Pakistan Security Brief
India injures three in Punjab shelling; Pakistan injures 10 in shelling in Jammu; Indian Prime Minister disappointed in LoC violations; Pakistan releases 30 Indian fishermen; Prime Minister thinks that trip to U.S. was a success; U.S. may end drone strikes in Pakistan soon; Foreign Office spokesman says that government approved drone strikes from 2007 until 2011; Polio vaccination to be a topic in TTP talks; Three killed in Sindh bombing; Nine injured in cross-border shelling in South Waziristan; Three killed in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa attack; Five killed in attacks in Karachi; Musharraf’s detention extended until October 29.
India-Pakistan Relations
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On Friday, the Indian army allegedly fired across the border in Sialkot district, Punjab in several places, injuring three people.[1]
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On Friday, Pakistan allegedly fired across the Line of Control (LoC) in several areas of Jammu district in Indian-administered Kashmir. Ten people were wounded.[2]
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On Thursday, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed disappointment in the recent clashes along the LoC, and blamed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for violating what he says was an unofficial understanding reached at their September meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly that the ceasefire at the LoC would be maintained.[3]
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On Friday, Pakistan released around 30 of the more than 40 Indian fishermen captured on Thursday after they crossed into Pakistani waters.[4]
U.S.-Pakistan Relations
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On Thursday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that he believed that his trip to the United States was a success, saying that he believes that the drone strikes will end soon and that he mentioned in his meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama that Pakistan would like the U.S. to get more involved in resolving the Kashmir dispute. He added that, while he thinks drone attacks violate Pakistan’s sovereignty, he does not believe that they are war crimes as portrayed by Amnesty International.[5]
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According to a Friday report in The Express Tribune, American President Barack Obama promised Nawaz Sharif during their meeting that the U.S. only has a few more high value targets left in Pakistan, and that the drone strikes will stop as soon as they are eliminated.[6]
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On Friday, Foreign Office spokesman Aizaz Chaudhry responded to the Wednesday story in the Washington post alleging that Pakistan had secretly approved the American drone program, saying that it is common knowledge that the government had approved drone strikes between 2007 and 2011, but that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has made his anti-drone position well known.[7]
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Tehrik-e-Taliban Paksitan (TTP) spokesman Shahidullah Shahid on Thursday dismissed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s recent meeting with American President Barack Obama as an attempt to get more aid from the United States, and not a push to end drone strikes.[8]
Talks with the TTP
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Minister of State for Health Regulations Saira Afzal Tarar said on Thursday that the government intends to include polio vaccinations on the list of issues to discuss with the TTP. According to Tarar, 90 percent of Pakistan’s polio cases this year have been in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) where the TTP has banned polio vaccinations.[9]
Iran-Pakistan Relations
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Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said on Thursday that Pakistan has the right to renegotiate its deal with Iran on the price of gas to be sent to Pakistan through the Iran-Pakistan pipeline.[10]
Militancy
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Two unidentified bodies were discovered on Thursday in Darra Pezuon, Lakki Marwat district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The bodies both showed signs of bullet wounds.[11]
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A bomb explosion on Thursday injured three people in Thulh, Jacobabad district, Sindh. Two more bombs, including one near the house of a Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) minister, were found in the town and defused.[12]
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Rocket and mortar fire from Afghanistan injured nine people in Angoor Adda, South Waziristan agency on Thursday.[13]
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Unidentified gunmen killed three people in Nowshera, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Thursday.[14]
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One person was killed and two injured in a hand grenade attack in the Timber Market area of Karachi on Thursday.[15]
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On Friday, Karachi police and Rangers raided the house of Lyari gangster Baba Ladla and seized guns, bullets, and hand grenades. Ladla was not captured during the raid.[16]
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Five people were shot to death in several incidents in Karachi on Friday. Two incidents were in Orangi Town, one near Lee Market, and one in North Nazimabad.[17]
Domestic
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On Friday, a court in Islamabad extended the house arrest of former President Pervez Musharraf until October 29. Musharraf is being held on charges related to his role in the 2007 Lal Masjid incident.[18]
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Jamat ud Dawa (JuD) leader and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed said on Thursday that American President Barack Obama had been fooled by “Indian propaganda” when he spoke out against Saeed and his group.[19]
