Pakistan Security Brief

Musharraf returns to Karachi, TTP threatens his life; Interim Prime Minister takes oath; Army assures ECP of support and security; Suicide bomber kills 22 soldiers; Imran Khan holds 100,000 person political rally; U.S. cuts Pakistani military aid fund; Pakistan views Karzai as hindrance to Taliban peace; Militants destroy gas pipeline; Rangers arrest 16 in Karachi; Targeted violence kills 21 in Karachi; Militants attack Rangers in Karachi; Two NATO fuel convoys ambushed; OPIC funds wind farm project; Think Tank says free elections in U.S. interests.

Domestic Politics

• During a small ceremony at President Zardari’s Presidential House in Islamabad on Monday, Justice (retd) Mir Hazar Khan Khoso was sworn in as the sixth interim Prime Minister for Pakistan to lead the caretaker government prior to elections in May.  Khoso was nominated by the Election of Pakistan on Sunday after the government and the opposition failed to reach a consensus on a candidate last week.[1]

• In Lahore on Saturday, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf leader Imran Khan held a massive political rally to begin his campaign. 100,000 people attended the rally, a significant number but well below the half million people anticipated by PTI leaders. Khan’s speech was cut short due to severe weather.[2]

• On Friday, the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) secretary Ishtiaq Ahmed visited GHQ to discuss security details relating to the upcoming elections.  During the meeting, military authorities assured the ECP that the army will do everything necessary to support peaceful elections. [3]

Musharraf Returns, Faces Taliban Threats

• On Sunday, former President and retired General Pervez Musharraf returned to Pakistan after a four-year self-imposed exile in London and Dubai, with the intention of leading his party, the All Pakistan Muslim League (APML), in the May general elections.  Musharraf landed in Karachi, where he was met by few supporters and ushered away by a private security team.  His return came after a court granted him pre-arrest bail, which guaranteed he would not be detained upon arrival.  Following his arrival in Karachi, Musharraf will travel to Islamabad to address his charges for failing to provide proper security for former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in 2007. On Saturday, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) released a video threatening to assassinate Musharraf.  In the video, TTP member Adnan Rasheed, who previously attempted to assassinate Musharraf and was broken out of prison in 2012, warned Musharraf, saying: “The mujahideen of Islam have prepared a special squad to send Musharraf to hell. There are suicide bombers, snipers, a special assault unit and a close combat team.” Later in the video, TTP spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan  said that the TTP will kill Musharraf to avenge militants who died during a military raid on the Red Mosque in 2007. Responding to the threats, Musharraf said he is not afraid, explaining that the TTP have been threatening his life unsuccessfully for the last 12 years.  While he provided his own security, Musharraf also appealed to the government to provide him “the security I’m supposed to get as an ex-president.”  On Sunday, the army’s General Headquarters (GHQ) wrote to the Defence Ministry requesting proper protection for Musharraf.  When questioned, AMPL spokesperson Asia Ishaq said the GHQ sent the request of its own accord, not at the request of Musharraf. [4]

Pakistan-Afghanistan Relations

• According to a Reuters article released on Sunday, senior Pakistani Foreign Ministry officials view Afghan President Hamid Karzai as an obstacle to the Afghan peace process.  They consider his recent statements “erratic,” explaining that while Karzai claims he is trying to own the peace process, he in fact hinders cooperation and progress.  The officials point to Karzai’s recent stance against “back door peace contacts,” his conspiratorial accusations about the U.S. and the Taliban, and demands that Pakistan release its Afghan Taliban prisoners as examples of how his stance is both challenging and conflicted. [5]   

Militancy

• On Saturday night, a suicide bomber killed eighteen soldiers, including a Lieutenant, and wounded ten more, when he rammed a tanker truck filled with explosives into the Esha security check-post near Miram Shah, North Waziristan.  The blast destroyed most of the check-post, which is operated by both the Frontier Corps (FC) and the army. Though no group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, forces fired in retaliation on suspected Taliban hideouts with artillery and mortar fire, with no known casualties. On Sunday, an article in Dawn reported that the casualty rate may be as high as 22 dead and 35 injured. [6]

