Drone strike kills four militants in North Waziristan; Ansarul Mujahideen claim responsibility for attack killing 9 security personnel along Afghan-Pakistan border; Prime Minister will decide later this month whether to engage TTP in talks; TTP denies Information Minister’s claim secret negotiations already underway; Prime Minister visits Karachi; Possible joint operation to restore security to Karachi; Leaked U.S. intelligence budget signals increased distrust of Pakistani counterparts; Foreign Office spokesman reiterates Pakistan’s commitment towards disarmament and non-proliferation; DNA tests confirmed Osama bin Laden’s identity; Prime Minister’s Adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs meets with Indian High Commissioner; Violations across the Line of Control continue; Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani visits troops deployed along the Line of Control; TTP raids home of former Punjabi Taliban chief, plots his assassination; Taliban suicide attack on U.S. base closes NATO supply route; Intelligence officials claim to disrupt plot against General (retd) Pervez Musharraf; VBIED defused in Islamabad; Prime Minister lifts ban on recruitment for Punjab Counter Terrorism Department; Federal Reserve Board’s failure to meet tax revenue target may jeopardize IMF bailout package
Drone Strike
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A U.S. drone strike killed at least four militants on Saturday in Mussaki village in the Esso Khel area of North Waziristan agency. The target of the strike was an abandoned seminary along the Afghan-Pakistan border suspected of housing militants from China or Turkmenistan. According to Ansarul Mujahideen spokesman Abu Baseer, the casualties were members of the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM).[1]
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A roadside IED detonated along the Afghan border in the Boya area of North Waziristan agency on Sunday, killing nine Pakistani troops and injuring at least 19 more. The Ansarul Mujahideen, a predominantly Uzbek organization linked to the TTP and allegedly established to retaliate against drone strikes, has claimed responsibility for the attack. Ansarul Mujahideen spokesman Abu Baseer told the press on Tuesday that the attack was revenge for Saturday’s drone strike that killed four members of the East Turkistan Islamic Movement. He vowed the group would respond violently to each drone strike.[2]
Peace Talks with the Taliban
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Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said on Sunday that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif would decide later this month whether to engage in peace talks with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). He said the government would not engage in secret negotiations, but instead would make a public announcement prior to the start of the dialogue. His remarks follow TTP denials on Saturday that the negotiations had already begun. Both Khan and the TTP’s remarks contradict a statement made on Saturday by Information Minister Pervez Rashid that that both parties were engaged in unofficial dialogue.[3]
Karachi Violence and Crackdown
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On Tuesday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif commenced his two-day visit to Karachi. He will host a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday to assess the deteriorating security situation. According to a report in the Express Tribune today, the government initially extended an offer of participation to Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Farooq Sattar but has since rescinded this invitation.[4]
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Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met with the leaders of various political parties at the Sindh Governor House in Karachi on Tuesday to review the city’s deteriorating security. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) parties did not send representatives to protest their non-receipt of a formal invitation. At a meeting yesterday, Sharif declared national security to be the government’s highest priority.[5]
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Unnamed government sources said on Sunday that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is likely to approve a targeted joint operation by Rangers, Frontier Constabulary, and the Sindh police force to restore order in Karachi. A recent report by Rangers personnel allegedly categorizes 54 percent of the city as “troubled” and an additional 32 percent of the metropolis as “sensitive.”[6]
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The Additional Inspector General of Police (AIG) for Sindh assured the press on Tuesday that the police were targeting suspects regardless of political affiliation.[7]
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On Monday night, police officials detained more than 100 suspects during raids throughout Karachi.[8]
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Karachi police detained several foreigners on Sunday during a raid on the Sohrab Goth area of the city.[9]
U.S.-Pakistan Relations
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According to a leaked copy of the latest secret U.S. intelligence budget revealed by the Washington Post last week, Pakistan has drawn increased scrutiny from U.S. intelligence officials in recent years. Collection priorities have expanded to include: nuclear weapons, biological and chemical program sites, the spread of illicit weapons, and loyalty assessments of CIA-recruited counterterrorism agents. Journalists have noted that the budget priorities have exposed the deep extent to which U.S. officials mistrust Pakistan’s intentions, authenticity, and capabilities, particularly with regard to nuclear proliferation.[10]
