Pakistan Security Brief

Qatar talks delayed; Success in Afghan talks may depend on prison exchange; Afghan and Pakistani UN ambassadors trade barbs over border security; 14 people killed in sectarian attack in Peshawar; MQM MPA shot and killed; Musharraf to face high treason charge; Security forces secure Tirah valley; Militants kill two pro-government militia members; Afghan diplomat wounded in firing incident; Pakistan distances itself from Qatar Taliban office; Altaf Hussain investigated in connection with Farooq murder; 2 policemen shot and killed in Karachi; Final touches on budget finalized; SC declares GST increase null and void; P&G to invest in Pakistan; 12 killed in Karachi on Friday; Two militants shot and killed in Peshawar; Gang war suspects arrested; Police find arms cache in Khuzdar; State Bank cuts interest rates; Five killed in Karachi on Thursday.

Afghan Taliban Talks

• On Thursday, the start of the Qatar talks with the Taliban were delayed, as Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan James Dobbins remained in Washington, despite rumors that he would be in Qatar on Thursday. The delays come two days after Afghan President Hamid Karzai cut off security talks with the U.S. and pledged to boycott the Qatar talks, due to the undue legitimacy Karzai believed the U.S. was ceding to the Taliban.[1]

• According to a report in the Washington Post on Friday, success in the Qatar talks will likely hinge on a detainee exchange, which will “build bridges of confidence” between the U.S. and the Taliban. The Taliban is asking for the release of five senior militants in Guantanamo Bay in exchange for the release of captured U.S. soldier, Sgt. Bowe Berghdahl.[2]  

• Foreign Office Spokesman Aizaz Chaudhry claimed that Pakistan had no influence on the chosen “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan” title the Taliban has given to its organization at the Qatar office where peace talks are expected to be held, stating that Pakistan, “recognized the government of Afghanistan led by President Hamid Karzai and had remained engaged with it.”[3]

Afghan-Pakistan Relations

• In statements before the U.N. Security Council on Thursday, Afghanistan’s U.N. Ambassador Zahir Tanin and Pakistan’s U.N. Ambassador Masood Khan traded barbs with each other over security concerns on the Durand line. According to Zahir Tanin, “terrorist sanctuaries continue to exist on Pakistan's soil and some elements continue to use terrorism as an instrument of foreign policy.” Khan accused Afghanistan of failing to aggressively maintain security along the border, arguing that many attacks in Pakistan were planned in Afghanistan.[4] 

• An Afghan diplomat in charge of education and student affairs at the Afghan Embassy in Islamabad was injured when unidentified men tried to kidnap and rob him on Friday. The men shot the diplomat in the leg and attempted to drag him into a car.[5]

Militancy 

• A suicide bomber killed 15 people at a Shia mosque in Gulshan Colony, Chamkani, Peshawar in the midst of Friday prayers. Two gunmen attacked the mosque, shooting the guards and allowing the bomber to enter the mosque. At least 30 people were also wounded in the attack. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, President Asif Ali Zardari and Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) Chief Altaf Hussain all condemned the bombing.[6] 

• A Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) provincial assembly member, Sajid Qureshi, and his son were shot and killed while departing Friday prayers. A bystander was killed as well in the shooting. In response to the shooting, the MQM announced three days of mourning across the city.[7] 

• On Thursday, security forces raised the Pakistani flag at Bagh Markaz mosque in the Tirah valley, Khyber agency, signifying the successful completion of a month long operation to clear militants from the region. Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani visited Tirah on Thursday, praising soldiers for their hard work and sacrifices in clearing the former militant stronghold.[8] 

•  745 families left the Jalozai Camp for internally displaced people in Nowshera to return to  Mohmand and Bajaur tribal agencies on Tuesday, after military operations against militants ended in the region.[9]

• Militants shot and killed two members of a pro-government militia and wounded two policemen on Friday in Khar, Bajaur agency. About two dozen militants took part in the assault.[10]

• Two policemen were shot and killed by six gunmen riding motorcycles on Thursday in SITE locality, Karachi.[11]

• Two unknown militants on motorcycles were shot and killed on Friday by security forces in Sarband, Peshawar after the men attacked a patrolling police party.[12]            

• Ten men were killed in Karachi on Friday. A man was shot in Shah Faisal Town, two bodies were found in Ibrahim Hyderi, a man found dead in Akber Market, and another was recovered underneath the Lasbela bridge. A man was also shot in Lyari, another was gunned down in Mirza Adam Khan Road, while two more men were killed in Kemari town and near Scouts colony respectively.[13]  

• 20 gang war suspects were arrested by Rangers personnel during raids on Friday in Lyari, Karachi. In addition to the suspects, Rangers discovered the abducted son of a retired military officer, who had been kidnapped on June 13.[14]

• Security forces arrested two militants and discovered a large cache of explosives and arms in a car on RCD highway, Khuzdar district, Balochistan on Friday. The cache contained two rocket launchers, 91 mortar shells, 47 detonators and other weapons.[15]

• Five men were killed in various incidents of violence across Karachi on Thursday evening. A man and his teenage son were shot and killed and found stuffed in gunny bags on Thursday in Old City, Karachi after being abducted the day before. Four armed men riding motorcycles shot and killed a man in Islam Chowk. A man was shot and killed in Baghdadi, while another was shot and killed in New Karachi.[16]     

• Security officials arrested a man and recovered two hand grenades and two pistols from his car on Thursday in Islamabad.[17]

Political  

• A federal minister told The News on Friday that the government will support Article 6 of the Constitution charges against Pervez Musharraf, denoting high treason. The previous Attorney General under the interim government had indicated that the pursuing Article 6 charges against Musharraf was not in the interim government's mandate.[18]

• A British Anti-Terrorism Command Unit searched Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain’s house in London on Thursday in connection with the death of Dr. Imran Farooq. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan told journalists that he had been briefed on the investigation on Thursday, but was not at liberty to share information with reporters.[19] 

• Mujahid Ali Khan, a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmaker demanded the release of the convicted murderer of former Punjab governor Salman Taseer. The PTI's leadership  distanced itself from Khan’s remarks; Taseer’s killer, Muhmmad Qadri, shot Taseer for his opposition to Pakistan’s blasphemy law.[20]

• On Thursday, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan announced that the Sindh government will have one month deadline to end target killings in Karachi and the rest of the province before the federal government provides security forces to combat the violence which has plagued Karachi.[21] 

 Economy  

• In an embarrassing moment for the Finance Ministry on Friday, senior government officials admitted to IMF officials that they do not know the exact amount of debt Pakistan is currently in, placing the number at somewhere in the Rs503 billion ($5.08 billion) range. The officials assured the IMF that they would have an exact figure in the next few days.[22]

• Finance Minister Ishaq Dar put the final touches on the 2013-2014 budget on Friday, raising minimum wage to Rs 10,000 ($101) and removing additional taxes on those earning more than Rs 2.5 million ($30,000) annually. The Supreme Court on Friday declared unconstitutional a proposed aspect of the budget—a one percent increase in the general sales tax—and ordered to government to deposit all of the money recovered from the tax to the office of the Supreme Court Registrar. The court argued that the tax could not be levied until the budget had been passed by the house.[23]   

• Proctor and Gamble listed Pakistan as one of the top ten emerging markets that it will invest in, according to its Communication Manager on Thursday. Proctor and Gamble recently developed a new manufacturing plant in Port Qasim, Karachi.[24]

• The State Bank of Pakistan cut its interest rates to 9 percent on Friday, deciding to, “place a higher weight to declining inflation and low private sector credit relative to risks to the balance of payments position.”[25]