PAT leader Tahirul Qadri and PTI leader Imran Khan suspend dialogue with government; Qadri declares August 28 day of revolution if demands not met; Imran Khan; Government accepts most PTI demands, but refuses to accede to demand for Prime Minister’s resignation; Islamabad police chief bars use of force against protestors; Election Commission refutes rigging allegations; Report claims army and government close to deal on power sharing in exchange for defusing political crisis; Punjab police register murder case against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Punjab Minister Shahbaz Sharif and 19 others; TTP commander killed in encounter in Dera Ismail Khan; IED blast injures two security personnel in Mohmand; Militants attack three oil tankers in Mastung, Balochistan; Three injured in militant attack in Harnai, Balochistan; U.S. sanctions LeT financier; U.S. repatriates nine prisoners from Afghanistan to Pakistan; Fresh firing across Indo-Pak border following de-escalation talks; UN calls for peaceful resolution of Indo-Pak dispute; North Waziristan IDPs demand repatriation by August 30.
Politics
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On August 27, Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Dr.Tahirul Qadri and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan suspended all dialogue with the government. Dr. Qadri declared August 28 as the “day of revolution” if his demands were not met. Imran Khan said that he would declare his future course of action on August 28. Federal Minister Saad Rafique said on August 28 that the government had agreed to five out of six demands of PTI but would not consider the resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. On August 28, the government also agreed to Qadri’s demand to register a criminal case against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and 19 others regarding a clash between PAT protestors and police in June that resulted in the death of 14 protestors.[1]
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On August 27, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) for Islamabad issued a notification restricting police personnel from using violence against the protesters unless given orders by a magistrate.[2]
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On August 27, the Election Commission of Pakistan refuted allegations made by its former additional secretary and those by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan that the 2013 elections were rigged, calling them “baseless.”[3]
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On August 27, a report by the Wall Street Journal declared that the Pakistani military is close to reaching an agreement with the government through which the Prime Minister would cede control of foreign affairs and security policy to the military in exchange for the army chief’s intervention in resolving the current political impasse.[4]
Militancy
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On August 28, two security personnel were injured in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast near Elbow Kandao, Mohmand Agency.[5]
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On August 28, militants attacked three oil tankers in Mastung, Balochistan. The tankers were on their way to Afghanistan from Port Qasim in Karachi.[6]
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On August 28, militants attacked a security forces convoy, injuring three personnel in Harnai, Balochistan. The convoy was guarding gas fields at the time of attack.[7]
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On August 27, the U.S Treasury declared Muhammad Iqbal, the owner of Asma Money Exchangers in Lahore, a “global terrorist” for providing financial services to the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).[8]
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On August 27, U.S. military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Myles Caggins III said that the U.S. has repatriated nine prisoners to Pakistan from its Parwan detention center near Kabul in Afghanistan last week. Two other prisoners were also returned to Yemen.[9]
Indo-Pak relations
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On August 28, India’s Border Security Forces (BSF) reportedly opened unprovoked fire on the Shahjamal checkpost in Bajwat, Sialkot. The firing comes a day after India and Pakistan held a commander-level flag meeting on August 27 to defuse tensions and agree on a de-escalation of violence along the Line of Control. On August 27, Sartaj Aziz, Special Adviser to the Prime Minister for National Security and Foreign Affairs said that the Kashmir dispute would need to be addressed in order for talks to take place with India. Following the cancellation of secretary level talks between the two countries and ongoing ceasefire violations, United Nations Chief Ban Ki-moon asked Pakistan and India to resolve their issues peacefully through dialogue in a statement given to the Press Trust of India on August 27.[10]
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
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On August 27, displaced students from North Waziristan Agency protested in Bannu, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and demanded repatriation to their homes in North Waziristan by August 30. The students have threatened to march towards Waziristan after the expiration of their deadline.[11]