Car bomb attack in Spinwam, North Waziristan kills three; Airstrikes in Mir Ali, North Waziristan destroy five militant hideouts and kill 13 militants; twenty militants and six civilians killed in airstrikes on militant hideouts in the Tirah Valley, Khyber Agency; IDPs protest conditions in camps; Balochistan and Sindh announce they will welcome IDPs; PIA flight fired upon during landing, killing one person and injuring two others; Indian and Pakistani officials meet in Thailand to discuss future of peace and security between the two nations.
North Waziristan Offensive
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On June 24, a vehicle-borne suicide improvised explosive device (SVBIED) attack on a military checkpoint in Spinwam, North Waziristan, killed two paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) soldiers and a civilian and injured seven others. Tribal sources claim the attack was successful because the SVBIED operator was able to travel to the area through parts of North Waziristan that the military had previously exempted from undergoing a forced evacuation. The attack was claimed by a group calling itself Ansarul Mujahideen, allegedly a new pseudonym for the Lashkar-e-Khorasan faction of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The group’s spokesman, Abu Baseer, claimed the attack was part of Operation Zarb-e-Momin, which he said was the Taliban’s response to the Pakistani military’s Operation Zarb-e-Azb currently being prosecuted in North Waziristan. Ansarul Mujahideen is reportedly led by an Arab national based out of North Waziristan.[1]
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Pakistani jets bombed and killed 13 militants and destroyed five militant hideouts in Mir Ali, North Waziristan on June 25. Twelve additional militants surrendered to the Pakistani military at an undisclosed location in North Waziristan.[2]
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According to a report in The News on June 25, Hafiz Gul Bahadur, the main Taliban leader in North Waziristan turned down offers from TTP leader Mullah Fazlulluh to assist with fighting against the Pakistani military as it conducts its operation in North Waziristan.[3]
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On June 24, in the Tirah Valley, Khyber Agency, 20 militants were killed when Pakistani jets bombed several alleged militants hideouts. Six members of a family are also believed to be killed in the attack.[4]
Internally Displaced People and Refugees
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A senior Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) Secretariat official reported on June 25 that more IDPs have begun to flee to the towns of Hangu and Thall in Hangu district in Kyhber-Pakhtunkhwa province from North Waziristan, using the Spin Thall route. The official said that the Spin Thall route lacks both registration checkpoints to process IDPs and camps to shelter them. The official feared that the lack of security procedures would make it easier for militants to escape North Waziristan Agency posing as IDPs. The government has established a camp for IDPs in Bannu but not in the cities of Lakki Marwat, Kohat, and Dera Ismail Khan.[5]
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Balochistan Chief Minister Dr. Abdul Maalki Baloch spoke to the Balochistan Assembly on June 25 and announced that Balochistan would accommodate all IDPs migrating from North Waziristan Agency as a result of the ongoing military operation there.[6]
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On June 25, “Hundreds of IDPs” protested the government’s treatment of IDPs during Operation Zarb-e-Azb, blocking the road between the city of Bannu and Kohat in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province for “several hours.” Some protestors also clashed with police.[7]
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On June 24, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the exodus of North Waziristan residents to other parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan may lead to the spread of polio. Most Internally Displaced Peoples (IDPs) are located in Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Dera Ismail Khan and Tank districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkwa province, but others have also fled to Punjab and Balochistan. WHO spokeswoman Sona Bari also noted that this is the first opportunity to vaccinate those from North Waziristan since a local Taliban ban on polio vaccinations was implemented two years ago.[8]
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Nadir Farhad, United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), told The News on June 24 that UN agencies and the Afghan government have registered over 46,000 Pakistani refugees coming from North Waziristan Agency to Afghanistan. He said that the WHO has vaccinated the refugees “against polio and other diseases” and the UNHCR has provided humanitarian assistance. Nadir also said that 15,000 Pakistani refugees are currently staying in UNHCR shelters in Khost. [9]
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Jan Muhammad Khan Achakzai, a spokesman for the political party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F), criticized the decision of Pakistani provinces such as Sindh to seal their borders against IDPs, especially considering that “Bannu and southern parts of Khyber-Pukhtunkwa province do not have the capacity to accommodate half a million IDPs.” The JUI-F represents the Assembly of Islamic Clergy in Pakistan and is led by Mahlana Fazul-ur-Rehman.[10]
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Federal Minister for States and Frontier Regions Lt. General (retd.) Abdul Qadri Baloch announced on June 24 that the government had registered 450, 681 IDPs and predicted that the number of IDPs would reach 600,000. He said that Rs 1.5 billion ($15 million) had already been approved to distribute among the IDPs. The government is currently distributing Rs 12,000 ($120) to each family along with rations and other essential items. He reported that 200 families of the 36,392 registered were currently staying in government camps. The government extended the curfew for another day to allow further evacuation from North Waziristan Agency.[11]
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On June 24, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah announced the Sindh government’s decision to allow IDPs with identification cards and proper registration into the province and allocated Rs 50 million ($500,000) in aid to IDPs fleeing North Waziristan Agency following the ongoing military operation there.[12]
Militant Activity/Domestic Unrest
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On June 25, militants fired on policemen, killing three and injuring one policeman and a pedestrian. The attack was reportedly retaliation for a police operation in Karachi’s Sultanabad area which earlier killed five militants.[13]
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On June 25, wanted terrorist and handler involved in a number of recent attacks, Commander Umer, was arrested in Islamabad. Umer reportedly trained in Miram Shah, North Waziristan and has been involved in planning attacks, in both Islamabad and Rawalpindi, and organizing militant travel in the tribal areas.[14]
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On June 24, a Pakistani International Airlines flight carrying 178 passengers and traveling from Rayadh, Saudi Arabia to Peshawar airport was hit by five bullets during landing, Peshawar police roped off Bacha Khan International Airport in Peshawar sight in order to search for the gunmen. One passenger was killed, and two flight attendants were injured along with several other passengers.[15]
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On June 24, an unknown gunman shot to death Mullah Izharul Haq Farooqi, vice-president of Sunni extremist organization Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), near Banny Chowk Unit as he returned home from visiting a contemporary in the Hospital. The attack occurred near Khayaban-e-Sir Syed, Rawalpindi. Two other ASWJ members were gunned down on June 19.[16]
Pak-Afghan Relations
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The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), responding to a directive from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif filed on June 21, blocked 45,000 Afghan SIM cards from five Afghan mobile phone companies on June 25 due to their connections to militant activities and cases of abduction for ransom.[17]
Indo-Pak Relations
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Key current and former officials from India and Pakistan met from June 20-21 in Chiang Mai, Thailand for the 14th annual Chao Phraya Track II Dialogue, where both sides discussed relations between India and Pakistan and the “prospects for peace and security” in South Asia. They focused on the effect of the newly elected Indian government under Modi on “Indo-Pak relations.”[18]
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Jalil Abbas Jilani, Pakistan’s ambassador to the U.S., said in Washington on June 24 that Pakistan and India have resumed “back-channel talks” following Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif’ and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bilateral meeting on May 26. During that meeting, Sharif proposed that the two countries revive the peace process and establish “a regular mechanism for talks between the Pakistani and Indian national security advisors.” Jilani also noted that Pakistan hoped to increase trade and economic integration between the two countries, a move that would benefit the entire region.[19]