Supreme Court orders PTI and PAT protestors to evacuate Constitution Avenue, protestors refuse to shift to alternate locations; PAT evacuates part of roadway; PAT chief Tahirul Qadri issues 48-hour deadline for Prime Minister Sharif to resign; Lawmakers request House Speaker not to accept PTI members’ resignations; PAT and PTI workers attack Geo News cameraman; Prime Minister Sharif and army chief Sharif meet to discuss political and security situation; Former President Zardari accelerates efforts to end political impasse; Former U.S. Ambassador Munter hints at U.S. sanctions in case of army coup in Pakistan; New TTP splinter group ‘TTP Jamatul Ahrar’ announces its formation; Khyber administration makes list of 70 wanted militants public; Bomb blast at Sufi shrine in Balochistan injures one; Indo-Pak water talks fail, Pakistan to appeal to ICJ; Senior Indian politician threatens retaliation against Pakistani shelling; U.S. contributes $6 million for IDPs.
Political Crisis
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August 25, the Supreme Court ordered Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) protestors camped out on Constitution Avenue in Islamabad to vacate the route within 24 hours. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan also directed local law enforcement agencies to ensure the implementation of the order. In a meeting on August 26, the Attorney General of Pakistan told the Supreme Court that the PAT and PTI declined to vacate the Constitution Avenue and shift their protests to an alternative location. On August 26, the PAT reportedly evacuated part of the road in front of Supreme Court.[1]
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On August 25, Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Tahirul Qadri issued a new 48-hour deadline for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to resign and asked members of the National Assembly to leave Parliament before the expiration of his deadline. His plans after the expiration of the deadline are unclear.[2]
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On August 25, lawmakers requested Speaker of the National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq not to accept the recently submitted resignations of PTI Members of the National Assembly session. Thirty-four lawmakers from the PTI tendered their resignations to the Speaker last week in protest of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led government.[3]
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Late on August 25, PAT and PTI workers attacked a Geo News cameraman covering the protests. Journalists refused to cover PAT protests after the incident.[4]
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On August 26, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met Chief of Army Staff Gen. Raheel Sharif at the Prime Minister’s House to discuss the ongoing political protests as well as the border clashes between India and Pakistan. A statement issued by the Prime Minister’s House after the meeting said, “there was a consensus on the need to resolve the ongoing issue expeditiously in the best national interest.”[5]
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On August 25, former President and co-chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Asif Ali Zardari accelerated his efforts to end the political deadlock in Islamabad by holding telephonic conversations with PTI leader Imran Khan and other senior political party leaders.[6]
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In August 26, Geo News reported that former U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan, Cameron Munter hinted that the U.S. could impose sanctions on Pakistan in case of any military intervention and deviation from the democratic process during the ongoing political crisis.[7]
Militancy
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According to a Dawn report on August 26, some commanders of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) declared the formation of a splinter group called the TTP Jamatul Ahrar, led by Maulana Qasim Khurasani. Former TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan, now the new group’s spokesman, announced that the group comprised of Talban commanders from Mohmand Agency, Charsadda, Swat, Khyber Agency, Bajaur Agency, Peshawar, and Orakzai Agency. The well-known leader of the TTP Mohmand, Omar Khalid Khurasani, is also reportedly part of the new group.[8]
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On August 26, the political administration of Khyber Agency made a list of 70 wanted militants public with the intention of urging locals to help arrest militants. The authorities also declared that those tribal elders failing to hand over suspected militants would invite strict action against their tribes under the tribal areas’ collective responsibility law.[9]
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On August 26, a bomb blast at the shrine of a sufi saint in Mastung district, Balochistan injured one woman and completely destroyed the shrine.[10]
Indo-Pak Relations
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On August 26, the third round of talks discussing water disputes between India and Pakistan under the Indus Water Treaty ended in a stalemate. Pakistan’s Indus Waters Treaty Commissioner Asif Baig Mirza said that Pakistan is concerned about India’s construction of the Kishanganga Dam on the River Jhelum as well as four other dams on the River Chenab which allegedly violate the bilateral Indus Waters Treaty. He also said that Pakistan would seek arbitration in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to resolve the matter.[11]
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On August 25, Amit Shah - President of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said that India would give a “befitting” reply to any Pakistani ceasefire violations and shelling across the Indo-Pak border. Cross-border firing has increased since August 18 after India called off bilateral talks with Pakistan scheduled to be held this week.[12]
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
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On August 25, the U.S. contributed $6 million to the Pakistani government to help with the nutritional needs of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who have fled the ongoing Operation Zarb-e-Azb in North Waziristan. The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad said that the contribution was a part of the partnership between Pakistan, the U.S. and the United Nations’ World Food Program (WFP) under the Twinning Program.[13]