Security officials retract July 15 reports of capture of senior TTP leader Adnan Rashid on July 11; Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs addresses U.S. allegations of militants escaping North Waziristan before Operation Zarb-e-Azb; Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security blames recent militant attacks in Afghanistan on ISI and Pakistani support of Haqqani Network, criticizes Operation Zarb-e-Azb; Police in Okara, Punjab arrest alleged militant leader involved in July 17 Raiwind Operation; Pakistan to receive next loan tranche from IMF.
North Waziristan Offensive
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On July 24, Pakistan security officials on July 24 retracted reports originally issued on July 15 claiming the capture of senior Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leader Adnan Rashid in the Shakai valley, South Waziristan on July 11. Officials said that while they did arrest a high-value suspected militant on July 11, the militant was not Rashid. Instead, the military says it captured an al Qaeda bomb-maker and trainer. Pakistan Taliban commanders confirmed to Reuters on July 24 that Rashid had not been captured. The commanders said that Rashid remains “free and safe and protected by his 12 suicide-bomber bodyguards” in an undisclosed location.[1]
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A Taliban operative detained in Karachi’s Sohrab Goth area on July 21, Ehsanullah Burki, told police during interrogation on July 24 that the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) continues to execute extortion operations in Karachi in order to finance TTP militant activities in North Waziristan. Burki revealed that the TTP centers its operations in Karachi’s Baldia Town and that he tried to send Rs 10 million ($101,000) to the TTP in North Waziristan.[2]
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In a meeting between U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Syed Tariq Fatemi in Washington on July 23, Fatemi reiterated that Operation Zarb-e-Azb targets militants “irrespective of their nationality, ethnicity or group affiliation” and addressed U.S. complaints that Pakistan’s government failed to stop Haqqani Network militants from escaping to Afghanistan before the operation began. Fatemi, responding to U.S. complaints, said that it was not possible to keep the operation quiet long enough to prevent militants from leaving North Waziristan because of the footprint of an estimated 175,000 troops and preparation leading up to the operation.[3]
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On July 23, the Spokesman for Afghanistan’s domestic intelligence service Hasib Sediqi alleged that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) fostered instability in Afghanistan by supporting militants who attack Afghanistan. He also accused the ISI of warning the Haqqani Network of Operation Zarb-e-Azb which allowed Haqqani militants to leave North Waziristan for Kurram Agency weeks before the operation. Sediqi said that the operation has failed to capture or kill any significant militant leader and that most militant deaths have resulted from U.S. drone strikes in North Waziristan. Sediqi’s allegations came in the wake of a suicide attack in Afghanistan’s Kunduz province that killed one and wounded three on July 23 and a deadly car bomb attack that killed dozens of people in Paktika province on July 15. On July 22, the Afghanistan government blamed the Haqqani Network for carrying out such attacks with the help of the ISI and criticized Operation Zarb-e-Azb for failing to suppress Haqqani Network activity.[4]
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Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman and former Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari met with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden in Washington on July 23 to discuss Operation Zarb-e-Azb and other issues of mutual interest.[5]
Pak-Afghan Relations
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Speaking in Kabul on July 24, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said that the cooperation of Pakistan is vital to the restoration of peace in Afghanistan.[6]
Raiwind Operation
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On July 24, law enforcement agencies confirmed the arrest of a militant leader, Molvi Ishaq, who was allegedly involved in the firefight between militants and security forces in the Raiwind area of Lahore, Punjab on July 17. Security forces arrested Ishaq on July 24 in the Hujra Shah Muqeem area of Depalpur, Okara, Punjab. Security forces arrested 18 additional suspected militants in security operations in Okara, Dera Ghazi Khan, Lahore, Islamabad, and Rahim Yar Khan.[7]
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Security Operation
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In an effort to stop terrorism, kidnappings, extortion and targeted killings in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, on July 24 the provincial government divided the province into 26 zones in which to carry out a new security operation. Over 100 detachments of commandos have been brought in and the government has already put together a list of 2,000 suspects.[8]
Pakistan-India Relations
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On July 24, Pakistan Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry rejected Indian allegations claiming that a large group of infiltrators from Pakistan entered India on July 23.[9]
Pakistan and IMF
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On July 24, The News reported that Pakistan will likely receive the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s next tranche of $550 million as part of the U.S $6.6 billion loan program. According to the Ministry of Finance, the IMF board of directors is set to grand approval for the next tranche’s issuance at the next meeting on August 6.[10]
Militancy
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On July 24, an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) exploded outside an Achani area house in Bara sub-district, Khyber Agency, partially damaging the house. Another IED exploded outside a Wazirdand area house in Jamrud sub-district of Khyber Agency. No casualties were reported from either incident.[11]
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On July 24, unknown individuals fired a rocket from an unknown location and hit the Shab Qadar area of Chasadda, injuring two people.[12]