Ongoing TTP clashes kill between ten and twenty militants in North Waziristan; IED blast kills 12 Frontier Corps Personnel in North Waziristan; Aide to Prime Minister says TTP must take immediate steps to move peace process forward; IED blast injures four in Peshawar; Militants in Balochistan threaten English language learning centers; Bomb in Quetta kills two, injures 12; Gunmen kill one Frontier Corps soldier, injure three in Balochistan; Gunmen kill human rights lawyer in Multan; Pakistani court releases FBI agent on bail; Finance minister says Pakistan on track to meet IMF benchmarks; Pakistan successfully tests short-range ballistic missile.
North Waziristan Violence
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On Thursday, an improvised explosive device (IED) blast killed 12 Frontier Corps (FC) personnel and injured several others in North Waziristan’s Ghulam Khan sub-district. A conflicting statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) reported that nine FC personnel were killed, whereas an article in the Express Tribune reported that only eight were killed and four were injured. Unnamed sources added that the bomb blast appeared to target a polio vaccination team.[1]
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On Wednesday, clashes between the Sheryar Mehsud and Khan Said Sajna factions of the TTP killed five more militants and injured three in the Shawal area of North Waziristan. On Thursday, fighting continued between the two groups, killing between ten and twenty militants and injuring 15 more in Shawal along the border of North and South Waziristan.[2]
TTP Peace Talks
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On Wednesday, top aide to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Irfan Siddiqui, stated that it will be difficult for the government to pursue peace talks if the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) does not take immediate steps to push the peace process forward.[3]
Militancy
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On Wednesday, an IED blast injured four people at the Mina Bazaar in Peshawar.[4]
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On Thursday, a bomb blast in Quetta killed two people and injured at least a dozen more. The bomb was concealed in a motorcycle.[5]
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According to a Wednesday report in The Express Tribune, an unidentified militant group based in Panjgur district, Balochistan issued threats against 23 English Language Learning centers, saying that teaching English is prohibited in Islam. On Wednesday, gunmen attacked a school, threatened teachers and students, and damaged school property.[6]
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On Tuesday, a Frontier Corps convoy was ambushed by militants in Sunt Sar, Gwadar district, Balochistan. One soldier was killed, and three were injured. A security official blamed the attack on the Baloch Liberation Front (BLF).[7]
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On Wednesday, unidentified gunmen in Multan, Punjab killed Rashid Rehman, a lawyer who had been defending a university lecturer against charges of blasphemy. Two of Rehman’s colleagues were injured in the attack.[8]
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On Wednesday, an alleged militant died of a reported heart attack while in security forces’ custody in a prison in Malakand district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.[9]
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On Wednesday, protestors and security forces clashed in Indian-administered Kashmir as voting in Indian national elections in Jammu and Kashmir finished. The streets were reportedly mostly quiet though, as the polls were largely boycotted in the Valley of Kashmir.[10]
Domestic
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On Thursday, a Pakistani court released the U.S. FBI agent who was detained by security officials on May 5 at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport on bail of $9,800. The agent, who was part of an anti-corruption initiative, was arrested for allegedly attempting to carry bullets and a knife onto a domestic flight. On Wednesday, the spokesperson for the U.S. State Department Jen Psaki stated that U.S. and Pakistani authorities are working closely for the FBI agent’s release.[11]
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On Wednesday, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar stated that loans from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have helped set Pakistan on track to meet most of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) benchmarks set under the $6.7 billion loan program. In order to qualify for the next tranche of the loan, Pakistan must meet certain performance criteria that encourage economic growth.[12]
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On Thursday, Pakistan tested the Hatf-III (Ghaznavi), a short-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile with a range of 290 kilometers. The test was deemed a success.[13]