Airstrikes hit eleven militant hideouts, arms cache and kill 13 militants in North Waziristan; Airstrikes in retaliation of militant rocket fire kill 13 militants and destroy seven hideouts; Military uncovers militant stockpile; Afghan Taliban advises fighters in Iraq and Syria to remain united and avoid extremism; Islamabad police announces a new plan to monitor the internally displaced persons (IDPs); Nearly 70,000 IDPs reach Paktika, Afghanistan from North Waziristan since beginning of operation; Government deploys intelligence units to 18 police stations in Islamabad to increase security; Afghanistan- based Pakistani Taliban militants kill three security personnel in Bajaur; Militants blow up gas pipeline in Dera Bugti, Balochistan.
North Waziristan Operation
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Pakistani Air Force (PAF) jets reportedly struck at least five militant hideouts near Mir Ali sub-district, North Waziristan on July 14, 2014.[1]
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PAF airstrikes on July 13, hit six militant hideouts and an arms cache and killed at least thirteen militants in Mosaki area, near Miram Shah, North Waziristan.[2]
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On July 12, militants inside Mir Ali, North Waziristan fired rockets at a security forces checkpoint near Mir Ali. The Pakistani military retaliated with airstrikes, killing 13 militants and destroying seven hideouts and an arms and ammunition cache.[3]
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Pakistani military officials announced that in the 24 hours leading up to July 12, six motorcycle-borne improvised explosive device (IEDs), two vehicle-borne IEDs, three guns, three vehicles, eleven suicide jackets and a cache of arms and ammunition were found in Khar Warsak and Zartangi, North Waziristan.[4]
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On July 12, the military’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) reported that Pakistani military personnel apprehended three militants, including one Uzbek, in the Boya area of North Waziristan and destroyed three vehicles in Degan, North Waziristan.[5]
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Dawn reported that the Pakistani military will go into Mir Ali after all hideouts are destroyed and militants killed because it is cautious of IEDs militants likely planted.[6]
Afghan Taliban and ISIS
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In a message released on July 10, the Afghan Taliban advised fighters in Iraq and Syria to remain united and avoid extremism. The Taliban also recommended that the leaders of all jihadi factions meet and hold a shura to solve conflicts between jihadi groups worldwide. The message came in the wake of the Islamic State in Iraq and al Sham’s (ISIS) announcement on June 29 to declare an Islamic caliphate to be headed by its leader, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. Reuters interviewed militant leaders associated with the Taliban and found mixed reactions to ISIS’s announcement of an Islamic Caliphate. One militant commander said that he was pleased with al Baghdadi’s efforts while another doubted that jihadi fighters considered al Baghdadi to be their leader.[7]
Internally Displaced Persons
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On July 14, police announced a new plan to closely monitor the entry of internally displaced persons (IDPs) into Islamabad with the help of property owners and host families of IDPs. Police unveiled the strategy in order to identify suspected militants disguised as IDPs. Police distributed SIM cards to 1,400 property owners and dealers across Islamabad who will reportedly use the SIMs to collect a record of IDPs who rent or purchase property in Islamabad. The record of IDPs will then be uploaded to a central server run by the police who will verify the identities and criminal records of the IDPs. So far Islamabad police claim no IDPs have arrived in the city.[8]
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Multiple non-governmental organizations (NGOs) said on July 14 that the government has hampered their efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to IDPs following Operation Zarb-e-Azb. NGOs such as the Bacha Khan Trust Educational Foundation complained that authorities have tried to stop them from delivering aid to IDPs while some Islamic NGOs linked to militant groups have been allowed to provide aid to IDPs in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Reuters reported on July 14 that Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Falah-e-Isaniat Foundation are two such organizations, linked to terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, currently providing humanitarian assistance to IDPs in Bannu. JuD has provided food to 80,000 IDPs in Bannu. The United Nations World Food Programme has provided 4,000 tons of food to 544,000 IDPs. According to Reuters, the government has registered almost 900,000 IDPs since the beginning of Operation Zarb-e-Azb.[9]
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In a visit to the Shorkot relief camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Dera Ismail Khan on July 12, Pakistan Army General Officer commanding for a division of engineers Major General Akhtar Jamil Rao said the worst of IDPs’ hardships are over that the army is working so that they may soon return to their homes.[10]
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Afghan officials said on July 12 that 10,000 families of IDPs, nearly 70,000 individuals, have reached Paktika province in Afghanistan from North Waziristan since the beginning of the ongoing military operation.[11]
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A total of 288 IDPs have moved to the government-run relief camp in Bakkakhel area in Frontier Region Bannu as of July 12, according to reports by Assistant Political Agent for FR Bannu Javedullah Mahsud.[12]
Militancy
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On July 12, militants attacked a security checkpoint and killed three security personnel, including a captain, in Ghakki pass area of Bajaur Agency, near the Pak-Afghan border. The militants crossed over from Afghanistan’s Kunar Province to execute the raid. Pakistan’s Foreign Office strongly condemned the attack on July 12 and urged Afghanistan to strengthen its efforts to eliminate militant safe-haven on its territory.[13]
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On July 14, Islamabad police deployed intelligence units drawn from Pakistan’s intelligence agencies at 18 police stations across the city to improve policing in Islamabad. The units will assist in information sharing within the police department and with other law enforcement agencies and their intelligence collection and analysis assistance will help police combat a wider range of threats.[14]
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On July 13, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan urged the police and political administrations of Islamabad and Rawalpindi to maintain tight security measures and remain vigilant as Operation Zarb-e-Azb continues.[15]
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On July 12, militants detonated explosive materials near, and damaged, a gas pipeline in Pir Koh area of Dera Bugti, Balochistan. Frontier Corps and Levies personnel launched an investigation into the attack; no militant group has claimed responsibility yet.[16]
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On July 12, unidentified persons tossed explosives into a guest house near the Lundkhwar Police Station in Takht Bhai sub-district in Mardan Agency, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Police reported no casualties.[17]
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On July 11, Gilgit-Baltisan Police Inspector General Mohammad Saleem Bhatti said that according to police reports, a group of militants linked to the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were currently in Diamer district of Gilgit-Baltistan. Police have intensified the current search operation to arrest the militants, who maintain links to TTP militants in North and South Waziristan Agencies.[18]
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On the night of July 11, a remote-controlled improvised explosive device (IED) detonated and damaged a Frontier Corps vehicle in Shapak area of Kech district, Balochistan.[19]
Pak-Afghan Relations
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At their confirmation hearings last week, U.S. General John F. Campbell and Admiral William Gortney, who have recently be nominated to lead American forces in Afghanistan and to head the U.S. Northern Command respectively reiterated the importance of strong relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan for stability in the region.[20]
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Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said that Pakistan welcomed a deal agreed to between Afghanistan’s main presidential candidates, brokered by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, regarding the election impasse it has been dealing with since June 15.[21]
India-Pakistan Relations