Pakistan Conflict Monitor

Service Notice: Afghanistan and Pakistan Conflict Monitors Cease Publication

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 23:00:58 Z

Dear Subscriber,

As a result of staffing constraints, changes in media reporting on Afghanistan and Pakistan, and a shift in our strategic priorities, we have decided to discontinue the Afghanistan and Pakistan Conflict Monitors. As a consequence, we will no longer be producing the Daily Briefing, or updating the websites.

Instead of continuing to feature news stories, which are increasingly well covered by other online news media like Foreign Policy's “AfPak Channel,” we will be focussing on more in-depth research and policy material from governments, researchers, and major NGOs. These resources can be found on our research portal, the Human Security Gateway. Automatic feeds from the Gateway provide abstracts (with links to the full resource) of new Afghanistan/Pakistan research material as it is added to the database.

You can subscribe by RSS or e-mail for the latest Afghanistan and Pakistan research from the HS Gateway at:

http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/portal.php?regionId=114
and
http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/portal.php?regionId=154

Best,

The HSRP team

Service Notice

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 18:49:33 Z

Please be advised that our offices will be closed on Friday, July 1st, 2011 in observance of Canada Day. We will resume publishing the Pakistan Conflict Monitor on Monday, July 4th.

Pakistani Troops Kill 40 Militants near Afghan Border

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 18:48:57 Z

Pakistani troops backed by jets and helicopter gunships have killed 40 militants in a restive tribal area bordering Afghanistan in the past three days, a military commander said Thursday.Brigadier Aftab Ahmad told AFP by telephone that his forces had destroyed 17 militant hideouts in the Baizai region under his command in the lawless tribal area of Mohmand. "Militants were regularly attacking our posts on the Afghanistan border at Shonkari and Mithai and also targeting goods vehicles going to Afghanistan," he said. Ghalanai is the main town in Mohmand, where Pakistan has recently stepped up raids on militant hideouts, as it faces American pressure to conduct a separate offensive against the Al-Qaeda-linked Haqqani network in North Waziristan.

Pakistan 'kills 40 militants' in tribal belt, AFP, June 30, 2011

Related News

Pakistan army blocks entry of Afghan militants, The Express Tribune, June 30, 2011

Related Research

The Tribal Areas of Pakistan, Council on Foreign Relations, November 15, 2006
Pakistan’s Counterterrorism Strategy: Separating Friends from Enemies, The Washington Quarterly, January 03, 2011

"Pakistani Cooperation Remains Essential" in New US Counterterrorism Strategy

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 18:48:20 Z

President Obama’s counterterrorism strategy is narrowly focused on al-Qaeda and its ability to strike the U.S. homeland and is “not designed to combat directly every single terrorist organization in every corner of the world,” White House counterterrorism chief John O. Brennan said Wednesday. Acknowledging that the president’s goals “track closely with the goals” of the George W. Bush administration, Brennan said Obama’s strategy “neither represents a wholesale overhaul, nor a wholesale retention, of previous policies.” He spoke in a speech unveiling Obama’s national strategy for counterterrorism. He acknowledged that the U.S. relationship with Pakistan “is not without tension or frustration” but said that continued cooperation is “essential.” “As frustrating as this relationship can sometimes be,” he said, “Pakistan has been critical to many of our most significant successes against al-Qaeda. Tens of thousands of Pakistanis — military and civilian — have given their lives in the fight against militancy. And despite recent tensions, I am confident that Pakistan will remain one of our most important counterterrorism partners.”

Brennan: Counterterrorism strategy focused on al-Qaeda’s threat to homeland, The Washington Post, June 29, 2011

Related News

US told to consider Pakistan’s constraints, DAWN, June 30, 2011
Pakistan tells US to leave Shamsi airbase, The Express Tribune, June 30, 2011
US, Pakistan 'need each other': Gates, The Express Tribune, June 30, 2011
US message in drone strikes: If Pakistan doesn't take on Taliban, we will, The Christian Science Monitor, June 28, 2011
US seeks to destroy Al Qaeda core in Pakistan, NDTV, June 30, 2011

Key Scientist Discusses Pakistan's Nuclear Weapons Program: Interview

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 19:23:53 Z

He built Pakistan's nuclear bomb and is accused of having sold his knowledge to Libya and Iran. Since 2004, Abdul Qadeer Khan has been under a state of house arrest. In an e-mail interview, he now explains why he accepted sole blame for the accusations at the time and points a finger at the Pakistani army.

Spiegel Online: Recent attacks on a naval base in Karachi, Pakistan, which resulted in the deaths of 16 people, show that extremists are posing a serious threat to the government in Islamabad. How safe is the Pakistani nuclear arsenal?

Khan: This hype has been created by the West. There never was, there is not and there never will be any threat to our nuclear assets. Right from the early 1980s on, the army put a fully fail-safe mechanism in place, which was subsequently improved upon by successive army chiefs.

