Blast in Bannu claimed by TTP kills at least 26 security personnel, and injures 24; At least 40, reportedly including TTP commander Adnan Rashid, dead in retaliatory bombing by Pakistan Air Force in North Waziristan; Army shelling in North Waziristan kills three; Suicide bombing by TTP in Rawalpindi near army headquarters kills 13; TTP spokesman says group willing to restart dialogue with government; Report says U.S. drone strikes killed four civilians in Pakistan in 2013; Afghan police chief says five Pakistanis killed in U.S. drone strike in Afghanistan; China and Pakistan negotiating deal for three nuclear power plants in Pakistan; Pakistan suspends bus and truck service in Kashmir after India arrests Pakistani drivers; Afghan National Security Adviser implies ISI involvement in attack on Kabul restaurant that killed 21; Balochistan blast kills 22 Shia pilgrims and injures 32; Baloch Republican Army claims responsibility for deadly train bombing in Punjab; Gunmen kill four polio workers in separate attacks throughout Pakistan; Gunmen kill three Express News employees in Karachi, TTP claims responsibility; Gunmen kill two ASWJ workers, injure five in Punjab; Two dead in Dera Ismail Khan blast; Shia scholar killed in Peshawar; Levies soldier killed in Hangu attack; Gunmen kill member of security forces in Khyber agency.
Attacks on Security Forces and Aftermath
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On Sunday, 26 soldiers and Frontier Corps personnel were killed and 24 were injured in a bomb attack on a convoy in Bannu, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The convoy was heading towards Razmak, North Waziristan agency when the bomb detonated. The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack through spokesman Shahidullah Shahid.[1]
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On Monday, a suicide bombing near Pakistan Army General Headquarters in Rawalpindi killed 13 people, including 8 army personnel, and injured 29. TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid claimed TTP responsibility for the attack, saying that it was “payback for the 2007 Lal Masjid assault.”[2]
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On Tuesday, as many as 40 people died in airstrikes by the Pakistan Air Force in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan agency. The strikes were in response to the attack on a convoy en route to North Waziristan on Sunday. Eight people reportedly died in the Miram Shah area as part of the same operation. Local sources say that many of the dead are civilians, while an intelligence official said that all of the casualties are TTP or Uzbek militants.[3]
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On Tuesday, military sources claimed that air strikes in North Waziristan had killed Adnan Rashid, a high-ranking TTP commander who was freed from Bannu’s central jail in a massive TTP-orchestrated jailbreak in 2012. The TTP has denied that he is dead.[4]
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On Sunday, army shelling in Musaki, North Waziristan agency killed three alleged militants. The local administration claimed that the shelling also killed two children.[5]
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In the wake of several high-profile terrorist attacks, army chief General Raheel Sharif told Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a Monday phone conversation that the army’s morale remains high.[6]
Talks with the TTP
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On Sunday, the same day as the bombing of a military convoy in Bannu, TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said that the TTP is willing to have talks with the government if the government unilaterally declares a ceasefire, and shows that it possesses actual authority with which to negotiate.[7]
U.S. Drone Strikes
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According to a Tuesday report in Reuters the U.K.-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism has released a report claiming that U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan only killed four civilians in 2013, out of a total of between 112 and 193 deaths. The study says that the number of drone strikes has declined as drone and missile technology has improved, but that that the reason for the lower civilian casualties is mysterious, as a corresponding drop in civilian deaths has not been observed in Yemen.[8
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On Saturday, the police chief of Nuristan province, Afghanistan said that a U.S. drone strike in Kamdesh, Nuristan province on Friday killed five Pakistani militants, originally from Punjab. Nine militants in total, allegedly belonging to the Taliban, died in the strikes.[9]
China-Pakistan Relations
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According to a Monday report in The Wall Street Journal, Pakistan and China are negotiating a deal for Pakistan to buy three nuclear reactors from China for $13 billion. The United States is reportedly concerned by the deal, due to the exchange of nuclear technology.[10]
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According to a Monday report in The News, China has offered to invest $22 billion in Pakistan in exchange for several major power projects in Pakistan being given to Chinese companies outside of the regular bidding process. The News reports that the Prime Minister is likely to accept the deal.[11]
Indo-Pakistan Relations
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On Sunday, the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Travel and Trade Authority suspended bus and truck services from Srinagar to Muzzaffarabad after 49 Pakistani truck drivers were arrested on the Indian side of the Line of Control (LoC) on drug charges on Saturday. Pakistan also retaliated by preventing 27 Indian trucks from returning to the Indian side of the LoC.[12]
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On Saturday, India and Pakistan agreed to increase the number of trucks allowed to move through the Wagah Border Crossing between the Pakistani and Indian sides of Punjab by leaving the crossing open 24/7, instead of closing it at night.[13]
