Four assailants attack court complex in Islamabad, killing 11 and, TTP splinter Ahrarul Hind claims responsibility for attack; Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif holds high-level meeting to discuss peace talks with the TTP; TTP-nominated negotiating committee receives list of prisoners TTP wants freed; Hafiz Gul Bahadur distances himself from ongoing TTP peace talks; Pakistan halts airstrikes against TTP after TTP Spokesman announces month-long ceasefire; Major General says army has cornered militants in North Waziristan; United Nations preparing to assist with IDPs fleeing North Waziristan; Secretary of Home and Tribal Affairs visits Bannu to assess IDP situation; Frontier Corps personnel reportedly recover three foreigners held hostage by eight Iranian drug traffickers in Turbat, Balochistan; Iranian officials retract statements about five kidnapped border guards being freed; Unknown militants kill two policemen in Indian-administered Kashmir; militants kill five in two separate attacks in Mir Ali; IED blast kills two in Landi Kotal, Khyber agency; Militants kill 11 in bomb attacks targeting security personnel of a polio vaccination team in Jamrud, Khyber agency; Security forces kill three militants injure three others in Khyber agency; Police arrest militants and recover weapons following attack on police van in Bannu; Pakistani President says targeted operations will continue in Karachi for one year; Militants bomb gas pipeline in Balochistan; IED blast kills thirteen in Kalat district, Balochistan; Clash between militants kills 10 in Dera Bugti, Balochistan; Gunmen fire on security personnel convoy, killing three and injuring five in Washak district, Balochistan; Frontier Corps personnel recover IED in Quetta; Militants throw hand grenades at police van, injuring eight in Muzaffargarh, Punjab; Report says Islamabad’s slums safe havens for kidnappers, terrorists, and other criminals; Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif says there will be no gas load-shedding next winter; Pakistan’s new internal security policy will combat religious extremism through madrassa reform.
Attacks in Islamabad
On Monday, two suicide bombers and two gunmen entered a court complex in Islamabad, hurled hand-grenades and fired indiscriminately with automatic weapons into the courtrooms, killing 11 people and injuring 25 others in the F-8 sector of Islamabad. The two suicide bombers were killed when they detonated their explosive vests, whereas the other two assailants escaped. Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesmen Shahidullah Shahid condemned the attack and announced that the TTP was not responsible. Shahid also called on all groups operating under the umbrella of the TTP to follow the orders of TTP chief Mullah Fazlullah and refrain from any terrorist attacks.[1]
On Monday, a spokesperson for Ahrarul Hind, a splinter group of the TTP, claimed responsibility for the attack on the court. Ahrarul Hind recently split with the TTP over peace talks with the government. Asad Mansoor, the spokesperson for the group, said the militants targeted the court in Islamabad because the judicial system in Pakistan was un-Islamic, adding that their struggle against the state would continue until Sharia law was implemented throughout Pakistan.[2]
On Monday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif held a high-level meeting with military and civilian officials, including Chief of the Army Staff General Raheel Sharif, the Director General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Zahirul Islam, Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant General Ishfaq Nadeem Ahmad, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, to discuss strategies regarding peace talks with the TTP after Monday’s attack on the court in Islamabad.[3]
Ceasefire and Peace Talks with the TTP
On Saturday, TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid announced a month-long ceasefire and directed all affiliate groups to honor the ceasefire, as well. The leadership within the TTP made the decision after consultation with members of the TTP-nominated negotiating committees.[4]
On Sunday, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said that Pakistan would halt airstrikes against Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants after the spokesperson for the TTP agreed to a month-long ceasefire with the hope of resuming peace talks. Khan added that the government and the military reserved the right to respond to any acts of violence. A political analyst quoted in a Sunday article in Dawn does not believe the government is sincere in wanting to engage in dialogue with the TTP. According to analyst Raza Rumi, the government was obligated to match the Taliban’s ceasefire announcement to ensure that “right wing public opinion does not turn against them.”[5]
On Monday, Maulana Samiul Haq of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-S), the head of the Taliban-nominated negotiating committee, stated that the committee received the list of prisoners the TTP want freed and would discuss the list soon. Samiul Haq added that the TTP’s condemnation of Monday’s attack in Islamabad was a “welcome gesture,” and that not every attack should be attributed to the TTP, which has been working to disassociate itself from attacks throughout Pakistan.[6]
On Sunday, Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a Taliban leader based in North Waziristan, distanced himself from peace talks between the government and the TTP. His spokesman, Ahmadullah Ahmadi, said that although the government had violated certain clauses of a 2006 peace agreement, the local Taliban continues to abide by it. He clarified that the Gul Bahadur faction had never been an official part of the TTP.[7]
Military Operations in the Tribal Areas
On Saturday, militants killed at least 11 and wounded 10 in bomb attacks targeting security personnel of a polio vaccination team in Jamrud sub-district of Khyber agency. A Sunday article in The News reported that 13 people, including 12 Khassadar force members, were killed while six were injured in the attack.[8]
On Saturday, gunship helicopters shelled the headquarters of Mullah Tamanchey, one of the militants involved in Saturday’s attack on a polio team in Jamrud, destroying the Ayubi Markaz in Bara, Khyber agency and killing at least five suspected militants.[9]
According to a Sunday article in Dawn, Major General Asim Bajwa, the head of the Inter-Services Public Relations, told NBC News that security forces have cornered militants in North Waziristan and were ready to “mop them up.” The Pakistan Army has committed over 150,000 troops to the insurgency in Pakistan’s tribal areas to counter an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 TTP militants.[10]