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A Foreign Office spokesman reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to disarmament and non-proliferation on Tuesday in response to revelations that the U.S. has increased its intelligence budget targeting Pakistan’s weapons program. He said that Pakistani officials have established sufficient safeguards to protect the nation’s nuclear weapons program.[11]
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On Friday, Prime Minister’s Adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz addressed the National Assembly. He promised to raise opposition to the drone strike program in future meetings between U.S. and Pakistani government officials. During his address, Aziz also claimed that the government of Pakistan was impartial between political parties in Afghanistan and only desires a peaceful resolution to the conflict.[12]
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According to a report today in the Washington Post, a U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency forensic laboratory conducted DNA analysis on a sample taken from the Abbottabad Compound. The results confirmed the identity of Osama bin Laden.[13]
Indo-Pak Relations
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On Tuesday, the Prime Minister’s Adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz met with the Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Dr. Ragowan in Islamabad. Topics of discussion included ongoing Line of Control (LoC) violations and the forthcoming meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the United Nations General Assembly in New York later this month.[14]
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On Tuesday, Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani visited troops stationed along the LoC and received a brief about the current state of affairs in the region. Kayani was reportedly satisfied with both the military’s operational preparedness and morale levels.[15]
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The Indian Army reportedly conducted mortar attacks in the vicinity of Lanjot village and other unspecified areas of Kotli district, Nakial sector, on Tuesday. Pakistan forces returned fire.[16]
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On Saturday, two Pakistani civilians sustained injuries from Indian firing across the LoC in the Bajwat sector of Sialkot.[17]
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The Press Trust of Indian reported on Tuesday that a Pakistani judicial commission has canceled its upcoming visit to India. The commission intended to interview witnesses of the 2008 Mumbai attacks during the visit, initially scheduled for September 7. Unspecified technical and procedural matters are blamed for the trip’s cancellation.[18]
Militancy
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Intelligence officials revealed today that TTP militants raided the residence of former Punjabi Taliban chief Asmatullah Muawiya in Miram Shah, North Waziristan agency, and plotted to assassinate him. The raid occurred shortly after a TTP shura decided to dismiss Muawiya from his leadership position for endorsing talks with the government of Pakistan. Muawiya disputed the shura’s authority over him, given the existence of a Punjabi TTP shura; he is now in hiding.[19]
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On Monday, the Taliban attacked a U.S. military base along the Afghan-Pakistan border in the Torkham area of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan. The incident led to the closure of a key route for NATO supply trucks entering the country from Pakistan.[20]
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Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provincial officials announced on Tuesday that it would not prosecute escapees from the July 29 jailbreak of Dera Ismail Khan’s Central Prison who voluntarily returned to custody. Any former inmates who fail to return within the next 15 days risk prosecution on terrorism charges upon recapture. Separately, a report by the committee responsible for investigating the prison escape has blamed the High Command of Police for the security breach and recommended “strict action” against culpable officials.[21]
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Intelligence officials claimed as of Saturday to have thwarted a TTP plot to attack General (retd) Pervez Musharraf during an upcoming court appearance in Islamabad or Quetta. This is possibly the same as an incident in which security officials disrupted a terrorist attack against an unspecified sensitive facility in Islamabad on Saturday. Police officers located and defused a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) in the vicinity of Bhara Kahu, Islamabad, and arrested one suspect. A second suspect, an alleged TTP member, managed to escape.[22]
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An IED blast near a checkpoint in Kanta Kanri area of Zakhakhel of Landikotal sub-district, Khyber agency, wounded a Frontier Corps soldier on Monday.[23]
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Unidentified gunmen opened fire on Tuesday in various locations across Hyderabad, Sindh province, wounding at least one person. Separately, unidentified suspects set fire to a truck in the Sabzi Mandi area.[24]
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Gunmen opened fire on two medical clinics in the Landhi area of Karachi on Saturday night, killing five people and wounding four others. Although investigators have claimed the attack was likely due to an unspecified personal enmity, MQM activists have expressed concern that the attack may have been politically-motivated because the clinics’ owner serves on an MQM committee.[25]
