Pakistan Security Brief

Kerry hosts Brussels talks with Karzai, Kayani; NATO leader calls on Pakistan to crack down on militants; Supreme Court issues contempt of court notice to Zardari, Ashraf; North Waziristan jirga warns of violence if curfew not lifted; IMF offers $5 billion in extended loan aid; IHC denies Musharraf’s bail for assassination case; U.S. Congress holds hearing about drones;  MQM office hit by bomb in Karachi, sparks protests across Karachi; Seven bombings injure over 100, kill dozen in Quetta blasts; Peshawar bombing injures four; Police defuse bomb in Matani; Bomb injures six in Madyan.

Trilateral Talks

  • In Brussels on Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry hosted a meeting between Pakistani and Afghan officials, including Pakistan Army Chief General Ashfaq Kayani and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, where Kerry attempted to ease tensions between the neighboring countries prior to the U.S. withdrawing from Afghanistan in 2014. The talks’ primary aims are to facilitate discussion about border tensions and the Taliban peace process. After the discussions, Kerry said that the meeting was quite productive, but that success will be measured in results, “not statements at press conferences.” During a meeting on Tuesday in preparation for the Wednesday discussions, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that Pakistan “must crack down on militants” who attack Afghan targets across the border and then flee back to the safety of Pakistani tribal regions.[1]

Domestic Politics

  • On Wednesday, the Supreme Court issued contempt of court notices for President Asif Ali Zardari and former Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf after the two failed to enforce a Supreme Court ruling in the dual national case. The court had ruled that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) must investigate former and current government officials for fake degrees and dual nationalities.[2]

  • On Wednesday, the Islamabad High Court rejected former President Pervez Musharraf’s request for bail in relation to a case connecting him to “to the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in 2007.” Musharraf is currently under house arrest in his farmhouse in Islamabad, for a separate case connected to his dismissing top judges in 2007 during his presidency.[3]

Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group

  • On Sunday, a North Waziristan jirga warned that it will end a peace agreement with the government if the government does not lift its six day curfew by Wednesday.  In 2007, the Hafiz Gul Bahadur Taliban group and the Uthmanzai tribe signed a peace deal with the government, which they are threatening to “unilaterally” pull out of if the curfew continues through the 24th. Security forces enacted the curfew after a clash between militants and security forces that left eighteen injured, and the jirga requested that roads and business be allowed to open again, and that new checkposts shut down.[4]

IMF Offer

Drone Strikes

Militancy


[1]U.S. seeks to ease Afghan Pakistan tensions in Brussels talks,” Express Tribune, April 24, 2013. Available at http://tribune.com.pk/story/539888/us-seeks-to-ease-afghan-pakistan-tensions-in-brussels-talks/
“Kerry says Afghan-Pakistan talks productive,” Reuters, April 24, 2013. Available at  http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/24/us-afghanistan-talks-kerry-idUSBRE93N0VO20130424  
Pakistan must crack down on Afghan militants: NATO,” Reuters, April 23, 2103. Available at  http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/23/us-afghanistan-talks-idUSBRE93M1AP20130423
[2] “SC issues contempt notice to Zardari, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf,” Express Tribune, April 24, 2013. Available at http://tribune.com.pk/story/539923/dual-national-case-sc-issues-contempt-notice-to-zardari-raja-pervaiz-ashraf/
[3]Pakistan court rejects bail for Musharraf in case connected to slaying of Benazir Bhutto,” Washington Post, April 24, 2013. Available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/pakistan-court-rejects-bail-for-musharraf-in-case-connected-to-slaying-of-benazir-bhutto/2013/04/24/a036e042-acbb-11e2-9493-2ff3bf26c4b4_story.html
[4] “Jirga warns of ending peace deal,” Dawn, April 21, 2013. Available at http://dawn.com/2013/04/22/jirga-warns-of-ending-peace-deal/
[5] “Buying time: IMF offers 5b as govt looks to plug budget deficit,” Express Tribune, April 24, 2013. Available at http://tribune.com.pk/story/539793/buying-time-imf-offers-5b-as-govt-looks-to-plug-budget-deficit/
“IMF offer $5bn facility, but no deal signed,” Dawn, April 24, 2013. Available at http://dawn.com/2013/04/24/imf-offered-5bn-facility-but-no-deal-signed-adviser/
[6] “Judiciary panel hears testimony on use of drones,” New York Times, April 24, 2013. Available at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/24/world/middleeast/judiciary-panel-hears-testimony-on-use-of-drones.html?ref=politics&_r=0
[7] “Two killed, 15 injured in bomb attack on MQM election office,” The News, April 24, 2013. Available at http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-22440-Two-killed,-15-injured-in-bomb-attack-on-MQM-election-office
“Cities in southern Pakistna shut down as party protests deadly attack,” Business Week, April 24, 2013. Available at http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-04-24/cities-in-southern-pakistan-shut-as-party-protests-deadly-attack
“MQM strike brings Karachi to a standstill,” Express Tribune, April 24, 2013. Available at http://tribune.com.pk/story/539826/mqm-strike-brings-karachi-to-a-standstill/  
[8] “Car-bomb kills 4 in Pakistan, another defused,” Yahoo News, April 24, 2013. Available at http://news.yahoo.com/car-bomb-kills-4-pakistan-another-defused-184741837.html
“Multiple blasts: four bomb blasts in Quetta kill four, injure 40,” Express Tribune, April 24, 2013. Available at http://tribune.com.pk/story/539644/multiple-blasts-four-bomb-blasts-in-quetta-kill-four-injure-40/
[9] “Blast near hospital injures 13 in Quetta,” The News, April 24, 2013. Available at http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-98164-Blast-near-hospital-injures-13-in-Quetta
“Blast in Quetta leaves two policemen injured,” The News, April 24, 2013. Available at http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-98203-Blast-in-Quetta-leaves-two-policemen-injured 
[10] “Four injured in Sarkir Gate blast in Peshawar,” The News, April 24, 2013. Available at http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-98180-Four-injured-in-Sarki-Gate-blast-in-Peshawar
[11] “Another IED defused in Matani,” The News, April 24, 2013. Available at http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-7-173165-Another-IED-defused-in-Matani
[12] “bomb blasts in parts of K-P leave 8 injured,” Express Tribune, April 24, 2013. Available at http://tribune.com.pk/story/539839/bomb-blasts-in-parts-of-k-p-leave-8-injured/
[13] “Six injured in Swat cracker blast,” The News, April 24, 2013. Available at http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-98165-Six-injured-in-Swat-cracker-blast-
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