Iran will not finance the Iran-Pakistan pipeline; Finance Minister criticizes U.S. threats to delay CSF reimbursements; Prime Minster says that India and Pakistan should resolve their differences through diplomacy, calls for regular meetings between the two countries’ National Security Advisors; Pakistan granted GSP Plus status by EU; North Waziristan blast kills two soldiers, injures seven; Karachi blast kills one Ranger, injures five; Two injured in Karachi bombing; Dr. Afridi’s lawyer flees to Dubai after Taliban threats; New Supreme Court Chief Justice sworn in; NAB will take action against former Prime Minister Gilani; Government files High Treason petition against former President Musharraf; Circular debt has increased to $2 billion.
Iran-Pakistan Pipeline
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On Wednesday, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar stated that Iran will not help finance the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline. Dar said that the Iranian finance minister told him that Iran could not follow through on the promised $500 million to help finance the project.[1]
U.S.-Pakistan Relations
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On Wednesday, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, told reporters at a press conference that delays in Coalition Support Fund (CSF) reimbursements would not be tolerated and promised to get the payment in two to four weeks. The U.S. is reportedly due to pay a disbursement of $381 million this month, but threatened to withhold payments if the government of Pakistan did not reopen the Torkham border route for U.S. supply shipments from Afghanistan to Pakistan.[2]
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On Wednesday, Cameron Munter, who was the American ambassador to Pakistan from 2010 to 2012, defended U.S. drone strikes against Pakistan and said that most of the opposition to the strikes is generated by either the military’s public relations wing or right-wing religious parties.[3]
India-Pakistan Relations
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On Wednesday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that India and Pakistan must set aside their differences and resolve their disputes through diplomacy. He spoke positively of his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in October, and said that India and Pakistan should hold regular meetings between officials at all levels.[4]
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On Wednesday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif proposed regular meetings between India and Pakistan’s National Security Advisers to advance the normalization of relations. The forum is intended to enhance counter-terrorism dialogue between the two countries.[5]
European Union-Pakistan Relations
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On Thursday, the European Union (EU) granted Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) Plus status to Pakistan. This will exempt 20 percent of Pakistani products from EU tariffs, and give 70 percent preferential rates. Pakistan will have GSP Plus status until 2017.[6]
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Protests
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On Wednesday, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Peshawar president Bahrullah Khan promised a rally on December 15 against the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) supply route in Peshawar. Khan said that the JI will be joined by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Awami Jamhoori Ittehad (AJI) in the protests.[7]
Militancy
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On Thursday, an IED blast in Spin Wam, North Waziristan killed two soldiers and wounded seven others. The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)-linked group Ansar-ul-Mujahideen claimed the attack, saying that it was in retaliation for the American drone strike in Hangu, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on November 21.[8]
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On Thursday, a bomb blast in Landhi, Karachi killed one Ranger and injured at least five others. The bomb was planted in a motorcycle.[9]
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On Wednesday, two people were injured when a bomb planted in a car detonated in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi.[10]
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On Wednesday, Samiullah Afridi, who is Dr. Shakil Afridi’s laywer, fled to Dubai due to threats made by the Taliban against his life and his family. Dr. Afridi has been charged with several crimes since he reportedly helped to United States in its search for Osama bin Laden.[11]
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On Wednesday, the Home Department ordered law enforcement agencies to begin targeted operations in Peshawar focused on kidnappings, target killings, and extortion.[12]
Domestic
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On Wednesday, the Supreme Court ordered the government to produce the missing persons from the Balochistan case by December 19. The court announced that the contempt case against Inspector General Frontier Corps Balochistan, Major General Ijaz Shahid will be held separately.[13]
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On Thursday, Tassaduq Hussain Jillani was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, replacing Iftikhar Chaudhry. He also issued his first suo-moto notice, ordering an investigation into allegations that a media group was given exclusive footage of the December 11 proceedings of the court.[14]
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Shortly before Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry’s retirement on Wednesday, former Attorney General Irfan Qadir criticized the media for its praise of Chaudhry.[15]
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On Thursday, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) announced it will take action against former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in a case about his allegedly illegal appointment of the National Insurance Company Limited chairman and his removal of a Federal Investigation Agency director.[16]
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On Thursday, the government submitted a petition to begin a hearing against former President Pervez Musharraf for high treason due to his imposition of emergency rule in November 2007.[17]
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The circular debt of Pakistani power companies has increased to over $2 billion, according to a Wednesday report in Dawn. Earlier in the year, the government cleared over $5 billion of the power companies’ debts as part of a plan to reduce power shortages, but the practices which caused the debt in the first place have continued, resulting in the resurgence of the debt.[18]