One Pakistani civilian injured in continued firing along working boundary; Pakistan urges UN to defuse border tensions; Resolution of Kashmir issue important for lasting peace, says Gen. Raheel Sharif; JuD chief accuses India, U.S. of targeting Islamists in Pakistan; TTP denies defection to IS claims; Pakistan Ulema Council condemns IS; Former Army Commander Doctor calls on army officials, soldiers to join TTP; TTP Jamaatul Ahrar releases first English magazine; 37 militants killed and 50 surrendered in first three days of Operation Khyber I; Eight militants and one soldier killed in the Aka Khel area of Bara sub-district, Khyber Agency; Six militants killed in the Khyber agency; Lashkar-e-Islam commanders surrender in Shalobar, Khyber; Security forces arrest 40 suspects in Charbagh sub-district, Swat; Shawal Valley next target of North Waziristan operation; Security forces warn tribesmen of aiding militants and give 36 hours to militants to surrender in Khyber; IED kills two Frontier Corps personnel and injures two others in Salarzai sub-district, Bajaur Agency; Cross-border attack kills 3 FC men in Bajaur Agency; Security forces arrest five militants in Bakarabad area of Jamrud sub-district, Khyber Agency; militants kidnap frontier corps member in Aka Khel, Bara sub-district, Khyber Agency; Mamond Qaumi anti-Taliban militia rally in support of Pakistan military in Tani area, Mamond sub-district, Bajaur Agency; Iranian cross-border firing kills one FC personnel, Foreign Office lodges protest; PML-N to resume talks with PAT but not PTI; PAT chief announces 10 point welfare agenda at Lahore rally; Blasphemy case against Ahl-e-Sunnat-Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) leadership registered; ISPR director emphasizes commitment to fight terrorism in China visit.
Islamic State in South Asia
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On October 18, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) released a statement denying the claims that its spokesman “Shahidullah Shahid” had defected to Islamic State (IS). The TTP clarified that Shaikh Maqbool, an ex-spokesman of the group, defected under the name of Shahidullah Shahid which is the nom de guerre used by serving TTP spokesmen. The statement declared that Maqbool was no longer a member of the TTP. The statement did not address the issue of five other TTP commanders defecting to IS but reiterated that the TTP was loyal to Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar.[1]
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On October 17, the Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC) condemned the militant Islamic State and said that the group was violating Islamic teachings. The PUC also appealed to people in Islamic countries to not cooperate with the killing of innocent people and destruction of property at the hands of the IS.[2]
Indo-Pakistan Relations
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Fresh ceasefire violations by the Indian and Pakistani armies continued across the Line of Control (LoC) and the international border from October 17 to October 19. On October 17, Indian army officials accused Pakistani troops of firing on Indian posts in Hamirpur sector of Poonch district along the LoC. Pakistani Rangers also allegedly targeted forward border outposts in the Makwal and Allah Mahi Da Kothay areas in Jammu district of Indian-administered Kashmir. On October 19, Pakistan Rangers reportedly resorted to targeting border outposts in Pargwal sector of Jammu district. Meanwhile according to Pakistani army sources, Indian troops resorted to unprovoked firing and mortar shelling in Pulkhian sector near Sialkot on October 19. One Pakistani civilian was also injured in Indian cross-border firing in Janglora village of the Bajwat sector in Silakot on the same day.[3]
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On October 18, Pakistan’s permanent representative to United Nations, Ambassador Masood Khan called on UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in New York to apprise him of the situation along the LoC and the working boundary. He urged the UN to play its role in defusing tensions between India and Pakistan. The Prime Minister’s Advisor on National Security and Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, also spoke to the UN Secretary General and underlined the need for early restoration of a ceasefire in the disputed regions.[4]
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Addressing a passing out parade at the Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul on October 18, army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif declared that the army would respond “befittingly” to any aggression against the country but that Pakistan persistently sought peace in the region and beyond. He also reiterated that lasting peace in the region was only possible through the resolution of the Kashmir issue in accordance with the will of the Kashmiri people.[5]
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On October 19, Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed alleged that India was planning to conduct surgical strikes against Islamists in Pakistan in collusion with the U.S. and that the plan was finalized during recent meeting between the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington D.C. Saeed also urged the Pakistani government to sever trade relations with India until the successful resolution of the Kashmir conflict.[6]
Militancy
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On October 16, TTP Jamaatul Ahrar released a video of a former Pakistan Army doctor, Tariq Ali, in which he called upon military officers and soldiers to join the Pakistan Taliban and help in the enforcement of Shariah law. Ali further urged soldiers to leave the army and disobey orders to fight against fellow Muslims. Ali claimed he had served in the Balochistan Frontier Corps and the 80th Infantry Brigade in Siachen, and had also served twice in North and South Waziristan. Ali claims he left Pakistan for Britain but was later deported back to Pakistan. The doctor is reportedly known as Abu Obaida al Islamabadi in jihadi circles and is also the spokesperson for a London-based fundamentalist group called Shariah4Pakistan. According to The News, Pakistani military authorities have decided to investigate the claims made by Tariq Ali in the video.[7]
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On October 17, TTP Jamaatul Ahrar released the first 55-page issue of its new English magazine, “lhya-e-Khilafat” on the group’s Facebook page. The magazine includes statements from the group’s leaders about the restructuring of the TTP, an interview with one of its leaders, Omar Khalid Khorasani, and a story authored by a British fighter called “Abu Okasha al Britani” about joining the group. The editor of the magazine, Dr. Abu Obaidah al Islamabadi claims that it is an endeavor by the group to “highlight the oppression unleashed by the Pakistani Army on Pakistani Muslims and to expose the un-Islamic nature of ‘Islamic’ Republic of Pakistan,” to an English-speaking audience.[8]
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On October 17, eight militants and one soldier were killed in clashes as part of Operation Khyber I in the Aka Khel area of Bara sub-district, Khyber Agency. Security forces have seized the populated Mantalab area of Aka Khel. Armed clashes and mortar shelling have taken place in the Nala, Malik Din Khel, and Sipah areas. [9]