U.S.-Pakistan Relations
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On Monday, a Foreign Office Spokeswoman defended the decision to prosecute Dr. Shakil Afridi, who allegedly helped the U.S. in its search for Osama bin Laden, for treason. She also criticized a bill recently passed by the U.S. Congress, which withheld $33 million in aid for Pakistan as a protest of Afridi’s 33-year sentence.[14]
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At a meeting in Islamabad on Saturday with a U.S. representative, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said that he would like the U.S. to release its outstanding Coalition Support Fund payments to Pakistan as soon as possible.[15]
Afghan-Pakistan Relations
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On Sunday, Afghan National Security Adviser Dadfar Spanta said that, despite claims of responsibility by the group, he does not believe that the Afghan Taliban is capable of having carried out the Friday attack on a restaurant in Kabul’s diplomatic district, which killed 21 people. Instead, he implied that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was ultimately responsible for the attack. He added that the Taliban is a Pakistani puppet, though he never directly accused Pakistan of perpetrating the attack. On Sunday, the Afghan National Security Council made similar claims, blaming an “intelligence organization abroad.”[16]
Militancy
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On Tuesday, a bomb blast killed 22 people and injured 32 on a bus in Dringhar, Mastung district, Balochistan. The victims were Shia pilgrims.[17]
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According to a Saturday report, the Baloch Republican Army (BRA) claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack on a train in Omer Kot, Rajanpur district, Punjab, which killed four people and injured 65. A BRA spokesman said that the group would continue to attack trains until the army operation in Balochistan is ended.[18]
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Several attacks on polio workers on Monday left a total of four polio workers dead. In Oghi, Mansehra district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, unidentified gunmen attacked a polio vaccination team, killing one worker. Unidentified gunmen killed three polio vaccination workers in two separate attacks in Qayyumabad, Karachi. Finally, a car was stolen from a polio vaccination team in Panjgur district, Balochistan.[19]
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On Friday, gunmen attacked a news van and killed three employees of the Express News media group. The TTP claimed the attack on Saturday, saying that the media is “acting as propagandist.”[20]
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A small improvised explosive device (IED) attack on a wedding in Qasba Colony, Karachi injured 14 people on Sunday.[21]
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On Monday, a bomb blast near a Rangers vehicle in North Nazimabad, Karachi injured four people, including one Ranger.[22]
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According to a Monday report in The Frontier Post, security at Karachi Central Jail was increased after police received reports that an attack on the prison was being planned by militants.[23]
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On Tuesday, unidentified gunmen shot at Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) leader Maulana Zarin’s car in Landhi, Karachi. There were no casualties reported.[24]
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On Saturday, unidentified gunmen in Sargodha district, Punjab killed two members of the ASWJ and injured five others, including the President of the group’s Bhakkar district chapter.[25]
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A bomb blast on Monday killed two people in Loni, Dera Ismail Khan district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.[26]
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On Monday, a bomb blast targeting an Awami National Party (ANP) leader in Kaladher, Charsadda district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa injured two guards. The ANP leader escaped unhurt.[27]
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On Monday, unidentified gunmen in Peshawar killed a Shia scholar as he walked to a mosque.[28]
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On Tuesday, gunmen killed a member of the Levies forces in Torawari, Hangu district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.[29]
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On Friday, a bomb damaged power lines in Risalpur, Nowshera district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.[30]
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On Tuesday, unidentified gunmen killed a member of security forces in Kandao Taleb, Kurram agency.[31]
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On Monday, a bomb detonated in Khugakhel, Khyber agency along a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) supply route, but caused no damage.[32]
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On Friday, a bomb blast damaged a social worker’s house in Nai Abadi, Jamrud sub-district, Khyber agency.[33]
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On Monday, militants in Pirkoh, Dera Bugti district, Balochistan blew up a gas pipeline.[34]
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On Tuesday, police in Islamabad arrested three alleged militants who were reportedly from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). The suspects were found with 100 kilograms of explosives.[35]
Domestic
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At a meeting of the Federal Cabinet on Monday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that his government would establish anti-terrorism courts, improve the economy, and combat terrorism.[36]
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At a meeting on Tuesday with parliamentary leaders, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed to improve law and order in Pakistan, including fighting terrorism and kidnapping.[37]