ten people died in firearm attacks across Karachi on Friday, and approximately nine people died in a variety of violent incidents throughout the city on Friday evening.[26]
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A blast occurred outside a commercial office in the Mehmudabad area of Karachi on Sunday night.[27]
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Police officials defused two bombs in Jacobabad, Sindh provice, on Monday and took one suspect into custody. A third bomb was found, but its status remains unclear.[28]
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Security officials detained two suspects during a raid on Sunday in the Tehsil Bazaar area of Charsadda, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.[29]
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Policemen found a mutilated corpse in the Swat River on Sunday in the vicinity of Charsadda, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.[30]
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An Awami National Party (ANP) activist survived an attack on Sunday by unidentified gunmen in Nowshera, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.[31]
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A bomb disposal squad located and defused two improvised explosive devices in the Saro Kallay area of Shabqadar, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, on Saturday.[32]
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Security officials destroyed kidnappers’ safe havens in the Sepah and Nusratkhel areas of Kohat, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, on Sunday.[33]
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Three police officials were injured on Friday during a hostile encounter with several kidnapping suspects in the vicinity of Achini, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.[34]
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Security officials encountered kidnappers in Achini, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinc, on Friday. Police exchanged fire with the suspects. Eight policemen and two civilians sustained injuries but there were no reported enemy casualties.[35]
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Security officials killed two militants and arrested 14 additional suspects at Al Sher Mohalla in Hangu, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, on Saturday. The militants attacked a security convoy and then took refuge in surrounding houses, where they were later routed by the police.[36]
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On Friday, an explosion hit a security convoy near Bazidkhel village in Peshawar district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. There were no casualties.[37]
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On Sunday, unidentified individuals damaged a gas pipeline in Dera Bugti, Balochistan province, when they detonated an IED. Additionally, four militants set a tanker alight in the Dasht, Mastung, Balochistan province, on Sunday. Separately, unidentified armed gunmen killed a senior police officer on Monday in Sibi, Balochistan province.[38]
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On Saturday, FC officials raided a warehouse and recovered approximately 350 bottles of chemicals used for making explosives near Mission Chowk, Balochistan province. Security officials arrested the warehouse owners.[39]
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On Sunday, unidentified gunmen killed one police officer and injured another during an attack on a security vehicle in the Sakwar area of Gilgit-Baltistan. Later that same day, a civilian was killed by gunmen in the same area.[40]
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An unidentified gunman killed two people and wounded two more outside a seminary near Khanna Bridge in Islamabad on Friday.[41]
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A landmine blast in the Shalwazan area of Kurram agency, FATA, left two people seriously injured on Saturday.[42]
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Unidentified individuals kidnapped three people from the Ibrahimzai area of Orakzai agency on Friday.[43]
Domestic
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According to a report in The News on Monday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will consider Finance Minister Ishaq Dar’s request to increase the previously agreed upon financial assistance package of $6.6 billion to $7.3 billion. The IMF Executive Board will debate Dar’s request at a meeting on September 4.[44]
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On Monday, health workers launched a three-day polio vaccination campaign in eight districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkwa province, including Peshawar.[45]