Pakistan Security Brief

AQAP praises AQIS; six militants killed in North Waziristan; TTP responsible for attack on naval dockyard, Karachi; Al Qaeda leader Umer Talib allegedly killed in drone attack; TTP bombs girls’ school in Bajaur; Pakistani military airstrikes kill 10 militants; PPP leader proposes civil-military dialogue; Protestors allegedly paid by PAT to protest; IDPs demand end to Operation Zarb-e-Azb; Jamaat-ud-Dawa leader accuses India of causing floods. 

Militancy

• On September 7, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released a statement on Twitter praising the establishment of al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS). AQAP said that AQIS is the “vanguard of those who defend our Muslim people in that bleeding battlefield in the east of the lands of Islam.” The statement offered special congratulations to the group’s fighters as well as al Qaeda chief, Ayman al Zawahiri and new AQIS chief, Asim Umar.[1]

• According to a spokesman for the Inter Service Public Relations (IPSR) on September 9, six suspected militants were killed in clash with military forces during the ongoing Operation Zarb-e-Azb in Datta Khel, North Waziristan. A civilian logistics staff member was also killed.[2]

• According to a statement by a Pakistan Navy spokesperson on September 8, one sailor and two insurgents were killed in a militant attack on the Naval dockyard in Karachi on September 6. Four militants were reportedly captured alive. The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack and alleged that the group had inside support from the naval forces.[3]

• According to the Search for International Terrorist Entities (SITE) on September 8, militant sources declared that an al Qaeda leader known as Umer Talib alias Adil Salih Ahmad al Qumayshi was killed in a drone strike in North Waziristan two months ago. Umer Talib was among the most wanted terrorists in Saudi Arabia.[4]

• On September 8, TTP militants bombed a government girls’ primary school in Nawagai sub-district in Khar, Bajaur agency, completely destroying the school. There were no casualties reported.[5]

Political Crisis

• On September 8, Senator Farhatullah Babar from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) proposed the idea of an on-camera civil-military dialogue to address the “unending war” between the military establishment and civilian government which manifests itself through different players in various forms.[6]

• According to BBC reports on September 8, protestors from the Pakistan Awami Tehrik (PAT) told reporters that they were initially paid to join rallies for “three or four days” and are now being prevented from leaving in an effort to keep the momentum of the protest going. PAT’s deputy information secretary, Omar Riaz Abbasi denied any allegations of paying or threatening protestors.[7]

Internally Displaced Persons

• On September 8, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) form North Waziristan Agency demanded an immediate end to Operation Zarb-e-Azb. The IDPs demanded early repatriation of people to areas of North Waziristan purged of militants.[8]

Indo-Pak Relations

• On September 8, at a press conference in Lahore, Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed alleged that India was conspiring to economically handicap Pakistan by building dams over rivers flowing into Pakistan from Indian-administered Kashmir. He also held India responsible for the current flooding in Pakistan.[9]