Recent killing of Afghan Taliban commanders could disrupt peace process; TTP hint at willingness to resume talks with the government; PTI Chief still supports talks with the TTP; Special Court orders Pervez Musharraf to appear on January 16; Hand grenade attack injures senior Awami National Party (ANP) member and one other in Karachi; Police kill three TTP militants in Karachi; Militants kill one and injure two in Karachi grenade attack; Bomb blast at mosque injures three in Karachi; Shootout between police and militants at security check point kills one in Peshawar; Gunmen kill policeman in Swat; Prisoners booked under Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).
Quetta Killings
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A Friday article in Reuters reported on the recent killing of two Afghan Taliban commanders in Quetta, Pakistan. The article described the killings as Taliban infighting and commented that the deaths could disrupt peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban. Last week, four Afghan Taliban members told Reuters that the insurgency had killed its own commanders because the deceased had engaged in unauthorized talks with the government. The report also quoted a senior Afghan official who believed that Pakistan may be responsible for the killings. A Pakistani security official denied any Pakistani involvement.[1]
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Talks
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On Thursday, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Shahidullah Shahid told The News that the TTP had initially sworn off talks with the government because it was mourning the death of its late leader, Hakimullah Mehsud, who was killed in a November 2013 drone strike. Shahid said that since the mourning had now ended the group may be willing to “rethink its earlier stance.” Shahid also stated that the Taliban’s shura was engaging in deliberations and may establish a clear policy regarding peace talks with the government in the coming days. The TTP also claimed responsibility for yesterday’s killing of Karachi’s Superintendent of Police, Chaudhry Aslam.[2]
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On Thursday, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan said that the TTP’s assassination of high-ranking Karachi policeman Chaudhry Aslam did not change his position that the government should negotiate with the TTP.[3]
Musharraf Trial
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On Friday, a Special Court ordered former president Pervez Musharraf to appear at a hearing on January 16. Musharraf’s lawyers have stated that he is too sick to appear. According to the court registrar Abdul Ghani Soomro, Musharraf’s medical report did not indicate he suffered a heart attack.[4]
Militancy
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According to a Friday report in AFP, Chaudhry Aslam, the Karachi policeman assassinated by the TTP on Thursday, had a phone argument with TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid several days before his death. Chief investigator Zafar Abbas Bukkari said that Shahid initiated the conversation to warn Aslam to stop targeting TTP militants in Karachi, and that the conversation became heated “to the extent of calling each other names.”[5]
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On Friday, Karachi police killed three alleged TTP militants in Musharraf Colony, Karachi. One of the dead was reportedly Amanullah Mehsud, the TTP chief of the Quaidabad area.[6]
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On Friday, unknown persons threw a hand grenade at the house of Awami National Party (ANP) senior member, Aziz Khan, injuring Khan and one other in Quaidabad, Karachi.[7]
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On Friday, unidentified militants attacked a police car with a hand grenade in Karachi. Two policemen were injured and one militant was killed by the police.[8]
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A bomb blast at a mosque in Millat Town, Karachi injured three people on Friday.[9]
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On Friday, police discovered two bodies in a Sufi shrine in Mardan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.[10]
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On Friday, a shootout between militants and police at a security check point in the Sarband area of Peshawar killed one militant.[11]
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On Thursday, unknown gunmen killed a policeman in the Matta sub-district of Swat district.[12]
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On Sunday, prisoners associated with the Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) and Lashkar-e-Islam, who clashed in Peshawar Central Prison last week, have been booked under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).[13]