Pakistan Security Brief

AQIS claims responsibility for Karachi naval yard attack, three naval officials arrested near Quetta in connection with attack; Karachi naval yard attack characterized as intelligence failure; Malala Yousafzai’s attackers arrested; TTP Jamatul Ahrar celebrates 9/11 anniversary; Four militants arrested in Khyber Agency; Militant killed in Peshawar; Assailants fire on train in Balon, Balochistan; ISPR clarifies no military involvement in politics; Two dozen PAT, PTI workers arrested, five to six terrorists present in PTI, PAT sit-ins say intelligence agencies; Chairman of PML-N says talks with PAT, PTI have stalled; Flood alert declared in Multan, Punjab; IMF delays fifth loan tranche of $550 million to Pakistan; “India an important neighbor” says High Commissioner; Pakistani ambassador expresses concern over U.S. drawdown from Afghanistan.

Militancy

• On September 11, al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) issued a statement to AFP claiming responsibility for the attack at the Karachi naval yard on September 6. The Urdu-language statement claimed that the frigate Pakistani Naval Ship (PNS) Zulfiqar was the target of the attack and that the attackers intended to use it against an unspecified U.S. fleet. The AQIS statement claimed the attackers had taken over the ship and were moving towards their target, a U.S. supply ship in the yard, when security forces killed or arrested the attackers. AQIS also claimed that radicalized former navy officers assisted in the attack. Pakistan Navy spokesperson Commodore Nadeem Bukhari stated that it was too early to confirm that naval officials assisted the attackers from the inside.[1]

• On September 12, security forces arrested three navy officials in the Lak Pass area of Quetta for involvement in the Karachi naval yard attack on September 6. The suspects were attempting to flee to Afghanistan when they were arrested, and reportedly claimed to have carried out the attacks with the aid of Afghan forces.[2]

• On September 12, The News reported that according to official preliminary investigations the Karachi naval yard attack was an intelligence failure as the base was not warned of any potential threat prior to the attack. This failure is reportedly particularly troubling considering the strategic importance of the Karachi naval yard to the Pakistani military as it is the navy’s only submarine construction base. In addition, a former naval officer who was the son of a Karachi Police inspector reportedly aided in the militant attack in which he was killed.[3]

• On September 12, the head of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) stated that security forces had arrested 10 militants affiliated with the “Shura” faction of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) who are suspected of carrying out the 2012 attack on Malala Yousafzai and two other school girls in the Swat Valley. Reportedly, the militants revealed upon interrogation that Kunar-based TTP leader Mullah Fazlullah planned the attack on Malala and the other girls.[4]

• According to the SITE Intel Group, TTP Jamatul Ahrar released a message in English and Urdu on Facebook and Twitter on September 11, celebrating the thirteenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the U.S.  The message paid tribute to the “mujahideen” who sacrificed their lives in the attack and also pledged to continue their jihad until a caliphate is established in every corner of the world.[5] 

• On September 12, security forces raided a house near Landi Kotal College in Khyber Agency and arrested four militants.[6]

• On September 11, police killed a militant and injured another when militants fired upon an armored personnel carrier near Badaber village in Peshawar, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.[7]

• According to a Geo News report on September 11, unknown assailants fired upon a train in the Mathari area of Bolan, Balochistan.[8]

Political Crisis

• In a briefing on September 12, Director General of the ISPR, Major General Asim Bajwa clarified that the military had no connection to the “political activity” in Islamabad and that the military had reaffirmed its support to the continuation of democracy.[9]

• On September 12, police arrested more than two dozen workers of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) parties on charges of attacking the Parliament and Pakistan Television building. According to sources, the majority of those arrested belong to the PAT.[10]

• On September 11, Pakistani Intelligence agencies reported to the Interior Ministry the presence of five to six terrorists in the PAT and PTI sit-ins and asked the ministry to adopt the necessary measures to avoid any terror attacks.[11]

• On September 11, Raja Zafar-ul-Haq, Chairman of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), declared that the talks between the government and protesting parties had stalled without achieving any substantial progress because of the absolute unwillingness of the PAT and PTI to compromise on any of their demands.[12]

Domestic Politics

• On September 12, the Punjab government authorities declared a high alert in Multan city and surrounding areas in Punjab province as the Chenab River continued to swell toward the south at extremely high levels. Pakistan is currently suffering a bout of deadly flooding, particularly in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and Punjab.[13]

• On September 12, armed assailants destroyed a vehicle carrying copies of the Daily Jang and The News newspapers near Mayo Hospital, Lahore. No one was injured when the attackers set the van on fire.[14]

Economy

• On September 11, the Pakistan government missed the deadline set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to implement a 4 percent increase in power tariffs, a precondition set by IMF for approving the fifth loan tranche of $550 million from the IMF to Pakistan. The move has resulted in the cancellation of the September 26 meeting of the Executive Board of the IMF to approve the loan. According to sources in the Ministries of Finance and Water and Power, the delay in government action is political in nature given the instability created by the ongoing protests in Islamabad. According to experts, while the IMF move will not adversely affect Pakistan's foreign currency reserves, it will spoil the country's economic relations with other international lenders.[15] 

Indo-Pak Relations

• On September 11, Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit said that India is an important neighbor and that it was unfortunate that the two countries’ relations had a “chequered history.” He also added that it was time for the two countries to make a new beginning and establish a relationship based on mutual respect and benefits.[16]

Afghanistan-Pakistan Relations

• In an interview published in the Express Tribune on September 12, Pakistani Ambassador to the United States Jalil Abbas Jilani expressed concerns over the timing of U.S. drawdown from Afghanistan given Afghanistan’s internal instability. He also said that the drawdown would have serious repercussions on Pakistan and its ability to ensure peace along the Pak-Afghan border.[17]