Pakistan Security Brief

TTP voice confidence in three-member peace committee; TTP negotiators insist on implementation of Sharia law and withdrawal of U.S. forces; Government and TTP peace committees may begin talks on Thursday; TTP may demand release of prisoners prior to a ceasefire; U.S. reportedly curtails drone strikes at Pakistani request; Pakistan intelligence agencies investigate attacks by spoilers; U.S. Treasury designates three Haqqani Network members as terrorists; Interior Minister emphasizes need for international coordination in a post-2014 Afghanistan; Pakistan halts progress on Iran-Pakistan pipeline, fearing U.S. sanctions; Prime Minister calls for dialogue with India to resolve Kashmir dispute; Suicide blast kills 9 and injures 50 in Peshawar; Bomb blast in Karachi kills one, derails train; TTP spokesman condemns the attack; Gunmen kill Shia leader in Peshawar; Three injured in Kurram agency blasts; Gunmen injure ASWJ leader in Karachi; Militants blow up gas pipeline in Balochistan.

Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Talks

• On Tuesday, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) reaffirmed their confidence in the three-member committee that will hold peace talks with the government. Following the withdrawal of two members—the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Imran Khan and Mufti Kifayatullah of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F)—the TTP clarified the members of the committee. In a statement, Kifayatullah said he regretted his party’s decision to withdraw his name from the TTP committee and that he maintained cordial contacts with the TTP.[1]

• On Wednesday, Maulana Samiul Haq, the head of the TTP-appointed negotiating committee, and Maulana Abdul Aziz, another member of the committee, said there would be no chance for peace in Pakistan until the government implements Sharia law and U.S. forces are withdrawn from Afghanistan. In a separate statement, the Jamaat-e-Islami leader and member of the committee, Professor Mohammad Ibrahim, said that a ceasefire between the Pakistani military and the TTP is fundamental for peace. According to Irfan Siddiqui, the coordinator for the government’s negotiating committee, the two sides may meet to begin peace talks on Thursday.[2]

• According to a Wednesday article in The News, the TTP is considering demanding the release of several TTP prisoners, including those involved in an attack on the army’s General Headquarters in Rawalpindi in 2009. The central shura of the TTP has reportedly finalized a list of demands that TTP negotiators will discuss with the government committee, including the release of prisoners and the withdrawal of Pakistani security forces. Unless the government meets these demands, the TTP claim the peace process will not move forward.[3]

• On Tuesday, the spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, Jen Psaki, stated that Pakistan’s decision to engage in peace negotiations with the TTP is an internal matter, adding that the U.S. and Pakistan have a shared strategic interest in ending extremism in the region.[4]

• A Tuesday article in the Washington Post reported that the Obama administration has curtailed drone strikes in Pakistan at Pakistan’s request while the government pursues peace negotiations with the TTP, providing one explanation for the longest pause in the drone campaign since 2011.[5]

• According to a Wednesday report in The News, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif instructed intelligence agencies to begin an investigation into whether an alleged “third hand” has been carrying out attacks to derail the government’s talks with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). He reportedly believes that the Sunday attack on a Peshawar movie theater was carried out by this unnamed force. The report does not mention if he believes any other major attacks can be blamed on the alleged spoiler group.[6]

Haqqani Network

• On Wednesday, the United States Department of the Treasury added three members of the Haqqani Network, Saidullah Jan, Yahya Haqqani, and Muhammad Omar Zadran, to the Specially Designated Nationals List. Saidullah is reportedly the link between the Haqqani network and al Qaeda, and Yahya is Sirajuddin Haqqani’s brother-in-law.[7]

Afghanistan-Pakistan Relations

• On Tuesday, Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan emphasized the need for greater coordination between Pakistan and international actors in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of U.S. and allied forces from the country in 2014. Khan stated that Afghanistan should handle its own affairs, but voiced Pakistan’s willingness to contribute to peace.[8]

Iran-Pakistan Relations

• On Wednesday, Pakistani officials announced that the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project could not go forward because of the threat of U.S. sanctions. According to the current schedule under the Gas Sale and Purchase Agreement (GSPA), the transport of natural gas must begin in December 2014 in order for Pakistan to avoid paying a penalty of $3 million per day.[9]

Indo-Pakistan Relations

• On Wednesday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif called on India to resolve the Kashmir dispute through dialogue. He also claimed that Pakistan supports the Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination.[10]

Saudi-Pakistan Relations

• On Tuesday, army chief General Raheel Sharif travelled to Saudi Arabia to meet with high-ranking political and military officials, including King Abdullah, to discuss Saudi-Pakistan relations, with particular emphasis on security and defense cooperation.[11]

Militancy

• On Tuesday, a suicide blast at a hotel near a Shia mosque killed nine and injured 50 in Peshawar. According to an article in Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), a new militant group, Major Must Gul, has claimed responsibility for the attack. TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid condemned the attack, alleging that bomber aimed to sabotage the impending peace talks between the government and the TTP.[12]

• On Tuesday, a bomb blast derailed a Lahore-bound train in Ghagar Phatak, Karachi, killing one and injuring nine.[13]

• On Wednesday, unknown gunmen shot and injured the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) President of Malir Mohyuddin Shah district in Landhi area, Karachi.[14]

• On Tuesday, unknown gunmen shot and killed a prominent Shia leader and head of the Tehrik Nafaz-i-Fiqah-i-Jafaria, Haji Sardar Ali, in the Kissa Khwani Bazaar in Peshawar.[15]

• On Tuesday, two bomb blasts in Ali Shari, Kurram agency injured a total of three people.[16]

• On Tuesday, a bomb blast in Norar, Bannu district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa destroyed a girls’ school. There were no casualties reported.[17]

• On Tuesday, a bomb blast at a sugar factory in Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa caused no casualties.[18]

• According to a Wednesday report in The News, an unnamed “banned militant group” from Khyber agency, has spread its influence to nearby villages on the outskirts of Peshawar, prompting some villagers to migrate out of fear. Police have reportedly begun operations in the affected villages to find the militants.[19]

• On Tuesday, unidentified militants blew up a gas pipeline at the Sui plant in Dera Bugti district, Balochistan.[20]