Prime Minister tasks Interior Minister with initiating final phase of peace talks with TTP; Minister of Petroleum and Natural Resources says sanctions “still a hurdle” for Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline; Commerce Minister dismisses rumors that Pakistan granting Most Favored Nation status to India opposed by the military; Report highlights number of militant attacks and deaths in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa over last nine years; TTP-affiliated terrorists move to Karachi; Gunfight between Afghan and Pakistani border guards kills one Afghan policeman; Prime Minister approves final phase of targeted operation in Karachi; Attorney General testifies at Supreme Court regarding charges against active military personnel in missing persons case; Federal Investigation Agency finds “irrefutable proof” that former President Pervez Musharraf illegally declared a state of emergency; Nearly 750,000 IDPs in Pakistan at end of 2013, according to report; Polio vaccination campaign resumes under protection of the military.
TTP Peace Talks
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According to a Thursday article in The News, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif tasked Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan to initiative the final phase in peace talks with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Prime Minister Sharif said that Khan should work to immediately set a time and venue for talks, as well as ask the TTP for their final demands. Unnamed sources cited in the article said that if this round of talks fail, the government’s final strategy will include the option of launching a military offensive.[1]
Iran-Pakistan Relations
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On Wednesday at a meeting of the sub-committee of the Senate Standing Committee on Petroleum, the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi stated that sanctions against Iran are “still a hurdle” in the way of progress on the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline. Abbasi added that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif discussed the issue with Iranian authorities, who reportedly understood the situation and agreed to cooperate with Pakistan to move the project forward.[2]
India-Pakistan Relations
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On Thursday, Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan dismissed rumors that Pakistan would only offer “Most Favored Nation” (MFN) status to India once the new government is installed in New Delhi, as well as impressions that Pakistan’s military was opposed to making the offer. MFN status would oblige both India and Pakistan to grant equal trade advantages to each other.[3]
Afghanistan-Pakistan Relations
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On Thursday, a gunfight between Afghan and Pakistani border guards on the border of Kandahar province, Afghanistan, and the Qila Saifullah district of Balochistan, Pakistan killed one Afghan policeman. According to a government spokesman from Kandahar, Dawakhan Minapal, the fighting began when Afghan border guards attempted to stop Pakistani border police from constructing a checkpost on what they claimed was the Afghan side of the border.[4]
Militancy
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According to statistics provided by the Central Police Office, militants conducted at least 3,275 throughout Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) over the last nine years, which have killed 4,175 security personnel and civilians. In addition to the human cost of militancy in KP, millions of dollars’ worth of property has been destroyed and there has been little foreign direct investment throughout the province.[5]
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According to a Thursday article in The News, terrorists who were operating in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) have moved to Karachi due to fear of the impending military operation in the tribal areas. According to the article, the high-level meeting held by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and subsequent decision to conduct targeted operations in Karachi were in response to intelligence that TTP-affiliated militants were hiding in Karachi.[6]
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On Thursday, a gunfight between unnamed individuals killed two people and injured three in Balochistan’s Khuzdar district.[7]
Domestic
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On Wednesday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif approved the final phase of a targeted operation in Karachi, in which the military and political leadership hope to rid Karachi of criminal and terrorist elements. In this third phase, military and intelligence agencies will reportedly assist paramilitary Rangers and police to “crackdown on criminals.” At a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sharif, the Chief of the Army Staff General Raheel Sharif stated that the military was prepared to provide any support to both the federal and provincial governments. General Sharif also told political leaders at the meeting that there “will be no obstacle between the political parties and democratic system.”[8]
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On Wednesday, a three member bench of the Supreme Court tasked with hearing the Malakand missing persons case asked Pakistan’s Attorney General Salman Aslam Butt and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Advocate General Abdul Latif Yousufzai to clarify whether or not a criminal case could be filed against members currently serving in the military. On Thursday, Attorney General Butt stated that, according to Pakistan Army regulations, charges in civilian court could be submitted against serving army officials.[9]
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On Wednesday, Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) released a report stating that the agency has “irrefutable proof” that former president Pervez Musharraf “illegally declared a state of emergency in 2007.” The report states that Musharraf did not consult with the former governor of Punjab, Khalid Maqbool, or the former attorney general, Malik Muhammad Qayyum. According to Pakistani law, Musharraf was obligated to consult with them, as well as the then-Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz before declaring a state of emergency, which the former president allegedly did not do. The hearing against Musharraf has been adjourned until May 22.[10]
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According to a report released by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC) on Wednesday, there was a total of nearly 750,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Pakistan at the end of 2013. The majority of the IDPs have fled from areas in KP and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) due to the ongoing conflict between the government and anti-state forces.[11]
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On Thursday, polio workers began a vaccination campaign under the protection of the army and Frontier Corps personnel in Bara sub-district, Khyber agency.[12]