Pakistan Security Brief

Jundullah pledges support to IS; Two suspects arrested for writing pro-IS graffiti in Lahore; IS not a major cause for concern, says ISPR chief; Airstrikes kill 27 militants in Datta Khel, North Waziristan Agency; Hafiz Gul Bahadur group claims attack on security post in Datta Khel, North Waziristan Agency; 39 LI militants surrender to security forces in Khyber Agency; Army kills 10 militants in Bara, Khyber Agency; Anti-Taliban militia kills three LI militants Khyber Agency; Militants behead tribesman for spying in Khyber Agency; Militants attack Afghan border post, killing and injuring Afghan and Pakistani security forces and civilians in Chitral district; Security forces arrested over 100 suspects in search operation in Peshawar; Police kill five TTP militants in Karachi; Security forces kill six militants in Bolan, Balochistan; Grenade attack kills one in Khuzdar, Balochistan; Anti-Taliban militia member killed in Swat district; Police seize explosives in Swat district; Blast injures one in Charsadda; Fresh ceasefire violations across international boundary between India, Pakistan; India says end in ceasefire violations a precondition for talks; Pakistan envoy hopes Kashmir issue not obstacle in Indo-Pak relations; Army chief arrives in Washington for five-day official visit; Afghan President Ghani discusses economic, security cooperation with Prime Minister Sharif; Prime Minister Sharif meets new ISI chief; 1,200 militants killed in Operation Zarb-e-Azb, says operation commander; TAPI pipeline project to be revived.

Islamic State in South Asia

• On November 17, militant group Jundullah's spokesman, Fahad Marwat, pledged support to Islamic State (IS) after meeting a three-man delegation representing IS led by al Zubair al Kuwaiti. Marwat also declared that Islamic State fighters are the group’s brothers and that the group would support IS in its plans.[1]

• On November 17, police arrested two suspects from the Nawab town area of Lahore for plastering posters in support of Islamic State (IS). According to police officials, banned religious literature was also recovered from their possession.[2]

• On November 15, security forces painted over graffiti supporting Islamic State (IS) in the Sikandarpura area in Hashtnagri, Peshawar. Graffiti supporting IS has been found in Bannu, Lahore, Karachi, Khanewal, Taxila, Hyderabad, and Multan.[3]

• On November 16, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) chief Maj. Gen. Asim Saleem Bajwa said that displays of support for IS in Pakistan were isolated cases and that IS is not a major cause of concern for the state.[4]

Militancy

• On November 16, according to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), security forces killed at least 27 militants, including foreign fighters and commanders, in airstrikes on militant compounds in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan Agency.[5]

• On November 16, five soldiers, including a major, and eight militants were killed in an attack on a security post in the Spera Ghar area of Datta Khel area of North Waziristan. According to Reuters, eight militants are missing following the attack. The attack was publically claimed by Hafiz Gul Bahadur’s militant group which also threatened more attacks on security forces.[6]

• On November 14, 39 Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) militants surrendered to security forces in Khyber Agency. Since the military’s offensive in Khyber Agency began on October 16, about 350 militants, including 20 militant commanders, have surrendered to security forces.[7]

• On November 17, 10 militants surrendered themselves, their weapons, and their ammunition to the Pakistan Army in the Bara sub-district of Khyber Agency.[8]

• On November 17, the Pakistan Army killed 10 militants in Bara sub-district of Khyber Agency.[9]

• On November 15, members of an anti-Taliban militia killed three Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) militants and injured two militants in an attack on militant bunkers in the Sandapal area of the Tirah Valley, Khyber Agency.[10]

• On November 14, militants publically beheaded a local tribesman after accusing him of spying for security forces in the Mehraban Kalay area of Tirah Valley, Khyber Agency.[11]

• As reported by Dawn on November 14, the Pakistan government is ready to launch FM radio stations countering militant propaganda throughout all seven agencies of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). LI Commander Mangal Bagh and other militants have been using radio stations to broadcast their messages and agendas.[12]

• On November 16, militants attacked Afghan security forces at a border post near Arandu, Chitral district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Five militants and two Afghan security officials were killed while two Pakistani civilians and two security force personnel were also injured in the encounter.[13]

• On November 14, a blast killed a refugee from Swat district along with an Afghan tribal elder in the Karmol area of Wattapur, Kunar province, Afghanistan.[14]

• On November 16, security forces arrested over 100 suspects in a search and strike operation in the Yakatoot, Nasir Bagh, and Chamkani areas of Peshawar. Of those arrested, 10 are reported to have been unregistered Afghan nationals.[15]

• On November 14, police killed five TTP militants in a shootout in the Gulshan-e-Buner neighborhood of Karachi.[16]

• As previously reported, on November 14, police killed five suspected terrorists and injured two in the Swati Mohalla area of Quaidabad, Karachi. Among those injured was Misbah Mehsud, a commander with the TTP Swat faction that was affiliated with the “Shahmim Ladah group.” A deputy commander of the same group was also killed.[17]

• As reported by The News on November 15, police arrested known militant Sansar Ali, and seized explosives and weapons during a targeted operation in Gulshan-e-Jamal, Karachi.[18]

