TTP- and government-nominated committees call for end to violence; Head of TTP-nominated committee condemns Karachi attack; Government-nominated committee considering TTP’s request to meet with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, but not with army of ISI chiefs; Government under pressure to end peace talks with TTP following Karachi attacks; TTP strengthening foothold in Karachi; Foreign Office denies Pakistan will give Saudi Arabia nuclear technology; Punjab Chief Minister says Indian and Pakistani militaries are blocking improved ties; Prime Minister says that Pakistan supports an Afghan-led reconciliation process; Three alleged al Qaeda militants arrested in Karachi; Two Rangers injured in Karachi blast; Two government officials kidnapped in Balochistan, rescue team also kidnapped; Lashkar-e-Islam militants publicly execute man; Anti-drone activist recovered.
Talks with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)
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On Friday, the government- and TTP-nominated committees called for an end to violence to ensure the implementation of peace throughout the country. While both sides stated that continued violence would be detrimental to the peace process, the government-nominated committee told the TTP-nominated committee that it would be difficult to continue peace talks if attacks continued.[1]
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On Friday, the head of the TTP-nominated committee, Maulana Samiul Haq, called on the Taliban to end all kinds of violent attacks and condemned the recent incidents in Karachi. Samiul Haq also commented on the presence of foreign and other anti-state elements that wanted to disrupt the peace talks.[2]
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A Friday article in The News reported that the government-nominated negotiating committee is considering the TTP-nominated committee’s request to meet with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, but stated that the committee will not have the chance to meet with Chief of the Army Staff General Raheel Sharif or Director General of the Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) Lieutenant General Zahirul Islam.[3]
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According to a Friday article in The News, the government is under pressure to end peace talks with the TTP following continued attacks by militants in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and the recent attack in Karachi. The government-nominated committee has stated from the beginning that the TTP must stop all terrorist activities to prove that they were serious about engaging in peace talks. The two sides have not yet agreed to a ceasefire because the TTP-nominated committee wants the government to first announce a truce, which would mean the withdrawal of security force from the tribal areas.[4]
Karachi Attack
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According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the TTP appears to be strengthening its foothold in Karachi following Thursday’s suicide blast that killed 12 police officers. The attack, claimed by TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid, may disrupt the ongoing peace talks between the government and TTP. A senior officer in the Counterterrorism Crime Investigation Department (CID) of the Karachi Police said, “if the peace talks fail, we fear that a big terrorism wave will hit Karachi.”[5]
Saudi-Pakistan Relations
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On Thursday, a Foreign Office spokesperson denied reports that Pakistan is going to give nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia, saying that Pakistan is “a model country with regard to the security” of its nuclear assets.[6]
Indo-Pakistan Relations
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In a Thursday article in The Guardian, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said that the military establishments in both India and Pakistan are blocking an economic rapprochement between the two countries. Sharif expressed strong support for better ties with India, saying that military clashes with India have “brought nothing but devastation and destruction.”[7]
Afghan Reconciliation Process
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On Thursday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that Pakistan supports Afghanistan’s effort at peace talks with the Taliban. He added that he believes that the reconciliation process should be Afghan-led.[8]
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On Thursday, Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the 8th trilateral summit in Ankara, Turkey assured Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that he would take action to oust TTP leader Mullah Fazlullah and other TTP members from Afghanistan.[9]
Militancy
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On Friday, the CID in Karachi arrested three men who were allegedly linked to al Qaeda. They are members of the Ashaab group, which is reportedly mostly involved in sectarian attacks, and were operating near the University of Karachi.[10]
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On Friday, two Rangers personnel were injured in what appeared to be a suicide bomb blast in Qayyumabad, Karachi.[11]
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On Thursday, gunmen kidnapped two government officials in Tump, Kech district, Balochistan. The kidnapping was claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) On Friday, a team of Levies personnel sent to rescue them was also kidnapped in nearby Gomazai.[12]
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According to a Friday report in The News, militants belonging to Lashkar-e-Islam publicly executed a man in Aka Khel, Khyber Agency. They believed the man was involved in killing one of their members.[13]
Domestic
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On Friday, Karim Khan, an anti-drone activist who disappeared on February 5, reappeared a day after a court ordered the Interior Ministry to produce him.[14]