TTP spokesman says TTP believes military operation against them being planned; PTI Chairman urges talks with Taliban; China and Pakistan agree to MoU regarding joint manufacturing of fighter jets; Suicide bombers attack a Shia convention hall in Rawalpindi; Security guards thwart a suicide attack on a Shia convention hall in Karachi; Suicide bomber attacks a military checkpoint in North Waziristan; Two killed, six injured in three Kurram agency blasts; Three killed and seven injured in FR Dera Ismail Khan gun attack; Mobile service in Gilgit suspended after attacks kill three; Afghan Taliban torch U.S. military vehicles; Two bomb blasts occur in Quetta; Tribunal rejects Dr. Shakil Afridi’s revised petition.
Talks with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan
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On Tuesday, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said that the TTP believes that military action against the group is being planned. He said that the TTP has “seen their military operations in the past” and indicated that the group is not concerned. He also criticized Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s government, calling it “powerless and dollar-hungry.”[1]
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On Wednesday, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman, Imran Khan, urged the Taliban to begin peace talks with the government. Khan also commented that peace would not be possible in Pakistan so long as drone strikes continue.[2]
China-Pakistan Relations
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On Wednesday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif attended an induction ceremony for the 50th JF-17 Thunder fighter plane into the Pakistani Air Force (PAF). Officials from Pakistan and China also agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly manufacture more JF-17 Thunder block II fighter jets.[3]
U.S.-Pakistan Relations
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On Tuesday, an American delegation headed by Lieutenant General John D. Johnson, Director of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO), visited the Pakistan Army’s General Headquarters in Rawalpindi to discuss ways to stop Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attacks.[4]
Militancy
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On Tuesday, a suicide bomber attacked a Shia convention hall in Rawalpindi, killing three people, including two policemen, and injuring 14. The bomber detonated his device when policemen intercepted the individual outside the Imambargah. An article in Geo News reported that the blast killed four people, including the bomber, and injured 13.[5]
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On Wednesday, security guards thwarted an attack on a Shia convention hall in Karachi. According to the police, two women in burqas tried to enter the building, both equipped with explosives. Guards fired at the attackers, killing one and injuring the other. An article in The News, however, reported that one woman’s explosives detonated as police intervened.[6]
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A total of two people were killed and six injured in three bomb blasts in Kurram agency on Tuesday. The first incident occurred in the Pewar area. A vehicle hit an IED, which killed two and injured three. Two people were injured when a man stepped on a landmine in Pakha Warai. One more person was injured by a bomb blast in Hamzai.[7]
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On Wednesday, gunmen allegedly belonging to the Eidu Khan Group killed three and injured seven in an attack in Frontier Region Dera Ismail Khan.[8]
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On Wednesday, authorities in Gilgit, Gilgit-Baltistan suspended phone service after a series of attacks left three dead.[9]
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On Wednesday, Islamabad police arrested two suspected terrorists who were driving from the capital to Gujranwala and Lahore with 20 pistols, 50,000 bullets, and 16 magazines.[10]
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On Wednesday, a suicide bomber attacked a military checkpoint three kilometers east of Miram Shah, North Waziristan agency, killing at least four soldiers and injuring 34. Ansarul Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the attack and stated that similar attacks will occur in the future so long as drones continue to target in the region.[11]
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On Wednesday, Taliban fighters dressed in army uniforms detonated a car bomb on the Afghan side of the Torkham border and torched several U.S. military vehicles, killing one policeman.[12]
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An article in The News reported two blasts occurred on Wednesday in Quetta.[13]
Domestic
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On Wednesday, Geo News reported that Lieutenant General Zubair Mehmood Hyat, who is currently the Corps Commander Bahawalpur, will replace General Khalid Qidwayi as Director General of the Strategic Plans Division when Qidwayi retires.[14]
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On Thursday, a Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) tribunal rejected a revised petition submitted by Dr. Shakil Afridi, who allegedly helped the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in its search for Osama Bin Laden. The tribunal asked for further clarification from the FATA commissioner as to whether the case should be judged by a political agent or a “sessions judge”[15]