Pakistan Security Brief

2013-2014 budget revealed; Pakistan will not release terrorism expenditures; India claims violation of Pakistani airspace was “technical violation;” TTP re-affirms allegiance to Afghan Taliban; Pakistani forces make gains in Kurram, Khyber; Musharraf to be arrested in Islamabad; Four U.S. officials denied entry into Karachi; IED wounds seven in Balochistan; Egypt reportedly replaces Waziristan as nexus for militant training; Energy riots continue; Two bodies found in Balochistan; Balochistan CM pledges to end “kill and dump” tactics; Nawaz Sharif appoints political secretary; MQM may join PPP-led Sindh government; Dozens of Pakistani citizens remain in Bagram jail; ECP orders re-polling in NA-103; Supreme Court reverses appointments, transfers; Bomb defused in Karachi; Two killed, two wounded in Karachi.    

Domestic

• Finance Minister Ishaq Dar unveiled many of the tenets of Pakistan’s fiscal year 2013-2014 budget on Wednesday. The Rs 3.5 trillion ($36 billion) budget aims for a 4.4 percent growth rate this fiscal year, and aims to reduce the Rs 500 billion ($5.1 billion) amount of circular debt in the energy sector. Furthermore, Dar plans to reduce non-development government spending by 30 percent and to reduce the budget deficit by 2.5 percent from 8.8 to 6.3 percent. On Wednesday evening, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will complete the finishing touches on the budget, before it is revealed in its entirety.[1] 

• In related news, on Tuesday, in his 2012-2013 Economic Survey of Pakistan, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar refused to place a definite number on Pakistani government funds spent fighting terrorism within the nation. Dar was initially told that losses were likely between $80 and $100 billion; however, upon receiving reports in the $125 billion range, Dar claimed the numbers calculated by the ministry of finance were “unrealistic,” and elected to exclude them from the report. Reportedly, U.S. embassy officials had also asked Dar to refrain from publishing a chapter on the War on Terror in his survey.[2] 

• Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif appointed Dr. Asif Kirmani as his political secretary on Tuesday. Kirmani maintains close relationships with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders throughout the provinces.[3]

• The Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) has reportedly decided to join the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)-led Sindh government, according to MQM sources on Wednesday. The two parties will make decisions on ministers in the next few days.[4]

• After ordering recounts in the NA-103 Hafizabad constituency on May 18, the Election Commission on Wednesday declared the results of the May 11 elections in NA-103 entirely void due to rigging. Instead, the Election Commission has ordered re-polling in the area.[5] 

• Pakistan’s Supreme Court reversed 442 transfers, appointments and promotions that had been ordered under caretaker Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso on Wednesday, stating that the current federal government has the authority to review and approve all of 442 of the actions Khoso implemented.[6]

• A Quetta Crimes Branch police team reached Islamabad on Wednesday to arrest former President Pervez Musharraf for his role in the Akbar Khan Bugti murder case. On Monday, a Quetta Anti-Terrorism Court had issued an arrest warrant for Musharraf.[7]

India-Pakistan Relations

• On Wednesday, Indian Air Force spokeswoman Priya Joshi admitted that Indian fighter jets violated Pakistan’s air space early on Tuesday. Regarding the intrusion, she said the incident was a “routine flying training sortie [which] seems to have flown close to the border and [appeared] to be a technical violation.”[8]

Militancy

• In the lead-up to an assault on the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan's (TTP)  strongholds in Mohmand agency and Kunar, Afghanistan, allegedly being planned by rival militant groups, including Lashkar-e-Taiba and Ansarul Islam, TTP commander Abu Muadh al Kohati on Tuesday appealed to the Afghan Taliban to act against the militant groups—who have been acting under the name of the Afghan Taliban—and re-affirmed his support for the Afghan Taliban, pledging fealty to its chief, Mullah Omar, and stating the TTP’s intention to abide by, and carry out, any orders by Omar. [9]

• According to a statement on Tuesday made by the Pakistan Army's Inter Service Public Relations (ISPR) wing, the Pakistan Army has succeeded in gaining key positions on the mountain ridges of Khyber and Kurram agencies, after continuing operations in the region since March, when special operations forces parachuted into the mountainous region. Gains in Maidan, Khyber and Para Chamkani, Kurram have isolated Taliban insurgents, providing security forces with the opportunity to secure key parts of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. [10]

• According to a German intelligence report released on Tuesday, Egypt has become the new nexus for militant training, a title formerly held by North and South Waziristan. Syria, according to the report, has also become a burgeoning center for militant training.[11]

• On Monday evening, an improvised explosive device (IED) wounded seven security officials in Mastung district, Balochistan. Following the explosion, unknown gunmen also opened fire on the officials before fleeing.[12]   

• Two bodies were found in Quetta, Balochistan on Wednesday by security officials. One of the bodies was found in the Hub area, while the other was found in Khuzdar.[13]

• According to new Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Malik on Wednesday, ending “enforced disappearances,” caused by security officials’ “kill and dump” tactics within Balochistan will be vital to finding a middle ground in negotiations with insurgents in the province. As Malik stated, “We have to create an environment in which we are in a position to invite insurgents for negotiations. Before I go to them, we have to take certain measures to prove that we want change.”[14]

• According to a report by the Express Tribune on Wednesday, dozens of Pakistani citizens remain in jail in Bagram, Afghanistan as “enemy combatants,” even though the U.S. officially ceded control of the jail to Afghanistan three months ago. These prisoners have been denied direct contact with lawyers and have not been charged with crimes.[15]

• On Tuesday evening, a 1.5 kilogram bomb was discovered in Lyari, Karachi; a bomb disposal squad was dispatched to the area and defused the bomb.[16]

• On Wednesday, a member of the minority Ahmadi community was shot and killed by men on motorbikes, while his son and companion were severely wounded in Karachi. In a separate incident, a Muttahida Quami Movement worker was killed in Shah Faisal colony, Karachi. Early on Tuesday, two more dead bodies were found in Karachi.[17]     

U.S. Pakistan-Relations

• Four U.S. embassy officials were denied entry into Karachi on Wednesday morning, after flying in from Islamabad. Airport officials did not elaborate on the reason behind the denial, noting that the embassy officials returned to Islamabad without incident.[18]

Electrical Crisis

• Riots erupted in Khurrianwala, Punjab on Tuesday as protestors attacked the grids and offices of  Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (Fesco), throwing stones at vehicles and policemen and blocking traffic. Over ten people were arrested in the protests.[19]