Pakistan Security Brief
Army says it has “cleared” 80 percent of Miram Shah of militant presence; Airstrikes kill eleven militants on July 9 and 13 militants on July 8 in North Waziristan; Number of IDPs rises sharply to nearly 850,000 since start of operation; IDPs begin to return to Pakistan from Khost, Afghanistan; Armed men on motorcycles attack two mosques in Panjgur, Balochistan; Counter-militancy operation begins in Gilgit-Baltistan on July 8; Police in Swat launch search operation after two peace committee members shot and critically injured on July 7; Musharraf trial continues; Pakistan hopes for peaceful resolution to election disputes in Afghanistan.
North Waziristan Offensive
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On July 9, Major General Zafarullah Khan, the General Officer Commanding of the Pakistan Army’s 7th Infantry Division that is primarily involved in military operations in North Waziristna, said that the army has cleared 80 percent of Miram Shah of militants. On the same day, the government opened Miram Shah to national and international media. Major General Zafarullah Khan also said that the military will eliminate Pakistani Taliban commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur if he is encountered.[1]
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Pakistani Air Force (PAF) airstrikes destroyed three militant hideouts, killing eleven suspected militants on July 9 in an undisclosed location in North Waziristan.[2]
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Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif met in Islamabad on July 9. Their discussion centered on the North Waziristan offensive’s progress and plans for returning Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to North Waziristan when the offensive is complete.[3]
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On July 8, military airstrikes in Degan village, Datta Khel sub-district, North Waziristan hit seven suspected militant hideouts, killing 13 militants.[4]
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On July 8, Federal Minister of States and Frontier Regions Lieutenant General (retired) Abdul Qadir Baloch issued a statement accusing the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) of being responsible for the failure of peace talks with the government.[5]
Internally Displaced Persons
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The state-run APP news agency announced on July 9 that 751,986 internally displaced persons (IDPs) have been registered since the beginning of Operation Zarb-e-Azb in North Waziristan. The Director General of the FATA Disaster Management Agency Arshad Khan reported higher figures to the AFP on July 9. Khan said that up to the evening of July 8, the government had registered 833,274 IDPs. According to the APP, most IDPs have moved to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa districts of Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan, Lakki Marwat, Karak and Hangu, and seven percent have fled to other parts of Pakistan. [6]
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The News reported on July 9 that thousands of IDPs that fled to Khost province in Afghanistan returned to Pakistan and registered themselves with authorities in the Parachinar area of Kurram agency in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). The Pachinar registration checkpoint has registered 12,000 IDPs in total.[7]
Militancy
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On July 9, a Peshawar bomb disposal unit raided the home of a suspected criminal near Pajagi Road in Peshawar and discovered two hand grenades and an improvised explosive device (IED).[8]
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On the night of July 8, two motorcyclists opened fire on two mosques in Panjgur district in Balochistan province. No casualties was reported as a result of the attack.[9]
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On July 8, the Gilgit-Baltistan Scouts and army personnel began an operation against militants in Mosarpar area of Diamer district in Gilgit-Baltistan region. So far, the operation has led to the arrest of two militants. The operations was a response to a recent militant attack on a police station in Dodishal Diamer. Operations in Darel and Tanger areas of Diamer district are also underway.[10]
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On the evening of July 8, a shootout between Muzaffargarh police and militants left two militants dead and two policemen injured in Alipur Town of Muzaffargarh in Punjab province. According to DSP Taimur Aziz, the two dead militants belonged to the al Qaeda-affiliated Ahmed Farooq militant group.[11]
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On July 7, two members of the Ningolia village peace committee in Kabal sub-district, Swat were shot and badly injured by unknown assailants. Security forces have launched a search operation to find the attackers. According to The Express Tribune, Ningolia used to be a TTP stronghold in 2007 before the military cleared militants out of Swat in 2009.[12]
Musharraf Trial
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As part of the ongoing treason trial against Musharraf, prosecution witness and Additional Director of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Khalid Rasool testified before a three-judge special court on July 9. Rasool served as part of the team formed on November 19, 2013 to investigate the circumstances surrounding Musharraf’s declaration of emergency on November 3, 2007. The next hearing comes on August 5, when Rasool will be cross-examined by the defense. [13]
Pak-Afghan Relations
