Government attempts to revive peace talks with TTP; TTP intermediary says TTP political shura ready to resume direct talks; TTP intermediary admits TTP infighting has created obstacles for peace talks; TTP Emir Mullah Fazlullah releases video, stating government, military must “submit to the authority of Allah;” TTP Emir reshuffles South Waziristan leadership, tasks TTP Mohmand chief with appointing new leader of group; TTP central shura refuses to accept Mullah Fazlullah’s leadership changes; Chief of Army Staff meets with Afghan Army Chief, ISAF commander in Kabul; Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif invites presumptive Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Pakistan; TTP Mohmand claims bombings that kill one and injure thirteen in Mohmand and Bajaur; Gunmen kill Khasadar soldier in Khyber agency; North Waziristan curfew lifted; Gunmen kill volunteer policeman in Peshawar; Gas pipeline in Sindh blown up; Police disrupt network of TTP-affiliated targeted killers in Karachi; Militants kill one Indian soldier and injure two near Line of Control; English-language and private schools close in Panjgur district, Balochistan, in response to militant threats; Case against FBI agent arrested in Karachi dropped; Pakistan’s National Security Adviser says it does not want Afghan Taliban to control territory.
TTP Infighting
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A Monday article in The Express Tribune reiterated Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leader Mullah Fazlullah’s decision to replace Khan Said Sajna with Sheikh Khalid Haqqani as the interim head of the TTP in South Waziristan, clarifying that TTP Mohmand leader Umar Khalid Khurasani had been tasked to settle disputes between the rival TTP factions and to decide on a permanent replacement for Khan Said Sajna.[1]
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On Saturday, a report claims that the TTP’s central shura has refused to accept TTP Emir Mullah Fazlullah’s decision to replace Khan Said Sajna with TTP Deputy Emir Sheikh Khalid Haqqani as the interim TTP leader in South Waziristan. A senior member of the shura told reporters from The News that Fazlullah had “behaved like a dictator,” making decisions first and then asking the shura to endorse them. According to the unnamed member, many senior commanders are unhappy with Fazlullah and are now supporting Khan Said, who has a strong following in the southern districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, including Tank, Dera Ismail Khan, Lakki Marwat, and Bannu. The TTP in Punjab are also reportedly close with Khan Said Sajna. The commander stated that if such a split were to occur, a third faction of militants, who support neither Mullah Fazlullah nor Khan Said Sajna could emerge, possibly led by Umar Khalid Khurasani. A Sunday article in the Wall Street Journal reported on the impact that infighting has had on peace talks between the TTP and the government, stating that Sajna appeared ready to agree to the government’s terms, which would effectively divide the TTP.[2]
TTP Peace Talks
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On Sunday, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Emir Mullah Fazlullah released a video, in which he stated that the Pakistani government and military must “submit to the authority of Allah and the system He has laid down.” Fazlullah also told TTP suicide bombers to be ready to fight against the military. The video was released through the TTP’s Darra Adam Khel chapter.[3]
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On Friday, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan stated that the government has attempted to revive the stalled peace talks with the TTP, adding that a “positive development” is expected within the next few days. Khan told reporters that ensuring safe access for polio vaccination workers in North and South Waziristan will be a priority during the next round of talks. A former government-nominated negotiating committee member, Major Muhammad Aamir, who has excused himself from peace talks, stated on Saturday that he did not think peace talks would be a success and was unaware of any effort by the government to revive the talks. When asked about the reasons behind the deadlock in peace talks, Aamir commented that TTP infighting and the delay in the release of non-combatant prisoners were the “main factors behind the current impasse.”[4]
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On Saturday, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) vice chairman, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, urged the government to end the deadlock in peace talks with the TTP, saying that talks were the “only way towards peace.”[5]
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On Saturday, TTP-nominated negotiating committee member Professor Ibrahim Khan stated that the TTP political shura is willing to resume direct talks with the government, but that it was the government’s responsibility to determine a date and venue for the second round of talks.[6]
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On Sunday, Maulana Samiul Haq, a member of the TTP-nominated negotiating committee, admitted that infighting among the Shehryar Mehsud and Khan Said Sajna factions of the TTP has “created obstacles” for the peace process.[7]
Afghanistan-Pakistan Relations
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On Monday, Chief of the Army Staff General Raheel Sharif traveled to Kabul to meet with Afghan Army Chief General Sher Mohammad Karimi and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) commander General Joseph Dunford to discuss cooperation in security and counterterrorism efforts.[8]
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On Friday, Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said it is against Pakistan’s interests for the Afghan Taliban to control spans of territory on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border since it would allow room for Pakistan-focused militants to find safe haven. Instead, he suggested that the Afghan Taliban be part of a power-sharing agreement in Kabul.[9]
Indo-Pakistan Relations
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On Friday, Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has invited incoming Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Pakistan. Aziz did not say what Modi’s response was, and conceded that “the process will take some time.”[10]
Militancy
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On Sunday, two improvised explosive device (IED) blasts in Chamarkand, Mohmand agency killed a Khassadar force soldier and injured five other people. The attacks were claimed by TTP Mohmand leader Umar Khalid Khorasani in a tweet.[11]
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On Monday an IED blast in Rashakai, Bajaur agency injured eight people, including seven Levies personnel. TTP Mohmand Emir Umar Khalid Khurasani claimed responsibility for the attack.[12]
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On Saturday, unidentified gunmen killed a Khassadar force soldier in Shahkas, Khyber agency and kidnapped his son.[13]
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On Friday, a week-long curfew in North Waziristan agency was lifted. The curfew was originally imposed following a bomb attack on Pakistani soldiers in North Waziristan.[14]
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On Friday, unidentified gunmen killed a volunteer policeman outside a mosque in Peshawar.[15]
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On Saturday, a bomb exploded near a house in Peshawar, causing damage to the house but no casualties.[16]
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On Friday, a gas pipeline in Karampur, Sindh was blown up by unidentified militants.[17]
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On Friday, police claimed to have disrupted a network of TTP-affiliated targeted killers when they arrested eight alleged terrorist and seized explosives, suicide vests, and weapons in targeted operations throughout Karachi. According to a Friday article in Dawn, six of the arrested militants were members of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.[18]
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On Saturday, police stated that the leader of a TTP splinter group, Abid Muchar, is still alive, contradicting previous reports that he had been killed during an operation in Karachi.[19]
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On Monday, security forces in Gulistan, Qilla Abdullah district, Balochistan found weapons, ammunition, and explosives in a truck travelling into Pakistan from Afghanistan.[20]
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On Monday, unidentified militants attacked Indian troops near the Line of Control (LoC) in Akhnoor, Jammu district, Indian administered Kashmir, killing one soldier and injuring two.[21]
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On Friday, security forces arrested eight people in Lahore. Police confiscated suicide jackets, explosives, and grenades.[22]
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According to a Monday article in the Express Tribune¸ all English-language centers and private schools in Panjgur district, Balochistan, have been closed for an “indefinite period” in response to threats from the militant group, Tanzeem-ul-Islam-ul-Furqan (TIF).[23]
Domestic