'We May Be Naive, But We Are Not Idiots', Der Spiegel, June 28, 2011

Related News

Pak nuclear ability for peace only: PM, The News International, June 28, 2011
Radicals closer than ever to Pakistan's nukes, Business Insider, June 28, 2011
PNS Mehran attackers had inside help: Navy officials, The News International, June 29, 2011
West queries China over Pakistan atom ties, Reuters, June 29, 2011

Related Research

Pakistan's Nuclear Weapons: How Safe Are They?, Institute of South Asian Studies // National University of Singapore, November 18, 2009
Pakistan's Nuclear Future: Reining in the Risk, Strategic Studies Institute // United Sates Army War College, January 19, 2010
CTC Sentinel [Volume 4, Issue 6, June 2011], Combating Terrorism Center // West Point, June 13, 2011

NGO Finds Balochistan Human Rights Abuses Worsening

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 19:22:57 Z

Human rights violations in Pakistan’s southwest province of Balochistan are getting worse as militants and security forces target civilians, while authorities seem unwilling to rein in lawlessness, according to a report released on Wednesday. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), an independent non-governmental organisation, said in its report that lawlessness in the province had proliferated at an alarming rate with a growing numbers of targeted killings, kidnappings, enforced disappearances and attacks on religious minorities. For decades, Balochistan has been facing a low-level insurgency by nationalists who want more control over the province’s natural resources, which they say are unfairly exploited by the federal government.

Balochistan slides into chaos on back of government apathy: HRCP, The Express Tribune, June 29, 2011

Related News

12 killed in violent incidents in Balochistan, The Nation, June 23, 2011
‘Balochistan a US target for resources’, The News International, June 27, 2011

Related Research

Pakistan: Balochistan: Unrelenting Insurgency, South Asia Intelligence Review // South Asia Terrorism Portal, November 23, 2009
Balochistan: Too Small an Olive Branch, openDemocracy, November 27, 2009
Pakistan: Balochistan: Darkness Visible, South Asia Terrorism Portal // Wars Within Borders, March 25, 2010

Recent Developments in Military and Security Inquiries

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 19:22:08 Z

A tribunal headed by Justice Mohammad Hashim Kakar of the Balochistan High Court submitted on Tuesday its report on the Kharotabad incident of May 17 in which five foreigners, three of them women, were killed by security personnel, but the provincial government has decided not to make it public. According to sources, the government observed after going through the report that recommendations made by the judicial tribunal could not be fully implemented. “The entire recommendations cannot be implemented because the foreigners had entered Pakistan illegally,” an official said. He said the security personnel had acted in self-defence and the foreigners did not have visas to enter Pakistan. They had entered the country illegally and they were terrorists, the official insisted. He said the media could exploit the recommendations and, therefore, these would not be made public.

Kharotabad report to be kept secret, DAWN, June 29, 2011

Related News

Senate body formed to probe Kharotabad incident, The News International, June 15, 2011
NA mission finds Kharotabad victims innocent, The News International, June 21, 2011
Pakistan charges six Rangers with murder, Reuters, June 29, 2011
Commission on Shahzad’s murder case seeks public help, DAWN, June 29, 2011

Militants "Use Children to Fight, Carry Out Suicide Attacks"

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 18:50:22 Z

A report released by the US State Department suggests that militants in Pakistan use children to fight or carry out suicide attacks. In a statement delivered with the Trafficking in Persons report, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said: “Every year, we come together to release this report, to take stock of our progress, to make suggestions, and to refine our methods. Today, we are releasing a new report that ranks 184 countries, including our own.” The report stated that non-state militant groups were kidnapping children or forcing parents with false promises into giving children as young as 12 away. It also said that these children would subsequently be used to spy, fight, or die as suicide bombers in Pakistan and Afghanistan. It added that militants often sexually and physically abuse the children. They also pressure the children into believing that the acts they commit are justified.

Militants coerce children to carry out attacks: Report, The Express Tribune, June 28, 2011

Related News

Orphans of war: the innocent victims of Pakistan's Swat offensive, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, June 28, 2011
Nine-year-old would-be girl bomber arrested, Pak Tribune, June 21, 2011

Related Research

Trafficking in Persons Report 2010, United States Department of State, June 14, 2011

Drone Warfare, Costs and Challenges: Analysis

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 18:49:41 Z

The announcement by President Obama on 22 June 2011 of substantial withdrawals of United States troops from Afghanistan by September 2012 marks an important moment in the almost decade-long war in the country. The impact of the decision will be felt on the current diplomatic calculations over the nature of a settlement that will bring the war to an end. It may also impinge on the presidential-election campaign in the US that reaches a climax in November 2012. But whatever the diplomatic or political consequences of the drawdown will be, the Afghanistan war is still far from over - and indeed, in one significant way it has in its tenth year been intensifying rather than winding down. This is the use of pilotless armed drones. These are employed under CIA command - a procedure chosen because the CIA's rules of engagement are less restrictive then those of the military. The continuous drone-attacks across the border in Pakistan have very destructive human effects that often reach beyond the presumed insurgent targets; the agency claims to have killed around 1,400 suspected al-Qaida and Taliban paramilitaries, but Pakistan sources also (amid a scarcity of precise details) estimate that hundreds of civilians have also died in these operations.

