Pakistan Security Brief

U.S.-Pakistan relations normalizing; Abbottabad Commission questions legality of May 2 raid; BBC establishes link between ISI and Afghanistan’s insurgency; Militant group ready to engage in peace talks with U.S.; Afghans express concern over Afghanistan-India pact; Pakistan accuses NATO of violating airspace; Peshawar bomb injures 12; Police arrest 4 people in connection to Lower Dir blast; Militant activity in Tank; Security forces arrest 20 in Mohmand; Findings of Kharotabad tribunal result in dismissal of police; Pakistan looks for international support of Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline; Judge flees to Saudi Arabia after receiving death threats; Gilani orders investigation into Mughal assassination attempt; Karachi residents call for relocation of police station; Video shows vehicles used in Taseer kidnapping.

U.S.-Pakistan Relations

• In a press briefing in Washington, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland reiterated Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s sentiment that the U.S. would not launch a military offensive against its ally Pakistan.  Regarding Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s comment that Afghanistan would back Pakistan in the event of a U.S.-Pakistan war, Nuland said Karzai’s statement was “not an issue” because such a war “is not going to happen.”  Meanwhile, U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter voiced his hope that U.S.-Pakistan relations would “grow and improve in the future” and pledged continued U.S. aid to Pakistan as Pakistan’s economic team asked the U.S. to provide more assistance toward energy sector development projects.[1]

• The Abbottabad Commission, which is investigating the May 2 raid by U.S. Special Operations Forces on the Abbottabad compound of deceased al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, has called upon legal experts to determine the legality of the U.S. raid according to the UN Charter and multiple UN Resolutions.  The U.S. has claimed that its operation was legal under the premise that it “could conduct air raids in any country to hunt down al Qaeda leaders.”[2]

• The BBC has unearthed evidence establishing direct links between Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the insurgency in Afghanistan, according to interviews conducted for the documentary series “Secret Pakistan.”  For the production of the documentary series, BBC spoke to many Taliban commanders, both past and present, who “provide[d] detailed evidence of how the…ISI has rebuilt, trained, and supported the Taliban throughout its war on the U.S. in Afghanistan.”[3]

• The Afghan militant group Hizb-e-Islami, led by Gulbudin Hekmatyar, has announced that it is willing to “have direct or indirect political dialogue” with the U.S., noting that “Pakistan’s role in any future talks would be vital.”[4]

Afghanistan-Pakistan Relations

• Afghans have expressed concern that the recent “strategic partnership” agreed to by Afghanistan and India will damage Afghanistan-Pakistan relations and may affect the prospect of peace talks between the two countries.  Afghans have also expressed worry that getting involved in the “regional competition between India and Pakistan” may create problems for all three countries in the future.[5]

NATO

• On Wednesday, Pakistani military officials “accused NATO helicopters of violating Pakistan’s air space” in North Waziristan, although NATO and ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) have denied the accusations.  Pakistani officials claimed that the helicopters flew at a relatively low altitude” and “left after ‘warning shots’ were fired by Pakistan[i] troops.”[6]

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa

• Twelve people were injured in a Peshawar market on Wednesday when an improvised explosive device (IED) was detonated in a market shop.[7] 

• Police have arrested four suspects for their involvement in yesterday’s blast that killed four people in Lower Dir.[8]

• Three security officials were injured when a roadside bomb exploded next to their army vehicle in Tank district on Wednesday.  Meanwhile, unidentified gunmen shot and killed two people, including a “former chief of a peace committee.”  Security officials have imposed a curfew in Tank following the incidents of violence.[9]

FATA

• On Tuesday, security forces arrested 20 suspected militants in Mohmand agency during a search operation carried out in conjunction with local peace committees.[10]  

Balochistan

• Police in Balochistan have dismissed two police officers and have suspended another two after the findings of the Kharotabad tribunal were released in which the police officers were found responsible for the killing of five unarmed foreigners on May 17.[11]

Iran-Pakistan Pipeline

• Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Petroleum Dr. Asim Hussain has said that the progress of the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline is dependent upon “international understanding.”  This statement came days after U.S. Secretary of State Clinton commented on Pakistan’s “very difficult [and] rather dangerous neighbor,” Iran.[12]

Qadri Judge

• Lahore High Court (LHC) Judge Pervez Ali Shah has reportedly fled to Saudi Arabia with his family amid a flurry of threats against his life.  Shah presided over the murder trial of Malik Mumtaz Hussein Qadri who was convicted of killing Punjab Governor Salman Taseer.[13]

Investigation into Shooting of AJK Judge

• Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has ordered an investigation into the shooting of Ghulam Mustafa Mughal, the Chief Justice of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) in Pakistan-administered Kashmir who was targeted by gunmen in Muzaffarabad on Tuesday.[14]

Karachi Violence

• Following the September 19 bombing of the home of Chaudhry Aslam, a Karachi police officer and the chief of the Crime Investigation Department (CID), Karachi residents have called for the removal of the neighborhood’s police station amid fears of future terrorist attacks.[15]

Taseer Kidnapping

• Geo News has obtained video footage showing three vehicles used in the kidnapping of Shahbaz Taseer, the son of slain Punjab Governor Salman Taseer.  Police are still investigating the kidnapping, which occurred on August 26 in Lahore, and have yet to make any arrests in the case.[16]