Ground operations and heavy bombardment begin in North Waziristan; 13 militants killed and 12 captured in Mir Ali; Sharif blames militants for failure of peace; Emirates and Etihad suspend service to Peshawar International Airport after attack; Militants attack checkpoint in Jamrud, resulting firefight kills four militants and three Khasadar officials; Afghan delegation arrives in Islamabad to develop join counterterrorism plan; U.S. places two Lashkar-e-Taiba leaders on global terrorists list.
North Waziristan Operation Intensifies with Ground Operations
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According to the Pakistani military, the ground-phase of the North Waziristan operation started at 6 am on June 26 with ground forces moving into and consolidating their positions in Miram Shah’s bazaar and Zafar Town areas and clearing alleged militant hideouts.Heavy shelling and bombardment by tanks and artillery of Miram Shah’s bazaar and Zafar Town areas accompanied the ground operations. According to the Director General of the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), Major General Asim Bajwa, the Pakistan Army has asked the Afghan Army to target militant hideouts in Kunar and Nuristan provinces in Afghanistan but has received no response from the Afghan side.[1]
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Pakistan Air Force (PAF) jets resumed airstrikes on Wednesday, June 25, killing 13 militants in Mir Ali sub-district of North Waziristan Agency. Twelve militants also reportedly surrendered to security forces on June 25 in Mir Ali sub-district. According to The Express Tribune, the strikes occurred near the village of Hurmaz, Mir Ali sub-district. Official sources said that security forces have tightened security at checkpoints as the curfew in North Waziristan Agency continued for the second day in a row. [2]
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Sartaj Aziz, Advisor to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs, said on June 25 that the current military operation in North Waziristan Agency targeted militants “without discrimination,” making no distinction between “good and bad Taliban.” He also asserted that, “No non-state actor is being backed by the government.” The Pakistan Army said for the first time that the ongoing military operation is also targeting the Haqqani Network, among other militant groups such as the TTP and foreign, prominently Uzbek, militants.[3]
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Pakistan’s Foreign Office sent a memo to foreign diplomats based in Karachi on June 26, cautioning them to avoid traveling unnecessarily and to remain vigilant in light of the security situation following the ongoing North Waziristan operation.[4]
Sharif Addresses Military Operation and Qadri
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On June 26, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif blamed the Pakistani Taliban for the ultimate failure of peace talks being held with the government prior to the start of military operations in North Waziristan. According to The News, Prime Minister Sharif is expected to hold a meeting with political leaders where he will brief them on the ongoing military operation in North Waziristan Agency. Separately, Prime Minister Sharif also dismissed recent calls made by Populist Pakistani cleric Tahirul Qadri to overthrow the central government.[5]
Responses to Peshawar Airport Attack
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Two major air carriers, Emirates Airlines and Etihad Airways announced on June 25 that they would indefinitely suspend flights to Peshawar’s Bacha Khan International Airport because of security concerns, just hours after militants fired on a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane at the airport and killed a passenger. Dawn reported that Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority on June 25 requested enhanced security at Peshawar Airport.[6]
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After the attack on a PIA plane on the night of June 24, Peshawar’s Bacha Khan International Airport resumed flight operations on June 25. Police and other security agencies launched a search operation in areas around the airport and detained 250 people for further questioning.[7]
Militancy
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Dawn reported that four militants and three Khasadar officials died in a clash on the night of June 25 in the Sur Qamar area of Jamrud sub-district, Khyber Agency. Militants targeted a security checkpoint near the Pakistan-Afghanistan Highway. The Frontier Corps (FC) sent reinforcements to assist Khasadar forces engaged in fighting and eight security personnel were injured in the exchange of fire, including two FC personnel.[8]
Domestic
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A Pakistan Army helicopter crashed on June 25 during a training exercise near Multan, Punjab, killing both pilots[9]
Joint Pak-Afghan Counterterror Efforts
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Speaking before Pakistan’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Islamabad on June 25, Advisor to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said that Pakistan looks to develop a joint counterterror strategy with Afghanistan which will prevent each’s own territories from being used against one another.[10]
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Afghanistan National Security Advisor Dr Rangin Dadfar Spanta arrived in Islamabad on June 26 as leader of a delegation of senior foreign, defense, interior and intelligence officials to hold talks with Advisor to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz. The talks will address “anti-terror cooperation and Islamabad’s role in peace efforts.” When speaking with Prime Minister Sharif over the phone on June 19, Afghan president Hamid Karzai said that his delegation sought to secure a “road map” for cooperation in counterterror efforts. Dawn reported that Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to “establish a Joint Working Group on Security” and “agreed to hold a meeting of their relevant officials” on the Joint Working Group on Security in Islamabad on July 3, 2014.[11]
US-Pakistan Relations
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On June 25, the United States Department of the Treasury designated two Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) leaders, Nazi Ahmad Chaudhry and Muhammad Hussein Gill, as global terrorists. The move puts pressure on Pakistan to “take punitive action against the group” and blocks all U.S.-located or –linked property and assets belonging to Chaudry and Gill. The designation also prohibits any U.S. persons from “engaging in transactions” with any property and interests held by Chaudry and Gill. Chaudry has led LeT’s information wing, made key strategy decisions for the group, helped manage LeT’s operational finance wing, and served as a senior leader in LeT since the 2000s, including as LeT’s vice-president and a “close aide to LeT leader Hafiz Muhammad Saeed. Muhammad Hussein Gill, “a senior LeT shura member and one of its founders, has assisted LeT in recording its expenses and managing its accounts, assisted LeT’s revenue wing and served as LeT’s chief financial officer.”[12]