TTP reportedly agrees to ceasefire during peace talks; TTP committee meets with TTP leadership in North Waziristan; TTP negotiator Maulana Abdul Aziz threatens to withdraw from negotiating committee; TTP central shura finalizes 15-point list of demands; TTP Spokesman says implementation of Sharia law is real objective of peace talks; TTP Mohmand chapter alleges military is continuing operations in face of peace talks; IMF to release next installment of $6.7 billion loan; Jaish-e-Mohammad reportedly increasing activities aimed at derailing talks between India and Pakistan; UN Secretary General offers UN assistance in Kashmir dispute; U.S. National Security Adviser encourages closer Indo-Pakistan trade ties; Indian security forces detain 200, impose curfew in Kashmir over anticipated protests; militant group kidnaps five Iranian border guards; Chief of the Army Staff and Saudi Deputy Defense Minister meet to discuss defense cooperation; New general assumes role as head of Joint Command for ISAF in Afghanistan; Obama administration considers drone strike against al Qaeda-affiliated American citizen; Eight dead in Karachi shrine attack; Four killed in Punjab suicide attack; Three gas pipelines bombed, gas to Punjab halted; Gunmen kill three in Hangu district; Gunmen kill Elite Forces official in Swabi; Clash between militants and police kill three in Dera Ismail Khan; Two Elite Forces personnel killed in Punjab suicide attack.
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Talks
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On Sunday, according to a senior government source, the TTP agreed to cease attacks during the nascent peace talks following deliberations between the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the TTP-nominated negotiating committees. The TTP have not officially confirmed the statement, although a Taliban intermediary confirmed that a ceasefire from both sides would be a confidence-building measure, and would be necessary for the success of the peace talks.[1]
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On Saturday, Professor Ibrahim Khan and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Sami (JUI-S) chief, Maulana Samiul Haq, met with the TTP’s leadership in Miram Shah, North Waziristan. Speaking to media representatives on Monday, Samiul Haq stated that TTP members had responded positively to recommendations put forward by the committee. The meeting followed the first formal meeting between the TTP-nominated committee and the government-nominated committee on Thursday, and a public statement on Friday by one of the TTP negotiators, Maulana Abdul Aziz, who rejected the government’s condition of holding talks under the ambit of the Pakistani constitution and threatened to withdraw from negotiations. Additionally, Aziz said he would only take part in further negotiations if the committees included a clause about the implementation of Sharia law in Pakistan. On Saturday, Maulana Yousuf Shah, a spokesman for the JUI-S, reportedly spoke with Aziz following his withdrawal from the peace talks and said that Aziz would likely continue to negotiate for the TTP-nominated committee.[2]
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On Saturday, the TTP’s central shura finalized a draft proposal for peace talks that listed fifteen points for TTP negotiators to address with the government-nominated committee. The points include the cessation of drone attacks, Sharia in the courts and an Islamic system of education throughout Pakistan, the release of jailed Taliban militants, jobs and compensation for the families of victims of drone attacks, the passing of control of the tribal areas to local institutions, withdrawal of the army from tribal areas, the dismissal of criminal allegations against Taliban members, implementation of an Islamic governance system, and an end to all relations with the U.S.[3]
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On Friday, TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid stated that the TTP’s primary purpose behind holding peace talks with the government is to implement Sharia in Pakistan. Shahid also said that the TTP-nominated committee would only hold peace talks with the government under the Quran and Sunnah.[4]
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On Friday, the TTP’s Mohmand agency chapter alleged that the government was continuing its military operations against the organization after two TTP-affiliated activists, who were kidnapped on January 20 and 22 from Peshawar, were killed when peace talks between the government and TTP-negotiating committees had begun.[5]
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Loan
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On Sunday, Jeffery Franks, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) mission chief to Pakistan, said that the IMF will likely approve the next loan tranche for Pakistan by the end of the month. The IMF negotiators reportedly feel that Pakistan’s overall economic progress has been sufficient to excuse Pakistan’s failure to meet its goal of increasing its foreign currency reserves.[6]
India-Pakistan Relations
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A Monday article in The News reported that Maulana Masood Azhar, the Jaish-e-Mohammad chief accused of masterminding the 2001 attack on the Indian parliament building in Delhi, has reportedly increased his activities and could endanger talks between the Indian and Pakistani governments. Two weeks ago, Azhar addressed a rally in Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir, where Azhar criticized India for killing Kashmiri Muslims and accused New Delhi of carrying out terrorist activities in Pakistan.[7]
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According to a Sunday report in The Express Tribune, a spokesman for United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon offered the UN’s help in mediating the Kashmir dispute if both India and Pakistan agree to its participation.[8]
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On Saturday, American National Security Adviser Susan Rice said that the U.S. supports increased trade between India and Pakistan as a way to begin normalizing relations between the two countries.[9]
