Pakistan Security Brief

JuD chief accuses India of “water aggression;" Six killed, 11 injured in blast in Peshawar, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa; Senior policeman shot in Peshawar, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa; Security forces kill 4, arrest 4 militants in Bannu, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa; Three suspected militants arrested in Islamabad; Bomb Disposal Unit defuses IED in Peshawar; Hand-grenade attacks take place in Karachi; President appoints new Pakistan Navy chief; Army chief conducts corps commanders’ conference; Foreign Office declares U.S. sanctions inapplicable to Pakistan; U.S., Indian premiers issue joint statement on combatting terrorism; Endorsement of BSA a shift in Pakistan’s Afghan policy, says report; PAT contemplating end to protests, declares dates for rallies in Faisalabad, Lahore. 

Militancy

• In a meeting on Jaranwala Road in Faisalabad on October 1, Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed declared that Pakistan was facing artificial floods due to Indian “water aggression” through building dams on Pakistani rivers. He urged the masses to “unite and pressurize the government” to redress the issue.[1]

• On October 2, six people were killed and 11 injured in a bomb explosion on a passenger coach in the Bazid Khel area of Peshawar, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The bus was heading toward Upper Kurram Agency from Peshawar. Police say five kilograms of explosive material was used in the blast.[2]

• On October 2, unknown gunmen shot and killed Police Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Asif Mehmood near the Wazir Bagh area of Peshawar, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.[3]  

• On October 2, security forces killed four suspected militants and arrested four in a raid in the Jani Khel and Sardi Khel areas of Bannu distict, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. According to official sources, a key militant commander was among the arrested militants.[4]

• On October 2, security forces arrested three suspected militants in a search operation in the Bani Gala area of Islamabad. The forces also recovered some arms and ammunition in the raid.[5] 

• On October 1, the Bomb Disposal Unit (BDU) defused a remote-controlled explosive device attached to a motorcycle in the Hayatabad area of Peshawar. The bomb contained 10 kilograms of explosives.[6]

• On October 1, unknown attackers threw a hand-grenade at a mobile police van near Hassan Square flyover in the Gulshan-e-Iqbal area of Karachi, injuring two policemen. Separately, unknown persons also hurled a hand-grenade at the Tipu Sultan police station in Karachi.[7]

Military

• On October 2, President Mamnoon Hussain promoted Vice Admiral Muhammad Zakaullah to the rank of Admiral and appointed him as the Chief of Naval Staff for the Pakistan Navy, on the advice of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Admiral Zakaullah is expected to assume command on October 7 at Navy Headquarters in Islamabad. He has previously commanded the Pakistan Naval Academy and the 25th Destroyer Squadron.[8]

• On October 1, army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif presided over the 175th Corps Commanders Conference at General Headquarters in Rawalpindi. During the conference, Gen. Raheel Sharif expressed his satisfaction with the progress of ongoing military offensive Operation Zarb-e-Azb in North Waziristan and applauded the contributions of participating troops. The participants of the conference reportedly “vowed to rid the country of the menace of terrorism.”[9]

Foreign Affairs

• In a media briefing on October 2, Foreign Office spokesperson Tasneem Aslam called the U.S. decision to declare three Pakistan-based organizations as terror groups a “unilateral move” that “does not apply” to Pakistan. On September 30, the U.S. Treasury Department declared three Pakistani individuals to be Specially Designated Global Terrorists and also sanctioned two affiliated Pakistan-based entities.

• On October 2, Foreign Office spokesperson Tasneem Aslam said that India and Pakistan would have to resume dialogue sooner or later for the sake of sustainable peace and that “the dispute must be resolved as per the aspirations of Kashmiri people through plebiscite.” She also reiterated that Pakistani consultations with the leadership in Indian-held Kashmir is a routine occurrence. [10]

• U.S. President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a joint statement on September 30, stressing the need for concerted efforts to combat terrorism and dismantle the safe havens of terrorist and criminal networks such as al Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and the Haqqani Network. The two premiers vowed to enhance criminal law enforcement, security and military information exchanges as well as strengthen cooperation on extradition and mutual legal assistance.[11]

• A report in the Express Tribune on October 2 claims that the Pakistani endorsement of the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA), signed between the U.S. and Afghanistan, is a “paradigm shift” in Pakistan’s policy on Afghanistan. The report claims Pakistan’s policy previously had been geared toward opposing a long-term U.S. presence in Afghanistan.[12]

Political Crisis

• In a meeting with party allies on October 1, Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) leaders declared that the party was finding it difficult to maintain the protests in Islamabad and that it was contemplating ending the protests on October 4, ahead of Eid-ul-Adha. Allies of the PAT, including the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) and Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM), want the PAT to continue the protest in Islamabad while also holding public rallies in other parts of the country. PAT chief Dr. Tahirul Qadri declared on October 2 that the party would hold rallies in Faisalabad on October 12 and at the Minar-e-Pakistan monument in Lahore on October 19.[13]