Meeting between Interior Minister and TTP negotiators canceled; JI Chief calls for TTP to announce permanent ceasefire; TTP intermediary claims TTP, government have made progress in peace talks; National Security Committee decides to explore “other options” to address militancy; Journalist injured in Karachi attack, family blames ISI; Policeman killed in Quetta violence; Frontier Corps kill three alleged militants in Balochistan; One killed in Balochistan landmine blast; Gas pipeline blown up in Balochistan; Six people with ties to Lashkar-e-Jhangvi arrested in Islamabad; Two UNICEF employees disappear in Karachi; Gunmen kidnap three from house of deceased ANP leader; Bomb explosion injures three in Chaman; Musharraf will not appear in court hearings; China and Pakistan begin two-week long joint military exercise in Rawalpindi.
TTP Peace Talks
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On Saturday, a planned meeting between Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)-nominated negotiators was canceled. TTP committee member Ibrahim Khan said he was unaware of any meeting that had been scheduled for Saturday.[1]
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On Sunday, the Jamaat-e-Islami chief, Sirajul Haq, called for the TTP to announce a permanent ceasefire and urged the government to continue with peace talks.[2]
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On Sunday, TTP negotiating committee member Professor Ibrahim Khan said that the government and TTP have made progress in peace talks and could hold a meeting in the next few days, although the exact date and venue have not been discussed.[3]
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On Sunday, members of the National Security Committee decided to explore other options in addition to pursuing peace talks under the condition that talks would have definite timelines. One security official stated that the militants engaged in peace talks are simply “buying time,” and suggested that Pakistan’s civilian authorities should not allow peace talks to continue past a certain point.[4]
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According to a Sunday article in the New York Times, recent infighting within the TTP has thrown into question whether the TTP will be able to enforce any peace deal it may reach with the Pakistani government.[5]
Attack on Journalist
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On Saturday, Hamid Mir, a prominent television presenter for Geo TV and strong critic of Pakistan’s military was injured by unidentified gunmen in Karachi. He survived a previous assassination attempt in 2012. Mir’s brother Amir later alleged that Hamid had received death threats from Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Amir Mir claimed that ISI chief Lt. General Zahirul Islam was personally responsible for the attack. On Sunday, the army’s public relations wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), released a statement condemning the allegations of ISI involvement and claiming that the army may take legal action against Geo TV.[6]
Militancy
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On Saturday, unidentified gunmen in Quetta killed a policeman and injured his son.[7]
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On Sunday, the Frontier Corps killed three alleged militants in a clash in Tasp, Panjgur district, Balochistan.[8]
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On Saturday, a landmine explosion in Pelough, Dera Bugti district, Balochistan killed a civilian.[9]
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On Saturday, unidentified militants blew up a gas pipeline in Sibi district, Balochistan, cutting off gas supply to a nearby town.[10]
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On Friday, police in Islamabad arrested six people with ties to Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) who are allegedly responsible for at least 16 murders in the last year.[11]
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On Sunday, police sources confirmed that two employees working for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) disappeared in Karachi on Thursday. One police official said it is possible they were kidnapped.[12]
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According to a Sunday article in Dawn, unknown gunmen attacked a house belonging to the former Awami National Party (ANP) leader, Mian Mushtaq, in the Badbher area of Peshawar, abducting three people reported to be Mushtaq’s close relatives. Militants reportedly threw a hand grenade into the residence’s guest house, damaging two vehicles. A similar report in the Express Tribune reported that approximately 30 militants kidnapped five men, but later released two of them.[13]
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According to a Sunday article in Dawn, security forces defused a bomb near the Saifan police checkpost in Peshawar.[14]
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On Monday, a bomb planted on a motorcycle exploded, injuring three people in Chaman, Balochistan. According to a police officer, the bomb targeted the deputy commissioner’s office, as well as nearby offices of other law enforcement agencies.[15]
Musharraf
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According to a Monday article in Dawn, former president Pervez Musharraf will not attend court hearings in the any of the cases against him because he is undergoing medical treatment in Karachi. The court requested that Musharraf appear for the hearing of the Nawab Akbar Bugti murder case on Monday, but Musharraf’s attorney told the court that Musharraf could not attend due to his medical condition.[16]
China-Pakistan Relations
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On Sunday, China and Pakistan began a two-week long joint military exercise, “Peace Angel 2014,” in Rawalpindi. The two countries hope the operation will cement bilateral military relations and help share information and experiences in the medical field. [17]
Domestic
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According to a Sunday article in The News, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has successfully defused a budding civil-military dispute stirred up by the government’s prosecution of a treason case against former president General Musharraf and exacerbated by allegedly anti-military statements from two senior cabinet ministers.[18]