• On November 14, security forces killed six militants, arrested eight, and seized rocket launchers and other weapons in Bolan district, Balochistan.[19]

• On November 16, unidentified attackers threw two hand grenades at two parked vehicles in Khuzdar, Balochistan. The blast killed a child and injured 13 people.[20]

• On November 15, unidentified gunmen killed an anti-Taliban militia member in the Tahirabad area of Mingora, Swat district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Security forces arrested 40 suspects in a search operation following the attack.[21]

• On November 15, police seized explosives found near a football field in Wanda Shahabkhel village, Kurrum Par area, Swat district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.[22]

• On November 15, a blast injured one person and damaged three shops in Charsadda, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.[23]

• On November 15, an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) injured two people in Reesan village, Hangu district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.[24]

Indo-Pak Border Suicide Attack

• According to an Express Tribune report on November 15, forensic reports have confirmed that the second suicide vest found on November 3 near the Wagah border was identical to the one used in the Wagah border suicide attack on November 2 that killed at least 60 people, suggesting the presence of a second suicide bomber.[25]

Indo-Pakistan Relations

• On November 15, Indian and Pakistani armies accused each other of fresh ceasefire violations along the working boundary between the two countries. The Pakistani Rangers claimed that Indian troops resorted to unprovoked firing and mortar shelling in the Charwa sector near Sialkot. Meanwhile, Indian Border Security Forces (BSF) accused Pakistani troops of firing on border outposts along the Arnia belt of Jammu district.[26] 

• On November 17, Indian forces reportedly resorted to unprovoked firing, injuring one civilian, in the Neiza Peer sector of Haveli district along the Line of Control (LoC) in Azad Kashmir.[27]

• On November 15, Indian Minister of State for External Affairs, Retd. Gen. V.K. Singh declared that India would not enter into any further dialogue with Pakistan until Pakistani troops stop violating the ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border.[28]

• On November 16, Pakistan High Commissioner to India, Abdul Basit, declared that the Kashmir issue need not hold India-Pakistan relations hostage and that the issue should be resolved through dialogue in a “just and fair” manner. Basit further said that India-Pakistan relations are important and complex and that only a collective effort would yield results.[29]

U.S.-Pakistan Relations

• On November 16, Army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif arrived in Washington D.C. for a five day official visit. Sharif reportedly visited the headquarters of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) office on the same day and discussed the ongoing military offensives against militants in North Waziristan and Khyber Agency. Gen. Sharif is expected to meet Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Marin Dempsey and other U.S. defense officials and diplomats. According to reports, bilateral defense ties and cooperation towards stability in Afghanistan will be major subjects of discussion during the Army chief’s visit. Gen. Sharif is accompanied by Director General Military Operations and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief on his visit to the U.S.[30]

Pak-Afghan Relations

• On November 16, after talks between Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the two countries’ finance ministers signed a deal which aims at doubling bilateral trade to $5 billion by 2017 and simplifying customs protocols. Referring to his visit to Islamabad, Ghani declared that the two sides had overcome 13 years of obstacles in three days and that enormous steps had been taken to achieve progress on the economic front. Ghani also stated that Pakistan is an important pillar of Afghanistan’s foreign policy and that practical steps on the economic and security front would improve bilateral relations between the two countries.  On the same day, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif reaffirmed that his government would support “the intra-Afghan reconciliation process” and that the process must be “fully Afghan-led and Afghan owned.”[31]

Military

• On November 15, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met new ISI chief Lt. Gen. Rizwan Akhtar and discussed the situation in North Waziristan including the ISI’s role in curbing cross-border terrorist infiltration.[32]

• According to a report in The News on November 17, ISPR chief Maj. Gen. Asim Bajwa declared that the Pakistani military does not discriminate between militants and that the military was against all militants, including all nationalities and all groups. Bajwa also declared that the Haqqani Network is now history and “a thing of the past.”[33]

• On November 16, Operation Zarb-e-Azb commander, Maj. Gen. Zafarullah Khan, declared that the military had killed nearly 1,200 militants and arrested about 230 since the operation began in June in North Waziristan. Khan declared that the army had also recovered around 132 tons of explosive material besides a huge cache of arms and ammunition. Khan further declared that an area of 2,708 kilometers had been taken back from the militants while the rest would be cleared as early as possible.[34]

Economy

• According to a November 16 Dawn report, four state-owned gas organizations of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India have reportedly established a company that will build and operate the 1,800 km TAPI gas pipeline. The pipeline is expected to export about 33 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year for the next 30 years from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. The pipeline project was reportedly revived after Afghan President Ghani’s reassurances to Prime Minister Sharif regarding the project during his two-day visit to Pakistan.[35]

Internally Displaced Persons

• On November 15, internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Khyber Agency staged protests at the Jalozai IDP Camp and marched from the camp to the main Peshwar-Nowshera road in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The protestors alleged corruption by the FATA Disaster Management Authority and PTI-led provincial government and claimed that the facilities promised by the government had not been provided to IDPs owing to corruption by the authorities.[36]