Pakistan Security Brief - June 20, 2014

Army helicopter kill 20 to 23 militants east of Miram Shah as North Waziristan operation continues; Police and army forces increase security efforts in Karachi amid renewed TTP terrorist activity and attacks; Islamabad and Sialkot airports on high alert; Firefight in Kashmir kills 3 militants; IED blast in Torghar kills two policeman, injures two others; Militant attack on checkpoint in Kurram kills one and injures two; Joint Ranger-police operation in Karachi kills two key TTP leaders; IDP crisis deepens after curfew lifted, 164,000 IDPs to Bannu, 200-300,000 projected to flee; President Karzai assured Prime Minister Sharif of Afghanistan’s support for the operation in Northern Waziristan. Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry meet with President Karzai to request further Afghan support, including extradition of Mullah Fazlullah.

NWA Offensive

• On June 20, the fifth day of Pakistani military operations in North Waziristan, army helicopters killed 20 to 23 militants, including eight Uzbeks in the Zartatangi Mountains, east of Miram Shah.[1]

• A joint operation by police and Rangers forces in Karachi reportedly killed a top Taliban commander on Thursday. The “vice-emir” of the TTP in Karachi, Abid “Chotu,” was killed alongside another TTP commander identified as Fakhruddin Mehsud during a gunfight with security forces in the Sultanabad area of Manghopir, Karachi. Three Rangers personnel were injured in the gunfight. Elsewhere in Karachi, police claimed to have “arrested suspects involved in the Karachi airport attack.”[2]

• According to a report on June 20, Police and Rangers have continued to ramp up security efforts in major cities across Pakistan, including Karachi.  District West police chief DIG Captain Tahir Naveed warned that militants can easily operate within the city as long as residents refuse to cooperate with the government and report on their whereabouts.  A senior Crime Investigation Department officer said that different Taliban factions are working together to counter the recent operation in North Waziristan Agency with terrorist attacks in major cities.[3]

• The government placed Islamabad’s Benazir International Airport and Sialkot’s Allama Iqbal International Airport on high alert and deployed Rangers to each airport to enhance security.  These actions stem from government efforts to counter a potential terrorist backlash across the country following the start of Operation Zarb-e-Azb in North Waziristan.[4]

• According to a report on June 20, nearly 164,000 internally displaced peoples (IDP) have arrived in Bannu, district, Khyber-Pakhtunlhwa since the start of Operation Zarb-e-Azb.  The government’s recent lifting of the curfew on Wednesday triggered a massive exodus of IDPs prior to the start of a wider ground offensive. IDPs have also reportedly fled to Dera Ismail Khan, Lakki Markwat and Karak districts. Thousands of North Waziristan residents have also fled to Khost, Afghanistan.  The Pakistani government has refused to seek the assistance of the UN on the issue of IDPs. [5]

Militant Activity

• Indian security forces clashed with militants in Indian-administered Kashmir on June 19.  Security forces engaged in a gun battle after raiding a house in Tral from which militants tried to escape.  The battle occurred “45 kilometers southeast of the main city of Srinagar.”  The exchange of fire killed three militants linked to “Kashmir’s largest local militant group, Hizbul Mujahideen.”[6]

• An Improvised Explosive Device blast struck a police van on patrol in the Akazai area of Torghar district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, killing two policeman and injuring two others.[7]

• On June 19, militants attacked a security checkpoint in the Shalozan Tangi area of Kurram agency. The attack killed one Levies forces personnel and critically injuring two others.[8][9]

Pakistan-Afghanistan Relations

• Late Thursday, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif discussed the Afghan government’s support of Operation Zarb-e-Azb in North Waziristan. This was followed by a meeting between Karzai and Pakistan’s special envoy to Afghanistan, the chief of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), Mehmood Khan Achakzai. Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry was also in attendance.[10]

• While meeting with President Hamid Karzai, Mehmood Khan Achakzai requested that Afghanistan destroy TTP hideouts inside its borders and extradite Mullah Fazlullah, chief of the TTP. An Afghan delegation carrying proposals for bilateral cooperation from President Karzai is expected to visit Islamabad soon.[11]

Pakistan-US: Reactions to the North Waziristan Offensive

• This week, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Mahmood visited Washington to discuss the North Waziristan offensive and Pakistan’s commitment to approaching all militant groups in the same manner with state and defense officials.[12]