U.S. drone strike in North Waziristan targets important TTP meeting, kills four, possibly including TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud; Foreign Office disputes low drone strike civilian casualty numbers from Defense Ministry; TTP spokesman says government has not reached out to Taliban; PTI Chairman says KP government will negotiate with TTP if federal government does not; Government finalizing team for TTP talks expected to start in two weeks; Foreign Office spokesman says that Mullah Baradar is free to talk to anyone; Pakistan denies that Iran gas pipeline will be cancelled; Militants attack military camp in North Waziristan with no casualties; Bomb in Bajaur agency injures three; Six dead and one injured in attack on Shia in Balochistan; 150 arrested in Peshawar; Five killed in Karachi violence.
U.S. Drone Strikes
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On Friday, an American drone targeted a compound in Dande Darpakhel, North Waziristan agency, killing at least four people. A high level Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) meeting was reportedly taking place in the compound. Dawn is reporting that TTP leader Hakimullah Mehsud is among the dead, as well as his personal guard Tariq Mehsud. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said in condemning the strikes that the government had planned to send a delegation to talk to the TTP on Saturday. [1]
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Foreign Office Spokesperson Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry said on Thursday that the Foreign Office has asked the Defense Ministry to provide details on its recent report that the number of civilian casualties from drone strikes is much lower than previously reported. Chaudhry says that the government’s position is still that drones are counterproductive.[2]
Talks with the TTP
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On Friday, TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said that the TTP has not had contact with the government at all, alleging that “the government is making announcements only by media.”[3]
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On Thursday, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan said that, if the government fails to initiate peace talks with the TTP, his party will do it in its capacity as the provincial government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.[4]
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According to a Friday report in The Express Tribune, a senior Interior Ministry official clarified Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s statement on Thursday that talks with the TTP had started. The official said that the formal talks have not happened, but that dialogue process had been started.[5]
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According to a Friday report in Geo News, the government is finalizing a team to conduct talks with the TTP. The team will reportedly include politicians, religious leaders, and outside experts. The Geo News report claims that talks with the TTP will begin in two weeks.[6]
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On Friday, Information Minister Pervez Rashid said that the opposition and the military are both on board for the talks with the TTP, despite some criticism from both.[7]
Afghanistan Reconciliation Process
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On Thursday, Foreign Office Spokesperson Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry said that former Afghan Taliban deputy Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar is still in Pakistan, but that he is free to meet anyone to discuss the Afghanistan reconciliation process. Chaudhry also said that, despite recent reports, Pakistan has not received confirmation that an Afghan delegation is planning to meet him.[8]
Iran-Pakistan Relations
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On Thursday, after Iran’s Oil Minister said that the gas pipeline between Iran and Pakistan will likely be cancelled, Pakistan’s Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that “there is absolutely no chance” that Pakistan will abandon the project.[9]
India-Pakistan Relations
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On Thursday, Foreign Office Spokesperson Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry said that Pakistan wants to end the Kashmir dispute through dialogue with India, and reiterated Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s statement that Pakistan welcomes a third party mediator.[10]
Militancy
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On Friday, unidentified militants attacked a military camp in Miram Shah, North Waziristan agency with rockets. There were no casualties.[11]
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On Thursday, a bomb planted in a building in Mamund, Bajaur agency exploded, injuring three people.[12]
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Unidentified gunmen killed six people and injured one in Machh, Bolan district, Balochistan on Friday. The victims were reportedly members of the Shia Hazara community.[13]
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On Thursday police and security forces in Peshawar arrested about 150 people as part of the ongoing operations in the city ahead of Muharram.[14]
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On Friday, a total of five people were killed in Karachi in separate firing incidents, which occurred in the Korangi, Baloch Colony, New Haji Camp, and Muhammad Goth areas.[15]
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Police arrested five people allegedly connected to gang wars in the Lyari neighborhood Karachi on Friday.[16]
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According to a Friday report in CNN, Chinese officials believe that the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), which was recently banned in Pakistan, and operates in North Waziristan agency, is responsible for the attack in Tiananmen Square this week which killed five people.[17]
Domestic