Pakistan Security Brief

Ongoing clashs between TTP factions kill ten more; Pakistani intelligence warn of terrorist attacks in major cities by Ahrar-ul-Hind; Train bombing kills 16 in Balochistan; Five killed in gunfight between Indian forces and militants in Indian-administered Kashmir; Iranian border guards’ freedom bought with release of anti-Iran militants; Iran and Pakistan hold joint Naval exercises; Army chief voices possible frustration over Musharraf prosecution; Opposition parties plan to challenge new anti-terror law in court; Finance Minister in Washington for talks with U.S., IMF, World Bank.

Militancy

• On Tuesday, clashes between loyalists of Khan Said Sajna and loyalists of Hakimullah Mehsud continued in the Shaktoi area of South Waziristan, killing ten more militants and wounding three.[1]

• According to a Tuesday article in Dawn, Pakistani intelligence agencies have warned police that militants opposed to the ongoing peace talks between the TTP and the government are planning terrorist attacks in Islamabad, Peshawar, and Quetta. Police and officials from the Ministry of Interior said they did not know when the attacks would take place, but that Ahrar-ul-Hind, a group reportedly constituted from the TTP’s “informal affiliates,” would likely carry out attacks on targets selected by the TTP and with the support of groups under the TTP umbrella. Security personnel and government sites are reportedly the main targets of the planned attacks.[2]

• On Tuesday, a bomb blast killed 16 people and injured 40 on a train in Sibi, Balochistan. The train was travelling to Quetta from Rawalpindi. The United Baloch Army has claimed responsibility for the attack.[3]

• On Monday, a militant who was in the custody of security forces in Kabal, Swat district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa died, reportedly from a heart attack.[4]

• According to a Tuesday report in The News, the recent operation in Balochistan in which 30 people were killed was targeting a militant base and logistical hub run jointly by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and the Baloch Republican Army (BRA). While security forces believe that the operation disrupted the militants, it is unclear whether any important leaders were killed.[5]

• On Tuesday, three Indian security personnel and two alleged militants died in a gunfight in Zunrishi, Kupwara district, Indian-administered Kashmir.[6]

Iran-Pakistan Relations

• On Monday, a senior Pakistani official stated that border guards recently freed by militant group Jaish al Adl were only released after Iran released eight members of Jaish al Adl from the Zahedan jail in Iran. The official denied Iranian claims that the guards were released in Pakistan.[7]

• On Tuesday, the Iranian and Pakistani navies began a joint exercise in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency reported that the exercise will last four days.[8]

Domestic

• According to a Tuesday report by Reuters, Chief of the Army Staff General Raheel Sharif’s comments on Monday that the army would protect its institutional dignity “at all costs” reveal his apparent frustration over the trial against former president Pervez Musharraf. The report claims this sort of talk from Pakistan’s army chief could raise concern about political intervention by the army, as the case against Musharraf highlights the competition for influence between Pakistan’s judiciary, civilian government, and the military.[9]

• A Tuesday article in Reuters reported that Pakistani opposition parties are planning to challenge recently promulgated anti-terror laws in court. Opposition parties fear that the Protection of Pakistan bill, passed by parliament on Monday, will legalize human rights violations. The Vice Chairman of the Tehreek-i-Insaf, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, told reporters that the law will turn Pakistan into a police state. The new law allows security forces to shoot suspects on site, detain them at secret locations, and carry out raids without having to first acquire search warrants.[10]

• On Monday, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar arrived in Washington, D.C. to participate in the U.S.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue working group and attend meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).[11]