Pakistan Security Brief

TTP intermediary says government should not delay peace process despite deadlock on prisoner exchanges; Jamat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed says peace talks will isolate groups interested in terrorism; TTP intermediary says ceasefire will remain intact until TTP announces otherwise; Majority of PML-N against removing travel ban on Musharraf; Government rejects Musharraf’s application to remove travel ban,; U.S. State Department says Pakistan’s request for Excess Defense Articles not rejected, but equipment from Afghanistan not up for consideration; Sartaj Aziz admits Pakistan trying to sell military equipment to Saudi Arabia, reiterates Pakistan’s neutrality on Syria; Bomb blast near Afghan-Pakistan border kills two; Gunmen kill three in Quetta.

Peace Talks

• On Wednesday, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) intermediary Professor Ibrahim Khan stated that the government should not delay the peace process despite the fact that the two sides have not come to an agreement over the release of non-combatants. While the TTP provided the government a list of “non-combatants”—mostly women and children—who they claim are in security forces’ custody, the government also called for the release of high-profile figures that are being held by the Taliban. Khan added that there was currently no progress in peace talks between the government and the TTP. [1]

• According to a Wednesday article in The News, Lashkar-e-Taiba founder and head of Jamaat-ud Dawa (JuD), Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, said that peace talks between the government and the TTP will help isolate those groups that want to continue using terrorism and violence in Pakistan.[2]

• On Wednesday, TTP committee coordinator Maulana Yousuf Shah stated that the ceasefire was still intact despite the fact that it formally expired on March 31. Shah added that the ceasefire will remain in place until the TTP announce otherwise.[3]

Musharraf Trial

• Sources privy to a Wednesday Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) meeting reported that a majority of the PML-N is against removing a travel ban that would allow Musharraf to leave the country to seek allegedly necessary medical treatment and see his ailing mother. The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and included Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Defense Minister Khwaja Asif, the Minister for States and Frontier Region, Information Minister Pervez Rashid, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Irfan Siddiqui, and other members of the PML-N. Those in favor of removing Musharraf’s name from the ECL said that the PML-N had already achieved its goal of putting Musharraf on trial, and allowing him to travel abroad would “bring a good name to the party.” Khan added that the government would neither allow nor disallow Musharraf to travel abroad, but that Musharraf’s fate would be left to the courts.[4]

• On Tuesday, the Chief of the Army Staff, General Raheel Sharif, suggested that the government let former president Pervez Musharraf travel abroad to seek medical treatment and visit his mother. Both Raheel Sharif and the Chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Lieutenant General Zahirul Islam were supposed to attend a national security meeting, but the meeting was postponed. According to the source, General Raheel Sharif told Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that the government should remove Musharraf’s name from the ECL and allow him to travel abroad.[5]

• On Tuesday, the Interior Ministry rejected former President Musharraf’s application requesting that his named be removed from the Exit Control List (ECL). Rashid Qureshi, Musharraf’s spokesman, claimed that Musharraf has not received the letter of rejection from the Interior Ministry.[6]

U.S.-Pakistan Relations

• According to a Wednesday article in Dawn, a spokesperson from the U.S. State Department said the U.S. has not refused Pakistan’s request for Excess Defense Articles (EDA). The spokesperson added that although the U.S. is reviewing Pakistan’s request for EDA from its “worldwide EDA pool,” the U.S. does not intend to transfer EDA from Afghanistan to any neighboring countries, including Pakistan.[7]

Saudi Arabia-Pakistan Relations

• On Tuesday, the Advisor to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs and National Security, Sartaj Aziz, admitted that Pakistan is trying to sell small arms and combat aircraft to Saudi Arabia. When asked in an interview with the BBC, Aziz said Pakistan currently had no Syria-specific agreement, adding that whatever previous military regimes in Pakistan did with money they received from other countries has nothing to do with the current administration. Aziz also stated that Pakistan wants to balance its relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran in an attempt to ease tensions between the two countries.[8]

Militancy

• On Wednesday, a bomb blast in Vash Mandi, Afghanistan near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border killed two people and injured 13 others. Frontier Corps personnel moved to the border and closed the nearby border crossing. Afghan officials blamed the Taliban for the attack, but no group has claimed it.[9]

• On Wednesday, unidentified gunmen attacked a car in Satellite Town, Quetta, killing three people and injuring two others.[10]

• On Tuesday Commander of the Pakistan Army’s Southern Command, General Nasser Khan Janjua said that the army and the provincial government of Balochistan have begun peace negotiations with militants in the province.[11]