Pakistan Security Brief

Prime Minister Ashraf says NATO supply route decision “in interest of regional peace and stability”; Bureaucratic delays responsible for limited passage of NATO supply trucks at border crossings; Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar to visit Washington for strategic dialogue; President Zardari signs bill exempting senior officials from contempt proceedings; Former Ambassador Hussain Haqqani ordered to appear before Supreme Court for memo hearing; Army helicopter crashes during test flight; TTP militants kill nine policemen in Lahore; Afghanistan-based militants launch cross-border attack in Bajaur agency.

U.S.-Pakistan Relations

• In a meeting with U.S. Ambassador Cameron Munter, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said Pakistan’s decision to reopen the NATO supply route was “in the interest of regional peace and stability.” The route was closed last November following a U.S. border strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. During the meeting, Ashraf pledged to help with Afghanistan’s reconciliation process and committed $20 million in financial assistance. He also favored the U.S.’s new policy of “trade not aid” but noted that the U.S. should respect Pakistan’s redlines. At another appearance on Wednesday, Munter praised Pakistan as a hardworking and courageous nation, and said that Pakistan was moving toward a better future. [1]

• Pakistani officials on Wednesday said that bureaucratic delays were responsible for the limited number of NATO supply trucks that had so far crossed into Afghanistan. Last Thursday, two trucks passed through the Chaman border crossing in Balochistan, while four trucks arriving from Karachi are currently sitting at the crossing. Meanwhile, no trucks have passed through the Torkham crossing in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Officials blamed the delays on the need to obtain permissions and process paperwork as well as enhanced security measures.[2]

• A Pakistani diplomat confirmed that Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar planned to visit Washington soon to reach a “clear-cut” deal on the U.S.-Pakistan relationship. The deal, a resumption of the Obama Administration’s strategic dialogue with Pakistan, will reportedly entail a written agreement identifying areas of cooperation, such as the NATO supply route, as well as “no-go” areas.[3]  

Domestic Politics

• On Thursday, President Asif Ali Zardari signed the Contempt of Court Bill 2012 into law following passage by the Senate on Wednesday and the National Assembly on Monday. The bill permits a public officeholder accused or convicted of contempt of court to file an appeal, during which the court order is suspended until the matter is resolved. The bill also allows the accused or convicted to submit an apology, which the court can accept in lieu of issuing a charge or sentence. According to the language of the bill, senior government officials also have immunity from contempt proceedings. The bill’s passage came shortly before the Supreme Court ordered Prime Minister Ashraf to reopen old corruption cases against Zardari. The court has asked Ashraf to submit a report regarding his compliance with the order by July 25. According to Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) would consult on the court order before submitting a response.[4]

• The Supreme Court on Thursday gave former Pakistani Ambassador to the U.S. Hussain Haqqani three days to comply with its summons order requiring Haqqani’s presence in court. In response, Haqqani, who allegedly wrote a memo requesting U.S. assistance to prevent a possible military coup, submitted a letter to the court saying he would return to Pakistan only after threats to his life—from intelligence agencies, terrorists, vigilantes, and government officials—were addressed.[5]

• The PPP and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) plan to hold talks regarding a caretaker setup to oversee the country’s civilian-to-civilian transition. The talks will occur in two phases, with the first phase involving only the PPP and the PML-N and the second phase including other ruling alliance and opposition parties.[6]   

Army Helicopter Crash

• During a test flight on Wednesday, an Army Aviation M-17 helicopter crashed at Skardu airport in Pakistan’s Northern Areas, killing all five passengers. The helicopter caught fire during the flight, though the reason for the fire is not yet known.[7]      

Militancy

• At least nine police officers were killed and eight others injured on Thursday when at least ten militants opened fire on a residence in the Ichra neighborhood of Lahore, Pakistan that was housing 32 officers training to become prison guards or wardens. Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Ehasnullah Ehsan later claimed credit, saying the attack was in retaliation for the torture of Taliban inmates in prisons in northwestern Pakistan. Speaking via telephone from an undisclosed location, the Taliban spokesman said that attacks will continue “if [jail police] do not stop mistreatment and insult of our mujahedeen.” Police suspect the militants who carried out the attack are the same gunmen that killed seven soldiers and one policeman at a riverside military camp in Gujrat on Monday. [8]

• Four men, including two soldiers and two personnel of a local peace militia, were injured on Thursday when suspected militants based in Afghanistan attacked them in the Katkot area of Mamund sub-district in Bajaur agency, near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Pakistani security forces killed four militants and injured six others in retaliatory fire. They also recovered scores of villagers who had been kidnapped by the militants, though dozens are still being held.[9]

• On Thursday, police found the bodies of seven coal miners who were abducted by members of the Balochistan Liberation Army in the Soorang area of Balochistan last week. Police discovered the bodies dumped on a roadside in Degari, according to administration official Zafar Bokhari.[10] 

• Police found the bodies of two civilians who had been kidnapped from Satellite Town over two weeks ago in the Mian Gundi area on the outskirts of Quetta, Balochistan on Wednesday. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LJ) claimed responsibility for the killing in writing on slips found on the two bodies.[11]

• Six people were killed in a series of violent incidents in Karachi late Wednesday. Unidentified gunmen killed five civilians, including two activists of the Awami National Party (ANP) and one activist of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), near MA Jinnah Road, Orangi town, and Nazimabad. Police also found a body in the Gulshan-e-Tauheed area of Manghopir.[12]