Continued firing across Indo-Pak border kills two; Indian and Pakistani officials trade terse warnings; Two U.S. drone strikes kill five militants, injure three in Datta Khel area, North Waziristan; Prime Minister Sharif visits North Waziristan; TTP reiterates allegiance to Afghan Taliban; IED destroys police station in Swat; Night-time flight operations suspended at Peshawar airport due to militant attacks; Governor fears rise in extremism, fanaticism in Balochistan; North Waziristan IDPs to protest displacement in Islamabad; U.S. officials, investors to support Diamer-Bhasha dam; Ex-CIA Director alleges ISI links to terrorists groups; Pakistani ambassador to U.S. meets key U.S. Senator.
Indo-Pakistan Relations
On October 9, two people were killed and 12 injured amidst continued firing by Indian and Pakistani forces in Harpal village of Charwah sector on the Pakistani side of the Line of Control (LoC). Indian officials claim that at least eight people, including three Border Security Forces (BSF) personnel, were injured in Pakistani firing along the international border near Akhnoor on the night of October 8. The death toll has now risen to 13 Pakistanis and eight Indians since cross-border firing began on October 2. Addressing a press conference on October 9, Indian Defense Minister Arun Jaitley accused Pakistan of instigating “unproved” attacks in Indian-controlled Kashmir and warned that Indian forces would make the cost of this “adventurism” by Pakistan “unaffordable” for the country. Following this statement, Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said that Pakistan was capable of giving a “befitting” response to India and that “India must demonstrate caution and behave with responsibility,” in order to deescalate confrontations along the border between India and Pakistan. [1]
Drone Strikes
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Two separate drone strikes on October 8 and 9 reportedly killed five suspected militants and injured three in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan. In the first attack late on October 8, two drone-fired missiles targeted a vehicle in Laman village, killing two militants. According to official sources, “foreigners” were among those killed. In a second attack, on October 9, drone strikes targeted a militant compound and killed three militants in the same region. Meanwhile, while talking to the UN General Assembly’s Legal Committee, Ambassador Masood Khan, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations, demanded the cessation of U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan. He claimed that the drone strikes violated Pakistan’s sovereignty and established principles of international human rights and humanitarian law.[2]
Military
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On October 9, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif addressed troops in Miram Shah, North Waziristan Agency and claimed that the military was winning the war against militants in tribal areas under the leadership of army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif. He also expressed hope for a peaceful Pakistan. Nawaz Sharif became the first Prime Minister to ever visit restive North Waziristan Agency. He was accompanied by Gen. Raheel Sharif on his trip to the tribal region.[3]
Militancy
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In a statement released via an audio recording on October 6, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) head Maulana Fazlullah clarified that, contrary to media reports, the TTP had not announced its allegiance to Islamic State (IS) and that the TTP was still loyal to Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar.[4]
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On October 6, an improvised explosive device (IED) destroyed an under-construction police station building in the Charbagh sub-district of Swat district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Ten kilograms of explosives were reportedly used in the blast. No casualties were reported.[5]
National Security
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According to official sources on October 9, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has temporarily suspended night-time operations for international flights at Bacha Khan International Airport in Peshawar, citing security reasons which included recent incidences of small arms fire on airplanes landing at the airport.[6]
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In an interview on October 8, Chief Minister of Balochistan province, Dr. Abdul Malik Baloch declared that religious extremism and fanaticism had risen in the province in the last three decades and that he could not discount the presence of IS or any other militant group in Balochistan.[7]
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According to a Frontier Post report on October 9, army spokesman Major Gen. Asim Bajwa said that the federal government had asked national security institutions to ensure that the situation in the Middle East would not undermine the country’s ongoing counter-militancy efforts. He also said that the military would make sure that no terrorists were allowed to carry out activities abroad from Pakistani territory.[8]
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
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On October 8, a jirga of elders from North Waziristan threatened to stage a sit-in in Islamabad if the government did not take measures to ensure the early return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) to areas in North Waziristan cleared of militants.[9]
Economy
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In a conference on October 8 in Washington D.C., U.S. officials and investors vowed to support the construction of the 4,500 Megawatts (MW) Diamer-Bhasha dam. Dan Fieldman, U.S Special Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan, declared that the investment in the dam was the smartest choice for development by Pakistan. Top USAID administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah said that the dam had the potential to accelerate broad-based economic growth across Pakistan. The Diamer-Bhasha dam is expected to produce 4,500 MW of electricity and store 8.1 million acre feet of water, irrigating about 30 million acres of land.[10]
Pakistan-U.S. Relations
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Former U.S. Defense Secretary and ex-Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director Leon Panetta alleges in his new book “Worthy Fights: A Memoir of Leadership in War and Peace” that the Pakistani Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence’s (ISI) having ties to terrorist groups was an open secret and that the U.S. did not share intelligence about the raid on al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden with ISI for this reason.[11]
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On October 8, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Jalil Abbas Jilani met Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees, and briefed Kaine about the recent developments in the U.S-Pakistan bilateral relationship and the ongoing military offensive, Operation Zarb-e-Azb, in North Waziristan. Senator Kaine also assured the ambassador of U.S. support for peace and stability in the region.[12]