Afghan militant group declares support for IS; VBIED targeting senior police officer kills two and injures seven in Karachi; Nine TTP militants arrested in Islamabad; Four militants arrested and explosives seized in Landi Kotal, Khyber Agency; Two anti-Taliban militiamen killed and one injured in Pindyali, Mohmand Agency; TTP allegedly establish “court” in Maly Tangay, Peshawar; Officials identify four TTP and one LI commander killed in Bara, Khyber; Government releases white paper on PTI-led government in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa; No formal meetings between India, Pakistan at U.N. General Assembly in New York; Pakistan looking forward to work with new government in Afghanistan, says Foreign Office; Pakistan tests surface-to-surface missile; Army chief promises response to Indian cross-border provocations.
Militancy
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According to a RFE/RL report on September 26, a spokesperson for a group calling itself the Islamic Organization of Great Afghanistan said the group is committed to fighting for Islamic State (IS) and IS leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The spokesperson called for militants in Iran, Afghanistan, and the Pashtun and Baloch tribal areas of Pakistan to join with IS. The spokesperson called for attacks on the government of Pakistan, calling Pakistan a “Punjabi state.” Additionally, the spokesperson accused the leaders of the Afghan Taliban of working towards the interests of the Pakistani government. This declaration comes after the head of Ghazni’s Provincial Council, Abdul Jami Jami, stated that IS insurgents, including some Punjabi-speaking militants, were active in Andar district of Ghazni province. Earlier, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Jamatul Ahrar spokesperson, Ehsanullah Ehsan told Reuters on September 7 that TTP Jamatul Ahrar would consider assisting IS if requested by IS to do so.[1]
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On September 25, unidentified attackers killed two people and injured at least seven people in a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) targeting Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Farooq Awan in DHA Phase 4, Karachi. Awan suffered only minor injuries. The VBIED was remotely detonated when Awan’s vehicle convoy passed by. Jundallah reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack. The Karachi Police Criminal Investigation Department (CID) counter-terror unit’s chief separately stated he believed Jundallah might be involved in the attack.[2]
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As reported by Dawn on September 26, security forces arrested nine TTP militants in a raid on a mosque in sector G-10 of Islamabad. The militants were reported to be from Swat, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Bajaur Agency and planning to assassinate a senior military officer.[3]
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On September 25, security forces arrested four militants and seized explosives, including landmines, anti-vehicle mines and remote controlled devices, in the Ashkhel area, Landi Kotal sub-district, Khyber Agency.[4]
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On September 26, two anti-Taliban militiamen were killed and one seriously injured in an IED blast in the Dawezai area of Pindyali sub-district of Mohmand Agency. TTP Jamatul Ahrar claimed responsibility for the attack.[5]
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As reported by The Express Tribune on September 26, TTP militants established a “court” in Maly Tangay, Frontier Region, Peshawar. The “court” has been active for about a month and has been exercising authority in an area inhabited by the Mian Khel sub-clan of the Hassan Khel tribe. According to a tribal elder, the militant court primarily facilitates the negotiation of extortion money between militants and the local population. The Peshawar administration has denied the existence of a militant-run extrajudicial court.[6]
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As reported by The Frontier Post on September 26, officials have identified the four militants killed in an attack on August 14 in Bara sub-district, Khyber Agency. Three of the militants were TTP commanders and one of the militants was a commander in Lashkar-e-Islam (LI).[7]
Politics
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On September 26, the federal government released a white paper titled “A Great Betrayal in the Name of Change: Performance Overview of the KP Government (May 2014- September 2014),” evaluating the performance of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led government in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. In a news conference in Islamabad, Chairperson of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information, Marvi Memon, accused the PTI of betraying the people of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and said that its government had mismanaged issues in all the important departments.[8]
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Addressing a gathering of Pakistani Americans in New York on September 26, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that his government had been successful in implementing macro-economic reforms in the country and that its efforts had been acknowledged by international financial institutions. He also appreciated the efforts of the Pakistan Army in combatting terrorism as a part of the ongoing military offensive, Operation Zarb-e-Azb, in North Waziristan. Addressing the issue of political protests, he said that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had been working to consolidate democracy and not destabilize it through demonstrations and marches. [9]
Indo-Pakistan Relations
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On September 25, Indian Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj and Pakistan’s Advisor to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, met at the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and Commonwealth foreign ministers’ meeting for a conversation on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. However, the two ministers did not hold formal talks regarding bilateral relations between the two countries. On September 26, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry said that “if Indians are interested in a meeting, we expect them to approach us,” claiming that the onus for the resumption of the peace dialogue was now on India.[10]
Afghanistan-Pakistan Relations
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In a news briefing on September 25, Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said that the Pakistani government was looking forward to working with the new government in Afghanistan to rebuild the frayed bilateral relations between the two countries. Aslam also said that the government wants to resolve the issue of cross-border attacks as well as the issue of terrorist sanctuaries inside Afghanistan.[11]
Military
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The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) declared in a press release on September 26 that Pakistan successfully test fired a short-range surface-to-surface missile Hatf-IX (NASR). NASR is a quick-response system with shoot-and-scoot attributes, an in-flight manoeuver capability and a range of 60 kilometers.[12]
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According to a statement released by the ISPR on September 26, army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif appreciated the operational readiness of the troops deployed along the Line of Control (LoC) while visiting troops in forward locations near Jhelum. He also reiterated that any provocation along the LoC will be effectively responded to by the army.[13]