TTP committee members dismiss allegations of rifts within TTP; Interior Ministry says peace talks make progress; TTP committee member says government may release 13 non-combatants in days; Jang media group requests authorities protect it against threats; Pakistan most dangerous country for journalists in 2013; Prime Minister to visit Iran in May; Frontier Corps kill 10 militants in Balochistan; Militant belonging to TTP’s Sheharyar Mehsud group killed in North Waziristan agency; IED blast in Balochistan kills one Frontier Corps soldier, injures another; IED blast injures four security forces in Swat; One soldier and four militants killed in Tank district clash; Two NATO drivers killed in Khyber agency attack; Pakistani security official killed by firing from Afghanistan; Two TTP leaders killed in clashes with security forces in South Waziristan agency; Security forces kill suspected militant in Mohmand agency; World Health Organization recommends travel restrictions on Pakistan due to outbreaks of polio; Finance Minister says foreign exchange reserves have increased to $12 billion; JuD pledges support for army.
TTP Peace Talks
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On Friday, at a conference organized by the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) negotiating committee member Maulana Yousuf Shah dismissed allegations of fractures within the TTP, adding that all militant groups support the peace process with the government.[1]
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On Saturday, TTP committee member Maulana Yousaf Shah stated at a press conference in Islamabad that the TTP had provided the government with a list of 765 non-combatant TTP prisoners, of which 13 may be released within the next couple of days. [2]
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On Friday, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan told reporters that peace talks with the TTP had made “positive progress,” noting that no previous administration in Pakistan had made a similar effort to engage in dialogue with Pakistan’s militants. Nisar commented that there was “no hitch” from the government or the military with regard to progress with the talks.[3]
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On Monday, TTP negotiating committee member Professor Ibrahim Khan stated that the TTP should not “act as a hurdle” to peace. Khan added that the negotiating committee will put pressure on the TTP to work with the government toward the restoration of peace in Pakistan.[4]
Threats to Journalists
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On Friday, the management of Jang/Geo News sent letters to Pakistan’s civil and military authorities, urging them to protect the media group against increasing incidents of intimidation following the April 19th attack on TV presenter Hamid Mir. The letters alleged that the increase in acts of intimidation were part of a campaign to shut down Geo News.[5]
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On Saturday, the United Nations said that 71 journalists in Pakistan were killed and 2,000 were injured or threatened in 2013. Pakistan was labelled the “most dangerous country in the world” for journalists.[6]
Iran-Pakistan Relations
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According to a Saturday report in Dawn, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will visit Iran on May 11 to meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.[7]
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On Sunday, Brigadier General Ahmadi Moqaddam, the Iranian police chief, said that Iran may close its border with Pakistan. He added that once the borders are sealed, Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan province will experience “major changes.”[8]
Afghanistan-Pakistan Relations
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On Monday, the first flight to supply equipment to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) security forces in Afghanistan from Pakistan took off from Karachi and headed towards Bagram Airbase. The cargo consisted of 15 military vehicles.[9]
Militancy
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On Friday, unidentified gunmen killed an alleged militant in Miram Shah, North Waziristan agency. The militant reportedly belonged to the Shehryar Mehsud Group.[10]
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On Sunday, firing from Afghanistan killed one Pakistani security official on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in Bajaur agency. According to a statement issued by the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), it is unclear whether the firing came from Afghan security forces or militants. [11]
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On Saturday, clashes between security forces and TTP militants killed two TTP leaders in the Bobar area of South Waziristan agency. The two leaders were identified as Irfan Mehsud, a member of the TTP’s central shura and a spokesman for the TTP, and Wafadar Mehsud. Security forces also claimed to have killed five other TTP supporters between Friday and Saturday.[12]
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On Monday, the Frontier Corps claimed to have killed 10 militants belonging to “a banned Baloch group” involved in targeted killings and bomb explosions in Panjgur district, Balochistan. In the exchange of fire, three soldiers were also wounded. Several militant hideouts were also destroyed in the operation.[13]
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On Saturday, a bomb blast in Dhadar, Bolan district, Balochistan killed a Frontier Corps soldier and injured another.[14]
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On Friday, an improvised explosive device (IED) blast targeting a security forces’ vehicle injured four soldiers on the Malam Jabba road in Swat district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.[15]
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On Sunday, a clash between security forces and militants resulted in the deaths of one soldier and four militants in Mingora, Swat district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.[16]
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On Sunday, members of an unidentified militant group killed Amirullah Mehsud, a commander of a rival group in Kot Khidak area of Tank district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.[17]
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On Friday, militants fired three rockets from an undisclosed location into Bannu district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, one of which hit a mosque. A second rocket caused damage to a house, but no casualties were reported.[18]
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On Saturday, police found and defused a bomb planted near a gas station in Takht Bhai, Mardan district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.[19]
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On Saturday, a bomb went off outside the house of Nasim Afridi, the leader of the Jarma, Kohat district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chapter of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). No one was hurt in the attack.[20]
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On Monday, unidentified militants blew up electricity transmission lines in Badbher, Peshawar district.[21]
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On Monday, unidentified gunmen attacked a NATO tanker in Wazir Dhan, Khyber agency, killing two.[22]
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On Friday, security forces killed a suspected militant during a search operation in the Halimzai sub-district of Mohmand agency.[23]
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On Saturday, an IED blast injured two people in Sadda, Kurram agency. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.[24]
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On Sunday, security forces seized 40 suicide vests near the Torkham border crossing in Khyber agency. The vests contained no explosives, but were reportedly being smuggled from Afghanistan into Pakistan to be used for suicide missions. Khassadar forces also arrested the Afghan national who was bringing the jackets to Pakistan.[25]
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On Sunday, an owner of a factory in Islamabad told the police that his family had received three phone calls from an alleged member of the TTP, who threatened that he and his family would be kidnapped and killed if the owner did not pay $400,000.[26]
Domestic
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On Monday, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended travel restrictions on Pakistan because of the increase in the number of polio cases. Representatives within the WHO have called the spread of polio an “international public health energy” that could threaten other countries.[27]
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On Saturday, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar stated that Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves have increased to $12 billion as a result of stabilization and structural reforms. Dar also predicted that reserves will reach $15 billion by September 30th.[28]
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On Sunday, Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) held a convention in Lahore headlined by JuD leader and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed and former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief General Hamid Gul. The speakers pledged JuD’s full support for the Pakistan Army.[29]
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On Thursday, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan announced that his party would be boycotting the Jang Media Group due to the channel’s alleged role in electoral irregularities in the 2013 election. Khan says The group’s Geo TV broadcast Nawaz Sharif’s victory speech with only 18 percent of the vote counted in last year’s election.[30]