A Saturday article in Dawn reported that the United Nations (UN) is preparing to assist the approximately 20,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) fleeing military operations in North Waziristan A related article in Dawn reported that nearly 100 civilians have fled into Afghanistan’s Khost province following Pakistan’s air strikes against militant hideouts in North Waziristan.[11]
According to a Sunday report in The News, the Secretary of Home and Tribal Affairs, Akhtar Ali Shah, and members of a committee, visited Bannu to assess the situation of IDPs fleeing North Waziristan and to recommend how best to manage the situation.[12]
On Friday, government officials stated that targeted airstrikes against militant hideouts will continue in the tribal areas, adding that the operations will cause minimal collateral damage. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan noted the presence of IDPs that airstrikes must avoid targeting. Khan told several opposition lawmakers that the government will announce a policy for the IDPs “in the wake of surgical strikes.”[13]
Iran-Pakistan Relations
On Sunday, Iranian officials retracted earlier statements that five kidnapped border guards had been freed in Pakistan, stating that the status of the soldiers remains unknown. The Iranian Sunni militant group, Jaish al Adl, claimed responsibility for kidnapping of the border guards in Sistan-Balochistan province on February 6. Rumors in the Pakistani media and tweets released by Jaish al Adl alleged that the soldiers had been freed. However, officials in Iran stated that these reports were not reliable.[14]
India-Pakistan Relations
On Monday, unknown militants shot and killed two policemen outside a court complex in Pulwama town in Indian-administered Kashmir, only hours after an unknown assailant stabbed another police officer at a marketplace in the nearby town of Pampore. According to the Monday article in Dawn, the man who stabbed and injured the police officer was a close relative of a Hizbul Mujahideen militant.[15]
Militancy
On Friday, militants killed five people including two prominent tribal elders and injured five more in two separate attacks in Mir Ali, North Waziristan agency. In the first attack, militants shot and killed tribal elder Malik Akbar Jan Wazir and two others in Khushali Torikhel village. The second attack, an improvised explosive device (IED) blast targeting tribal elder Malik Nekam Khan, killed two and injured two in Eedak village in Mir Ali, although Khan survived the attack.[16]
On Monday, an IED blast targeting a security forces’ vehicle killed two and injured seven others in Landi Kotal sub-district of Khyber agency. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.[17]
On Friday, security forces killed three militants and injured three others militants in the Shalobar area of Bara sub-district, Khyber agency. The militants were driving in a car when security forces signaled for them to stop. Militants then threw a hand grenade at the security forces’ vehicle, leaving one soldier injured. Security forces opened fire in retaliation, killing the men.[18]
On Saturday, unknown gunmen fired on a police van near Government High School No-2 near Kachkot in Bannu, after which the police arrested one of the gunmen. After interrogating the militant, police raided a house in Shahbaz village of Kakki tehsil and arrested another militant, also recovering weapons.[19]
On Sunday, President Mamnoon Hussain said that targeted operations will continue against terrorists and other criminals hiding in slums in Karachi for another year. The President also commented that strengthening the economy and improving law and order were two of the government’s top priorities.[20]
On Monday, unknown militants blew up a Sui gas pipeline in Dera Murad Jamali, Balochistan, disrupting gas supplies to Quetta and several other districts throughout the province.[21]
On Saturday, Frontier Corps officers recovered three foreigners (two Tanzanians and a Yemeni national) who had been kidnapped by a gang of Iranian drug traffickers. The security forces also arrested the eight Iranians who were holding the foreigners in a house in Overseas Colony, Turbat, Balochistan.[22]
On Saturday, an IED blast killed thirteen people, including three Frontier Corps soldiers, and injured six in Kalat district, Balochistan. In a separate incident on Saturday, a clash between militants killed 10 in Dera Bugti district, Balochistan.[23]
On Saturday, unknown gunmen fired on a convoy of security personnel, killing three and injuring five in Washak district, Balochistan.[24]
On Saturday, Frontier Corps (Balochistan) personnel recovered an IED and several explosive materials during a raid in Faizabad, near the Sariab area of Quetta, Balochistan.[25]
On Friday, unknown militants threw a hand grenade at a police van, injuring eight, including six police officials, in Kot Addu sub-district, Muzaffargarh, Punjab Province.[26]
Domestic
According to a Monday article in the Express Tribune, slums in Islamabad, the federal capital, have become a safe haven for kidnappers, terrorists, and other criminals, causing increasing problems for law enforcement and the city administration. According to an official in the Ministry of Interior, approximately 98,000 people are illegally living in 24 slums throughout the city, many of whom are Afghans without legal documents authorizing their extended stay. Islamabad and Rawalpindi police have devised a joint security plan to conduct search operations intended to address the potential security risks from the slums.[27]
A Monday article in The News reported that there will be no gas load-shedding in the next winter season. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, while speaking with Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, stated that the government is making elaborate arrangements to cope with the crisis. The Prime Minister and the Chief Minister also discussed peace talks with the TTP and the government’s strategy regarding the ceasefire.[28]
According to a Sunday article in Dawn, Pakistan’s new internal security policy will work to combat religious extremism through madrassa reform. Specifically, the National Internal Security Policy will bring all madrassas under its national education system within one year. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, who presented the policy in Parliament on Wednesday, stated that some, but not all, madrassas have contributed to the spread of extremism, adding that some receive financing from unidentified sources and publish and distribute hate material.[29]