Pakistan Security Brief

TTP spokesman says military has intensified operations against TTP; JUI-S-led Jirga says it supports talks between TTP and government; U.S. diplomat says relations with Pakistan have deteriorated; Prime Minister praises UK counterterrorism assistance; Gunmen kill tribal leader in North Waziristan agency; Militants blow up gas pipeline in Dera Bugti district; World Bank approves $12 billion fiver-year loan to Pakistan; Pakistan to spend $2.25 billion a year to import LNG; Hamid Mir gives statement in investigation of attempted assassination; Army chief holds Corps Commanders Conference.

TTP Peace Talks

• On Thursday, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Shahidullah Shahid stated that “talks and war cannot go together,” emphasizing the TTP’s belief that the government publically says it wants to pursue peace talks while privately adopting a “policy of threats.” Shahid added that military operations against the TTP across the country had been intensified. According to Shahid, the TTP has made its willingness to pursue peace talks clear, but that the government has not shown seriousness.[1]

• On Thursday, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Sami’s (JUI-S) tribal peace Jirga expressed its support for talks between the government and the TTP and for an extension of the ceasefire. Ibrahim Khan, the chief of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, said that the TTP would recognize Pakistan’s constitution “if Islamic articles of the Constitution of Pakistan are implemented.”[2]

U.S.-Pakistan Relations 

• On Friday at a U.S. Congressional hearing, U.S. Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan James Dobbins said that relations between Pakistan and the U.S. have deteriorated and that mutual confidence in the U.S.-Pakistan relationship was lacking. He further added that while Pakistan’s role in finding a solution to the “Afghan crisis” was vital, Pakistan’s religious seminaries, especially in Balochistan and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) are the source of many attacks inside India and Afghanistan.[3]

UK-Pakistan Relations

• On Thursday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met with British Home Secretary Theresa May in London where they discussed cooperation on counter terrorism. Sharif also praised the United Kingdom’s contribution to Pakistan’s security and counterterrorism efforts.[4]

India-Pakistan Relations

• According to a Friday report in The News, Narendra Modi, who is favored to win India’s elections and become the country’s Prime Minister, has exchanged harsh words with Pakistan’s Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. Modi said that if he is elected, he will make sure that Dawood Ibrahim, who was a key party in the 1993 Mumbai bombings, will be returned to India from Pakistan. This prompted Nisar to accuse Modi of threatening to conduct an operation against Pakistan. Nisar said that Modi will destabilize the region if elected. A spokesman for Modi said that this response proves that Dawood is being sheltered in Pakistan.[5]

Militancy

• Unidentified gunmen killed Malik Qadir Khan, prominent tribal leader from the Madda Khel tribe who was in favor of government peace talks with the TTP, in Miram Shah, North Waziristan agency on Thursday. Khan’s driver and bodyguard were also killed in the attack. Khan was a high-level intermediary for the Pakistani government in North Waziristan.[6]

• On Thursday, unidentified militants blew up a gas pipeline in the Pir Koh area of Dera Bugti district, Balochistan.[7]

• Security agencies cited in a Friday article in Dawn stated that militant groups, including al Qaeda and the TTP, are planning to use the Indus River to transport arms, ammunition, and kidnapped persons between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Punjab and Sindh provinces. Militant groups reportedly selected the water routes because security along the river is less stringent than on land routes.[8]

Domestic

• On Thursday, the World Bank approved a $12 billion loan to Pakistan that will be administered over a five-year period. The loan will target different sectors including energy, economy, combating extremism, and education. An additional $1 billion, intended to increase Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves, will be transferred next week. Pakistan’s Finance Minister, Ishaq Dar, also stated that Pakistan will receive $11 billion in project loans and budgetary support through the Country Partnership Strategy. The Express Tribune reported that the World Bank also approved a $600 million loan for energy sector reforms aimed at reducing power subsidies as well as $400 million for macroeconomic reforms, which will focus on overhauling taxation.[9]

• On Wednesday, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that Pakistan will spend $2.25 billion in 2014 on imports of Liquefied Natural gas (LNG).[10]

• On Friday, Geo TV presenter Hamid Mir appeared before a judicial commission set up to investigate the attempt on his life last month. He appeared only to make a statement before leaving. Mir had previously refused to give a statement to a joint investigation team because Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) officials were part of the team, and Mir maintains that the ISI was behind his attempted assassination.[11]

• On Friday, army chief General Raheel Sharif held a Corps Commanders Conference with Pakistan’s military leadership at General Headquarters in Rawalpindi. The corps commanders discussed the national security situation and expressed their satisfaction at the army’s operational preparedness. On Thursday, General Sharif also met with the Commander of U.S. Central Command, General Lloyd Austin, to discuss the post-2014 situation in Afghanistan as well as U.S.-Pakistan military cooperation.[12]