Pakistan Security Brief

Speculation on NWA operation; Details emerge on journalist’s death; 200 militants stage attack across Afghan border; Pakistani officials appoint members to bin Laden commission; Los Angeles Times: Extensive cynicism in Pakistan that bin Laden was killed; Headley finishes providing testimony; Navy officials admit to security failures; Russian diplomats arrive in Quetta to retrieve bodies; Two FC officers killed; Two NATO supply vehicles attacked; Baloch scholar fatally wounded; Mehsud placed on ‘most wanted list.’

 

Operation in North Waziristan

  • The Wall Street Journal reports that Pakistan's army may be taking preliminary steps towards conducting a military operation in North Waziristan. A senior Pakistani army general last week told tribal elders in Kurram Agency that security forces were planning an attack on Taliban militants in their region in order to better position the miliaary for operations in North Waziristan. However, Dawn reports that the offensive would be "intelligence-led" and limited in scope, as “there are only two to three pockets having terrorist presence which need to be cleared,” according to a military source. Meanwhile, Lt. Gen. Asif Yasin Malik, a top Pakistani army commander, said that the military has “no imminent plans to launch an offensive,” despite speculation that Pakistani officials were convinced to initiate an operation as a means of improving ties with the U.S. Malik stated that, “There is no change in North Waziristan in past months and weeks…We will undertake an operation when we want to, when it's in the national interest."[i]
 

Syed Saleem Shahzad Found Dead

 

200 Militants Stage Attack Across Afghan Border

  • At least seven Pakistani military officers were killed in an attack by around 200 militants who assaulted a checkpoint near the Afghan border. The attack took place in the region of Upper Dir in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. According to local officials, the insurgents had donned military uniforms and crossed over the border from Afghanistan. Rahim Gul, a police official, stated that helicopter gunships had been dispatched to conduct a counter-offensive, with around forty local police fighting on the ground. [iii]
 

Bin Laden Raid and Response

  • On Tuesday, Pakistani officials appointed members to a commission tasked with investigating the U.S. operation that killed Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad. The commission's directive includes “establishing ‘the full facts’ regarding bin Laden's presence in Pakistan, as well as details about the U.S. incursion,” including how the U.S. Navy SEALs were able to enter Pakistani airspace and leave undetected. The committee will be headed by Javed Iqbal, a Supreme Court justice and will include a retired lieutenant general and a former ambassador.[iv]
  • The Los Angeles Times reports on the extensive cynicism in Pakistan that bin Laden was killed in the U.S. operation in Abbottabad. A poll conducted by the international market research firm YouGov found that “two-thirds of Pakistanis do not believe Bin Laden was killed last month by a team of U.S. Navy SEALs.” The media outlet states that the skepticism shared by many Pakistanis is due to their deep distrust of the U.S.[v]
 

Tahawwur Rana Trial

  • David Headley has finished providing his testimony in the trial of Tahawwur Rana, the Chicago resident charged with providing material support in connection to the 2008 attacks in Mumbai. On Tuesday, Headley testified that the leadership of the ISI was not involved in the planning of the Mumbai attacks, supporting Pakistan’s defense that the ISI’s involvement was “limited to a handful of rogue agents.” Headley additionally stated that during interrogation in October 2009, he collaborated with FBI agents to attempt to lure Sajid Mir, a leader of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant organization, out of Pakistan so he could be apprehended. He also revealed that Ilyas Kashmiri, an al Qaeda-connected leader, had planned to assassinate the chief executive of Lockheed Martin, which produces the Predator drone, as retribution for the drone strikes in Pakistan.[vi]
 

Attack on Karachi Naval Base

 

Balochistan

 

Mehsud on “Most Wanted List”

 


[i] Tom Wright, Matthew Rosenberg, and Owais Tohid, “Pakistan Is Seen Readying Attack on Taliban Militants,” Wall Street Journal, June 1, 2011. Available at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304563104576357401127280410.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines
[ii] Carlotta Gall, “Pakistani Journalist Who Covered Security and Terrorism Is Found Dead,” New York Times, May 31, 2011. Available at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/01/world/asia/01pakistan.html?_r=1&ref=world
[iii] “Seven security force personnel killed in NW Pakistan,” BBC News, June 1, 2011. Available at
[iv] “Pakistan Forms Commission to Probe Bin Laden Raid,” Associated Press, May 31, 2011. Available at
[v] Alex Rodriguez, “Bin Laden raid gets little credence in conspiracy-minded Pakistan,” Los Angeles Times, May 31, 2011. Available at
[vi] Sophia Tareen, “Headley finishes testimony at Mumbai attacks trial,” Associated Press, May 31, 2011. Available at http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/05/31/general-industrials-us-mumbai-attacks-trial_8492860.html
[vii] “Navy chief refuses to partake in Senate defence committee meeting,” Dawn, June 1, 2011. Available at http://www.dawn.com/2011/05/31/navy-chief-refuses-to-partake-in-senate-defence-committee-meeting.html
[viii] “Kharotabad incident: Russian diplomats arrive to take bodies,” Express Tribune, May 31, 2011. Available at http://tribune.com.pk/story/179488/kharotabad-incident-russian-diplomats-arrive-to-take-bodies/
[ix] “Two FC men killed in Quetta blast,” Daily Times, June 1, 2011. Available at http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\06\01\story_1-6-2011_pg7_4
[x] Suhail Yusuf, “Baloch scholar shot dead in Quetta,” Dawn, June 1, 2011. Available at
[xi] Mohammad Asghar, “Dead TTP man tops most wanted list,” Dawn, May 30, 2011. Available at
 
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