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On October 18, security forces killed six militants as part of the ongoing Operation Khyber I in the Sipah, Malik Din Khel, and Aka Khel areas of Khyber Agency.[10]
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As of October 19, security forces have killed 37 militants in Operation Khyber I, while at least 50 others have surrendered to security forces, during the operations first three days in the Khyber Agency.[11]
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On October 20, a key Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) commander called Haji Faqeer and 80 of his men surrendered their weapons to security forces in the Shalobar area of Khyber Agency. Earlier, another LI commander called Malam Khan also surrendered along with several of his men. Militants later reportedly destroyed the homes of 30 LI activists who had defected.[12]
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On October 19, security forces warned the tribesmen of Bara sub-district and the Tirah Valley, Khyber Agency via airdropped pamphlets not to harbor militants. The pamphlet stated that security forces have launched Operation Khyber I to target militants in Bara and the Tirah Valley who have committed acts of terror. Military helicopters also dropped leaflets in Bara and Jamrud sub-districts of Khyber Agency, giving 36 hours to militants in the area to surrender their arms to security forces and accept the writ of the state. Earlier, on October 18, security forces urged militants to renounce violence through announcements made from mosques in Bara.[13]
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As reported on October 20 by The Express Tribune, security forces and Khasadar forces arrested five militants, including an unidentified important commander, during a search operation in the Bakarabad area of Jamrud sub-district, Khyber Agency.[14]
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On October 20, 2014, militants kidnapped a Frontier Corps member from his home in the Aka Khel area of the Bara sub-district of Khyber Agency.[15]
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As reported on October 17 by Dawn, senior Pakistani government officials say the next target of the Pakistan military in North Waziristan will be militants in the Shawal Valley. The military intends to enter the Shawal Valley and destroy militant hideouts before the beginning of December. Additionally, Pakistani officials denied that the Pakistan military is under orders not to target particular militant groups like the Haqqani Network.[16]
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On October 17, security forces arrested 40 suspects in a search operation in Charbagh sub-district, Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.[17]
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On October 18, in a roadside attack on a water tanker, an improvised explosive device (IED) killed two Frontier Corps personnel and injured two others in Salarzai sub-district, Bajaur Agency. TTP spokesperson Shahidullah Shahid claimed responsibility for the attack.[18]
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On October 20, a cross-border attack along the Pak-Afghan border in the Kakhi Pass area of Bajaur Agency injured three FC personnel.[19]
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On October 18, members of the Mamund tribe’s anti-Taliban militia pledged to fight alongside security forces in a rally held in support of the Pakistan military in the Tani area of the Mamund sub-district, Bajaur Agency.[20]
Iran-Pakistan Relations
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On October 17, Iranian border guards attacked a Pakistani Frontier Corps (FC) vehicle, killing one FC personnel and injuring three others in Mand of Turbat sub-district, Kech district, Balochistan. Further, according to an FC spokesman, 30 Iranian border guards trespassed into Pakistani territory from the town of Zero Point and raided the house of a Pakistani national called Ghuas Baksh Nautezai on October 18. Nautezai is reportedly a relative of paramilitary Iranian Basij Commander Majeed Nautezai. Iranian border guards also reportedly fired three mortar shells into remote areas of Mashkail town in Washuk district on the same day. Meanwhile, Iran’s ISNA news agency reported that two Iranian border guards were killed in clashes with rebels who were trying to infiltrate into Sistan-Baluchistan Province in Iran from the Pakistani side of the border on October 16. Several rebels were also reportedly killed. [21]
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On October 19, Pakistan’s Foreign Office summoned Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan, Ali Raza Haghighian and lodged a strong protest against the incident where Iranian troops trespassed into Pakistani territory and killed one FC personnel. Foreign Office spokesperson Tasneem Aslam declared that repeats of such border violations by Iran would not be acceptable to Pakistan. Earlier on October 17, Aslam asked Iran to provide evidence instead of accusations of the involvement of Pakistan-based groups in terrorist activities across the border. Meanwhile, on October 18, the Iranian foreign ministry summoned Pakistani Ambassador to Iran, Noor Muhammad Jadmani, and demanded immediate steps be taken by the Pakistani government to prevent attacks by “terrorists and rebels” on Iranian border guards.[22]
Political Crisis
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In a high-level meeting on October 17, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s ruling Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) party agreed to resume talks with the protesting Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) party starting October 18 but refused to negotiate with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).[23]
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On October 19, PAT chief Tahirul Qadri announced a ten-point public welfare agenda at a huge rally near the Minar-e-Pakistan monument in Lahore. He encouraged people to vote for the PAT in future elections in order to implement the party’s reform agenda and contribute to the revolution.[24]
Domestic Politics
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Islamabad police registered a blasphemy case against the Ahl-e-Sunnat-Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) leadership for “spreading sectarian hatred” through hate speeches at a conference held on October 17. Fourteen activists in total were nominated in the case for misusing loudspeakers to make inflammatory speeches.[25]
Military
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On October 19, Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Major General Asim Salim Bajwa, spoke at the Shanghai Institute of Strategic Studies while on a weeklong visit to China. General Bajwa emphasized the commitment and success of Pakistan’s military in eradicating terrorism within its borders. Bajwa stated that Pakistan will not tolerate terrorism in any form. Bajwa also met with senior Chinese military officials during his visit.[26]