Pakistan Security Brief

TTP spokesman says security forces must stop killing Taliban militants before peace talks continue, all TTP factions support peace talks, and decision on ceasefire expected soon; JUI-S leader reportedly given power to make decisions on behalf of TTP in peace talks; Army chief and Prime Minister pessimistic about talks succeeding; Mullah Omar has reportedly gained influence in the TTP since elevation of Mullah Fazlullah; Pakistani and Iranian officials meet to discuss kidnapping of Iranian border guards; Army chief and American CENTCOM leader meet to discuss kidnapped American soldier; Pakistan Air Force buys 13 jets from Jordan; Police in Dera Ismail Khan and Hangu districts arrest 40 in raids; Security forces arrest member of TTP Bajaur in Nowshera district; Australian and Pakistani navies seize drugs off coast of Oman; Militant dies in Karachi clash with police; Pakistan pays IMF $149 million.

Talks with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan

• On Wednesday, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Shahidullah Shahid announced conditions for the group to continue negotiating with the government. Shahid demanded an immediate stop to the killing of TTP members in staged police encounters, which he said has resulted in the deaths of 60 TTP members since the beginning of peace talks. Shahid also said that all factions of the TTP support talks and that the Mohmand TTP’s execution of 23 Frontier Corps personnel will be discussed in an upcoming TTP Shura meeting. He said that the different TTP branches have been contacted about a possible ceasefire, and that a “good decision” is coming soon on a ceasefire.[1]

• On Tuesday, Maulana Yousuf Shah, the head of the Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam-Sami (JUI-S) in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa said that the TTP has given JUI-S leader Samiul Haq permission to make decisions on the group’s behalf regarding peace talks.[2]

• On Tuesday, the government-appointed negotiating committee met before informing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that talks with the TTP could not continue unless the TTP declared a ceasefire.[3]

• Army chief Raheel Sharif and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met on Wednesday to discuss talks with the TTP. Both men reportedly indicated that they are becoming pessimistic about the possibility of peace talks succeeding.[4]

• According to a Wednesday report in The News, Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar has gained influence within the TTP since Mullah Fazlullah became the leader of the group. Omar was reportedly instrumental in persuading Fazlullah to participate in peace negotiations with the Pakistani government.[5]

Iran-Pakistan Relations

• On Wednesday, officials from Pakistan’s Balochistan province met with officials from Iran’s Sistan-Balochistan province to discuss tension over the kidnapping of Iranian border guards by Jaish al Adal, a Sunni militant group based in the Balochistan region. Both sides agreed on the need to cooperate on counterterrorism. Jaish al Adal has claimed responsibility for the incident and said that the prisoners will be released if Iran or Syria releases 300 Sunni prisoners.[6]

Afghanistan Reconciliation Process

• According to a Wednesday report in Dawn, Pakistani officials, including army chief General Raheel Sharif, have met with the American Chief of Central Command, General Lloyd Austin, to discuss cooperation on the location of American soldier Bowe Bergdahl, who has been a prisoner of the Afghan Taliban since 2009. Austin also reportedly promised American cooperation in the event of a military operation in North Waziristan agency, and shared intelligence about the location of militants in the agency.[7]

Jordan-Pakistan Relations

• According to a Wednesday report in The News, the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) bought 13 F-16 airplanes from Jordan. The planes will be operational next month.[8]

Militancy

• On Tuesday, police in Dera Ismail Khan and Hangu districts carried out a series of raids in which they arrested 40 suspected militants, many of whom reportedly have ties to South Waziristan or Afghanistan.[9]

• On Tuesday, security forces detained an alleged member of the TTP in Kheshgi Bala, Nowshera district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The militant, identified as Ghulam Khan, reportedly belongs to the Bajaur agency branch of the TTP.[10]

• On Tuesday, an Anti-Terrorist Court remanded two alleged TTP militants to police custody. They were arrested for demanding extortion money.[11]

• On Tuesday, Australian and Pakistani ships seized two tons of cannabis resin from a boat off the coast off Oman. The drugs were suspected of being used to fund extremist groups in the region.[12]

• On Wednesday, Indian security forces killed a suspected militant in Dalwan, Budgam district, Indian-administered Kashmir.[13]

• On Tuesday, a suspected militant died after initiating a clash with police in Orangi Town, Karachi.[14]

• On Wednesday, a Bomb Disposal Squad defused a bomb in the SITE neighborhood of Karachi.[15]

• On Tuesday, security forces in Aka Khel, Khyber agency detained a suspected militant and confiscated a large cache of weapons, including 43 machine guns and 32 pistols.[16]

Domestic

• On Tuesday, Pakistan repaid $149 million to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the Standby Agreement (SBA).[17]

• According to a Wednesday report in The Express Tribune, Pakistan is shifting towards more coal-based electricity generation. Currently, Pakistan generates no electricity through burning coal, but the discovery of coal deposits in the country has caused the government to begin investigating coal as a power source.[18]