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On Tuesday, police officials killed two suspected terrorists during an exchange of fire near Peerabad in the Orangi Town area of Karachi. One police officer sustained injuries and three additional suspects fled the scene.[26]
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Five people, including a police official, died in incidents of violence in various parts of Karachi on Monday.[27]
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Seven people, including the son of an MQM official, died in a number of violent incidents around Karachi on Saturday night.[28]
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On August 21, the corpse of a kidnapped Pakistani journalist was found on the outskirts of Karachi. His relatives claim the victim, Abdul Razzak Baloch, had been kidnapped by security officials in March, but the allegation remains unsubstantiated. Baloch was employed by the Quetta-based Daily Tawaar, a publication sympathetic to Baloch separatists.[29]
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A blast within a residence in the Bhanamari area of Peshawar, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, killed a young girl on Sunday.[30]
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On Sunday, unidentified gunmen killed a Qaumi Watan Party member and peace committee participant in the vicinity of Matta in Swat district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.[31]
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Two people died during an exchange of fire between rival groups in the Adamzai area of Lakki Marwat district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, on Sunday. One of the victims was an escapee from the July 29 jailbreak at Dera Ismail Khan’s Central Prison.[32]
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On Sunday, unidentified gunmen killed an Airport Security Force employee in the Dalbadin area of Chagai district, Balochistan province.[33]
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Levies personnel detained three suspects on Sunday in the Jangal Pir Alizai area of Qila Abdullah district, Balochistan province. Security officials seized several illegal weapons and the suspects are currently under interrogation.[34]
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On Saturday, Frontier Constabulary personnel killed ten militants and injured several others in the Mand area of Kech district, Balochistan province. The security officials engaged the militants after they attacked the unit’s convoy.[35]
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On Saturday, unidentified suspects threw a grenade at the Quetta home of Balochistan National Party Chief Akhtar Mengal. No casualties have been reported.[36]
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Levies personnel located and defused a 20kg bomb in the Dasht area of Mastung district, Balochistan province, on Sunday.[37]
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Security officials detained three suspects in Gilgit-Balistan on Monday in connection with the August 24 attack on police officers in Sakwar area of Gilgit-Balistan.[38]
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A police officer and a rickshaw driver died in a shooting incident by an accused murderer outside the District Court in Lahore on Saturday. Another police official sustained injuries.[39]
Domestic
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During a high-level meeting on Friday to discuss progress on the establishment of the Punjab Counter Terrorism Department, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif rescinded the ban on employee recruitment. He cited “serious concerns” regarding law enforcement’s capacity to resolve militancy and terrorism issues.[40]
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According to a report in the Express Tribune on Tuesday, the Internal Displacement Monitoring Cell and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees have claimed that ongoing violence has created more than 130,000 internally-displaced persons within Pakistan since March.[41]
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Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak announced at a press conference on Sunday that the province will soon establish an independent intelligence agency to address regional terrorism matters.[42]
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Despite a substantial increase of 17 percent in tax revenue since this time last year, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) failed to meet this month’s goal of Rs 159 billion ($1.5 million). For the second month in a row, the FBR has been unable to achieve the revenue goal set by the International Monetary Fund. Meeting the revenue targets is a necessary condition for receiving an anticipated $6.6 billion bailout deal from the IMF.[43]
International Conferences
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According to a report in the Express Tribune on Monday, the Russian government has extended an invitation to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit on September 13. The government of Pakistan will send the Prime Minister’s Adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz to participate. The invitation follows Friday’s conclusion of a formal strategic dialogue session between Pakistan and Russia.[44]
Musharraf Trial
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Police officials registered a third murder case against General (retd) Pervez Musharraf on Monday. In addition to involvement in the murder of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and Balochistan separatist leader Nawab Aktar Bugti, Musharraf now stands accused in the murder of a deputy cleric during the 2007 Lal Masjid operation.[45]