Total of eight killed and seven wounded in series of incidents along the LoC and International Border between Pakistan and India; Meeting between Pakistan and Indian DGMOs will happen soon; Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister says that India should consider tougher response to Pakistani LoC violations; Former Indian army chief admits that India funded militants in Balochistan; Prime Minister meets with American Secretary of State to discuss bilateral relations; U.S. restarts aid to Pakistan, reported to be $1.6 billion this year; Punjabi Taliban leader open to talks with government; PTI chief claims that attacks in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa are attempt to derail peace talks; Seventy MPs to be suspended for failing to disclose financial statements; Six killed and 17 wounded in train bombing in Balochistan; Four policemen killed by Ansarul Mujahideen in Peshawar; Army denies that it is carrying out counterinsurgency operations in Balochistan under cover of relief work; Police officer killed in Karachi.
India-Pakistan Relations
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Over the weekend, both India and Pakistan claimed that the other side had initiated incidents at the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir or the International Border further south. On Friday, alleged Indian shelling in Sialkot, Punjab killed a Pakistani soldier on Friday. Pakistan claims that the shelling was cover for Indian terrorists to infiltrate Pakistan. Pakistani security officials alleged that Indian forces fired into Sialkot district on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, as well as into neighboring Narowal district on Monday. The attacks reportedly killed a total of eight civilians and injured five more. On Monday, India alleged that Pakistan fired at ten border posts in Jammu and Samba districts in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, injuring two security personnel. [1]
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Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said on Saturday that the recent firing incidents near the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir and further south in Punjab are “a matter of great concern to India.” He added that the planned meeting between India and Pakistan’s Directors General of Military Operations (DGMO) will happen soon.[2]
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Omar Abdullah, the Chief Minister of Indian Jammu and Kashmir, said on Monday that the Indian government should consider “tough options” to deal with what he alleges are numerous LoC violations by Pakistan.[3]
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Former Indian Army chief General Vijay Kumar Singh reportedly admitted in a leaked Army report that India has sponsored bombings in Pakistan and sent money to separatist groups in Balochistan, according to The News publication.[4]
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Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid rejected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s request for American intervention in the Kashmir dispute, saying that “it is a waste of time” for third party actors to try to get involved in Kashmir.[5]
U.S.-Pakistan Relations
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On Sunday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif arrived in Washington D.C. ahead of his meeting on Wednesday with President Barack Obama. Secretary of State John Kerry met with Sharif soon after his arrival to discuss U.S.-Pakistan ties, Pakistan’s economy, security, and Afghanistan. Kerry said that the relationship with Pakistan “could not be more important” to the United States.[6]
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On Sunday, U.S. State Department officials confirmed that the United States has restarted economic and military aid to Pakistan. The U.S. is expected to send $1.6 billion to Pakistan in the upcoming fiscal year. On Friday, Pakistan received $322 million through the Coalition Support fund.[7]
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Artaj Aziz, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs, said on Saturday that Pakistan hopes to increase trade with the U.S., and that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif would discuss this issue with President Barack Obama in their meeting on Wednesday.[8]
Talks with the Taliban
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Asmatullah Moavi, a leader of the Punjabi Taliban, said that he favors talks with the government and that his group prefers to target India, according to a Monday report in The News. He added that the government should change its foreign policy and revise laws that are against Islam.[9]
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The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa cabinet asked for an end to drone strikes and a Taliban office in Pakistan. The request followed the assassination of provincial Law Minister Isarullah Gandapur. The cabinet also asked the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to stop attacks for humanitarian reasons.[10]
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Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Imran Khan continued to claim that a string of attacks in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa are not the handiwork of the TTP, but are in fact carried out by forces trying to derail the talks with the TTP. He spoke at an event for recently assassinated provincial minister Israrullah Gandapur and urged the government to initiate talks with the TTP.[11]
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On Saturday, The News reported that it had received a statement from TTP leader Hakimullah Mehsud claiming that his group’s ultimate goal is an Islamic caliphate encompassing most of the Muslim world. He reiterated demands for Islamic law in Pakistan and said that the willingness of the Pakistani government to negotiate means that they know that victory for the TTP is near.[12]
Domestic
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Pakistan needs $76.19 billion to pay off its debt, according to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Fiscal Monitor Report. That is equivalent to about 30 percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP).[13]
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The International Financial Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, agreed on Thursday to finance a $500 million trade facility for Pakistan’s oil imports.[14]
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The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is reportedly poised to suspend about 70 members of Parliament due to their refusal to state their assets and liabilities.[15]
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Foreign Office Spokesperson Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry said on Saturday that a report by UN rapporteur Ben Emmerson, which claimed that the civilian casualties of American drone strikes are higher than previously thought, is consistent with the anti-drone position taken by the Pakistani government.[16]
Militancy
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An explosion in Nasirabad district, Balochistan derailed a train, killing six and wounding 17 on Monday. The train was travelling between Quetta and Rawalpindi. Saad Rafique, the Federal Railways Minister, claimed that a Baloch separatist group was responsible for the attack. No group has claimed credit for the attack.[17]
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On Sunday, four Peshawar policemen were killed by gunmen on motorcycles. On Monday, Ansarul Mujahideen spokesman Abu Baseer claimed responsibility for the attack and said that attacks will continue until drone strikes stop.[18]
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Police in Manshera, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa claimed on Saturday to have discovered a cache of weapons and bomb-making materials, including rocket propelled grenades, explosives, fertilizer, guns, and nails during a raid. Two militants were arrested as well.[19]
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TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid denied a report that the TTP has issued an edict against Western broadcasting organizations, but claimed that certain organizations are on the TTP’s “hit list.” In the same conversation, Shahid said that the TTP would not honor Pakistan’s secular constitution.[20]
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On Sunday, the Pakistani Army denied that it has been using its relief efforts in Balochistan as a cover for military operations against separatists in the region. Insurgents had claimed that the Army is in the province to stamp out militant groups.[21]
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Two bodies, one in Surjani Town and one in the Baloch Colony area, were discovered in Karachi on Saturday. Both showed signs of having been tortured.[22]
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On Saturday, unidentified gunmen killed a police officer and injured another in the Korangi area of Karachi.[23]
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On Sunday, two men were charged with terror-related offenses in London. Two others who were arrested in the same operation last week were released, including one man of Pakistani descent.[24]
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On Sunday, police in Matta, Swat district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa arrested two alleged target killers from Karachi.[25]
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On Sunday, police in Mingora, Swat district, Khyber-Pakhutnkhwa arrested an alleged militant and began a search operation for another.[26]