• On Friday night, Baloch Republican Army (BRA) militants detonated explosives under a gas pipeline near Go-pat area, Dera Bugti district, destroying the pipeline and halting supplies to Karachi from Sui. [7]

• On Friday, militants attacked two NATO fuel convoys in separate incidents in Peshawar and Khyber agency.  In Peshawar, militants attacked ten shipping containers carrying fuel to Afghanistan, killing one person and wounding three others.  In the Khyber agency attack, militants opened fire on a convoy in Wazir Danr area of Jamrud sub-district, injuring the driver and a cleaner. [8]

• On Monday, police recovered a body that had been tortured and killed three days previously in Mauripur, Karachi.  Also on Monday, gunmen shot and wounded a man in Landhi No. 4, Karachi, while armed men on a motorcycle opened fire and wounded a man in Shershah. [9]

• One man was killed and two bodies were recovered as a result of varied targeted violence in Karachi on Sunday.  A man died when he was shot in his hardware shop near Gujjar Chowk.  Police recovered a body that had been shot to death in Lines Area, and also the body of a man who had been shot at Siddiq Wahab Road near Sarya Gali in Haji Camp area. [10]

• Rangers arrested sixteen suspected terrorists in Sultanabad, Manghopir, Karachi, on Saturday.  Rangers also seized a large cache of weapons and explosives in the raid. Gunmen on a motorcycle shot and killed a mannear the Jafria Imambargah  in New Karachi. Two Rangers were injured when unknown attackers threw an explosive at their vehicle and then opened fire in Dhobi Ghat area of Lyari. Motorcyclists in Usmanabad opened fire and killed two men who police allege were involved in the Lyari gang war.  Motorcyclists also killed a man in Zaman Town while he was working at his store. A man was shot to death by motorcyclists while waiting at a bus stop in Buffer Zone. Another man was shot in Ghousia Colony by unknown attackers.  Police recovered a tortured body near the Inquiry Office in Nazimabad. Police also recovered the bodies of a man and woman found tortured and killed in Teen Hatti. [11]

• On Friday in Chanesar Goth, Mehmoodabad, Karachi, Rangers arrested 15 suspects, including a police officer found at one of the hideouts. Police recovered two tortured bodies in Nazimabad No. 2, and Rizvia Society area.  They also recovered the bodies of a man and woman who were kidnapped and shot to death near Baloch Masjid in Teenhatti area.  [12]

• On Friday, Inspector General of the FC in Balochistan Maj. Gen. Obaidullah Khan Khattak said militancy in Balochistan has tangibly reduced because of a combined effort from Parliament and local security forces.  He specifically cited recent legislation that helped curb crime, including an evidence law that closed loop holes in arresting and investigating criminals. [13]

• On Friday, a tank shell exploded inside a tank patrolling in Nadir Mela, Upper Orakzai, killing two soldiers. [14]

• Two people died in separate incidents of violence in Lahore on Friday.  In North Cantonment area, unknown gunmen on a motorcycle shot and killed a man sitting in a shop.  A group of unidentified men shot another man in Misri Shah area as he was walking in the street.[15]

• Unknown attackers on motorcycles opened fire and killed four laborers on their way to work on the National Highway in Quetta on Friday. [16]

U.S.-Pakistan Relations

• On Friday, U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) CEO Elizabeth L. Littlefield announced that OPIC “approved a credit facility of $95 million for a 50MW wind-power plant in Gharo-Ketti Bandar[Sindh],” a project that will provide 133 gigawatt hours of electricity every year. [17]

• On Thursday, the U.S. Congress sent U.S. President Barack Obama a spending bill that cuts funding from the $3 billion Pakistani Counterinsurgency Capability Fund.  The fund was meant to provide funding for military equipment such as helicopters and training for Pakistani special operations forces.  The State Department says the bill does not indicate that the U.S. will no longer provide military aid, rather that the aid will now come exclusively through the State Department.[18]