India, Pakistan continue cross-border firing; PAF kills 30 militants, including TTP commander, in North Waziristan; Militant rockets kill two in Datta Khel, North Waziristan; Pakistani military airstrikes target areas in Bara, Khyber; Tribesmen fleeing Bara and Tirah for Peshawar; IED injures three in attack on polio team in Bajaur; Bomb squad defuses bomb in Peshawar; Iran, Pakistan to cooperate on intelligence sharing; Afghan minister alleges Taliban receives support in Pakistan; PAT ends sit-in in Islamabad, PTI to continue protesting.
Indo-Pakistan Relations
- On October 22, the Indian and Pakistani armies accused each other of fresh “unprovoked firing” across the Line of Control (LoC) and working boundary. According to Indian officials, Pakistani Rangers resorted to firing at the Narainpur border outpost along the international boundary in the Ramgarh sector of India’s Samba district. Pakistani troops accused Indian forces of firing into Charwa sector of Pakistan’s Sialkot district on the same day. On October 22, Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Major Gen. Asim Bajwa declared that Pakistan wanted peace but that the country’s army was ready to respond to any type of aggression.[1]
Militancy
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As initially reported on October 21, militant commander Daud Wazir of Hafiz Gul Bahadur’s Group was one of those killed in an airstrike by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). The airstrike also killed 30 militants and injured over 12 in Madda Khel, Datta Khel, and the Shawal Valley in North Waziristan.[2]
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On October 22, militants fired rockets on a fort, killing two security personnel and injuring three others in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan.[3]
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On October 22, military gunship helicopters targeted militant hideouts in Shalobar and Sipah areas of Bara sub-district, Khyber Agency.[4]
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In the wake of Operation Khyber I, tribesmen from Bara and Tirah are fleeing their homes in increasing numbers and relocating to locations such as Peshawar, despite warnings of retaliation by militant group Lashkar-e-Islam (LeI). Officials claim that 1,500 families have relocated from Bara while Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) officials claims between 20,000 and 30,000 tribesmen have relocated to Peshawar and the surrounding area.[5]
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On October 22, a roadside improvised explosive device (IED) injured two Levies Force personnel and one other person in an attack on a polio vaccination team in the Dabara area of Mamund sub-district, Bajaur Agency. The blast comes at the end of a three-day campaign to immunize children against polio in Bajaur Agency.[6]
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On October 22, a bomb disposal squad police defused a bomb found hidden in a computer monitor in a plaza near University Road in Peshawar.[7]
Foreign Affairs
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On October 21, Pakistani and Iranian officials met in Tehran, Iran and decided to increase intelligence cooperation with regard to border security between the two countries. The meeting was aimed at discussing means to end border skirmishes between Iran and Pakistan.[8]
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On October 21, at a conference in New Delhi, acting Afghan Interior Minister Umer Daudzai alleged that the Afghan Taliban obtained training, equipment and new recruits inside Pakistan and admitted the Afghan government’s failure in eliminating the Taliban. Daudzai also described India as “an all-weather friend of Afghanistan.” On October 19, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had said that it was important for Afghanistan and Pakistan to refrain from accusing each other and create an atmosphere of trust between the two countries.[9]
Political Crisis
- On October 21, Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Dr. Tahirul Qadri declared an official end to the PAT sit-in at D-chowk in Islamabad after protesting for 67 days in the capital. Qadri also announced that the PAT would conduct sit-ins in every city in the country for at least two days each to further the cause of “revolution.” Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan declared that the PTI would continue to protest in D-chowk until Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif resigned.[10]