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On Sunday, Indian security forces carried out operations throughout Indian-administered Kashmir, arresting 200 people in anticipation of protests to mark the anniversary of the deaths of two Kashmiri militants who were executed by India. A curfew was also imposed in much of the state, and wireless internet was disabled.[10]
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On Friday, Maulana Fayyaz Ahmad, the head of Jamaat-ud Dawa’s (JuD) Faisalabad branch, warned the government not to grant Most Favored Nation (MFN) status to India, due to the Kashmir conflict.[11]
Iran-Pakistan Relations
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On Saturday, Iran’s Fars news agency reported that the Iran-based rebel group Jaish-ul Adl kidnapped five Iranian border guards. On Sunday, Iranian officials denounced Pakistan’s apparent inability to secure its borders and demanded that Islamabad “act firmly” against the militant group that reportedly fled into Pakistan.[12]
Saudi-Pakistan Relations
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On Saturday, the Chief of the Army Staff General Raheel Sharif met with the Saudi Deputy Defense Minister, Prince Salman Bin Sultan al Saud in Saudi Arabia, where the two discussed enhanced bilateral defense cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.[13]
Afghanistan-Pakistan Relations
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On Saturday, Lieutenant General Mark Milley passed the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Joint Command to the incoming American commander, Lieutenant General Joseph Anderson as the U.S.-led ISAF mandate will expire at the end of 2014. At the ceremony, the top U.S. commander, General Joseph Dunford, stated that “the coalition’s commitment to Afghanistan’s success is unwavering.”[14]
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On Sunday, the Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, said Pakistan continues to support an Afghan-led reconciliation process and has no favorites in Afghanistan. Aziz also noted that neighboring countries, especially China, will play an important role in the region following the withdrawal of NATO forces in 2014. [15]
U.S. Drone Strikes
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According to a Monday article in the Associated Press, the Obama administration is considering targeting an American citizen and al Qaeda member with a drone strike, but is unsure if the the U.S. has sufficient grounds to undertake the strike under new, stricter targeting policies issued last year. Under President Obama’s new policy, American citizens suspected of terrorism overseas can only be killed by the military, not the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). An unnamed U.S. official said the U.S. has resisted action against the suspected terrorist due to the international fallout that would occur from such an operation in an unnamed country that has been ardently resistant to U.S. action.[16]
Militancy
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On Sunday, unidentified gunmen killed eight people and injured at least 16 at a shrine in Baldia town, Karachi. Later on Sunday, TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said that the TTP was not responsible for the attack.[17]
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On Monday, a suicide bomb attack killed four people and injured three in a house in the Essa Khel Garhi area of Peshawar.[18]
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On Monday, unidentified gunmen killed three teachers in Kach Banda, Hangu district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.[19]
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On Sunday, unknown gunmen shot and killed an Elite Forces official in Swabi district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.[20]
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On Sunday, a clash between policemen and suspected militants killed one policeman and two of the militants in Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.[21]
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On Saturday, rockets fired from an unknown location targeted a Frontier Constabulary check post in Bagato, Hangu district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The Frontier Constabulary responded by shelling nearby mountains. No casualties were reported.[22]
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On Sunday, the Bomb Disposal Squad defused an improvised explosive device (IED) in the Sarband area of Peshawar.[23]
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On Friday, police defused an IED and seized other explosive materials in Arha, Dera Ismail Khan district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.[24]
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A Sunday article in The News reported that police arrested five alleged militants and eleven criminals in a targeted operation in Naurang, Lakki Markwat district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.”[25]
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On Friday, a suicide blast in Chab Kalan, Khanewal district, Punjab killed two Elite Force personnel and injured three others.[26]
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On Friday, a clash between law enforcement personnel and militants in Mianchannu, Khanewal district, Punjab left one militant dead and two security personnel wounded.[27]
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On Monday, unidentified militants blew up three gas pipelines in Rahim Yar Khan district, Punjab, cutting off gas to parts of Punjab.[28]
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On Monday, unidentified gunmen injured two security personnel who were guarding a polio team in Khyber agency.[29]
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On Saturday, the Bajaur levies forces defused an IED at a bazaar in Bajaur agency.[30]
Domestic
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On Monday, the special court in Islamabad tasked with trying former President Pervez Musharraf for treason reconvened for a hearing, at which Musharraf was given an exception from appearing in person until February 24.[31]
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On Monday, the army’s Corps Commanders will hold a routine, monthly conference in Rawalpindi.[32]