Drone Warfare: Costs and Challenges, ETH Zurich, June 28, 2011

Related News

In the crosshairs of US drones, Al Jazeera, October 10, 2010
U.S. expert says robots are changing the face of war, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, June 21, 2011
Deaths reported in Pakistan drone attacks, Al Jazeera, June 27, 2011

Related Research

The Year of the Drone: Data Source of U.S. Drone Strikes in Pakistan, 2004-2011 [updated 10 May 2011], New America Foundation, February 24, 2010

Addressing Pakistan's Sovereignty Deficit: Report

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 18:49:14 Z

The Pakistan government’s inability to provide for the security and prosperity of its own people has led to questions about its sovereignty, whether in terms of its monopoly of violence, fiscal solvency, or human security. But rather than asking questions of the Pakistani government, Pakistanis are content with blaming Washington for the country’s ills. Washington wants Pakistan to succeed, even though, admittedly, the United States has often compromised long-term goals for short-term access. Pakistan can certainly do better by following India’s example of self-sufficient economic growth. Pakistanis should also question Chinese and Saudi intentions as vigorously as they do those of the United States. Both countries have used Pakistan for their own interests, without attempting to invest in the country’s people. Pakistan can only escape the leash of donors and manipulative outsiders by raising revenue, securing its territory, providing for its citizens, and becoming a responsible international actor.

Addressing Pakistan’s Sovereignty Deficit, The German Marshall Fund of the United States, June 27, 2011

Related Research

Democratic Values and Support for Militancy: Evidence From a National Survey of Pakistan, Georgetown University // Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service // Mortara Center for International Studies, February 28, 2011
Pakistan's National Sovereignty [Q&A], Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, May 08, 2011

Police Stations Understaffed in Punjab, KP and Sindh: Report

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 18:48:39 Z

The police stations in Sindh, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) were understaffed to a varying degree, the police stations in Balochistan and Islamabad capital territory were heavily overstaffed, according to Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN’s) police station monitor. This report is based on information collected by FAFEN monitors who visited 90 police stations in 62 districts across the country during January - March 2011. Of the monitored 90 police stations, 39 were in Punjab, 23 in KP, 20 police stations in Sindh, seven in Balochistan and one in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).

Police Stations Understaffed in Punjab, KP and Sindh, Free and Fair Election Network, May 30, 2011

Related News

Police stations being fortified in Peshawar, DAWN, June 27, 2011

Related Research

Political Dimensions of Police Reform in Pakistan, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, July 14, 2010
Pakistan’s Police Between Centralization and Devolution, Norsk Utenrikspolitisk Institutt // Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, July 16, 2010
Reforming Pakistan’s Criminal Justice System, International Crisis Group, December 06, 2010

Pakistan, India Decide to Open New Trade Post After Talks

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 18:48:04 Z

Pakistan and India on Monday decided to open up another trade point at the Wagah border, to boost trade ties between the two neighbouring countries. The decision was taken at a meeting held at Wagah border between officials of Pakistan and India. The new point will help facilitate trade and the passage of freedom busses, officials told The Express Tribune. The agreement was formalised under the supervision of Pakistan’s joint secretary Shabbir Ahmed and Indian joint secretary K K Mather. The decision comes after two days of secretary-level talks between the two countries ended on Friday.

Boosting ties: Pakistan-India to open new trade post, The Express Tribune, June 28, 2011

Related News

Pakistan-India dialogue: Just talks, no major breakthrough, The Express Tribune, June 25, 2011
US takes interest in Pak-India talks, Pak Tribune, June 27, 2011
PIBC welcomes Pak, India new trade routes, Pakistan Observer, June 28, 2011
We need a stable Pakistan that acts against terror: India, The Economic Times, June 28, 2011
India-Pakistan Broken Air Links Block Peace, The Wall Street Journal, June 28, 2011

Related Research

An India-Pakistan Detente: What It Could Mean for Sustainable Development in South Asia and Beyond, East-West Center, August 08, 2004

TTP Commander Leaves Group amid Disapproval of Civilian Killings

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 19:17:46 Z

A Pakistani Taliban warlord who claims to control hundreds of foot soldiers said Monday he had broken with the militia and would form his own anti-American group along the Afghan border. Fazal Saeed described himself as the leader of Pakistan’s umbrella Tehreek-i-Taliban (TTP) faction in the tribal district of Kurram, but said he had run out of patience with the network for killing civilians. TTP has claimed a series of high-profile attacks in the nearly two months since US troops killed Osama bin Laden. Hinting at a possible a split in Pakistan’s deadliest militant outfit, blamed for more than 4,500 deaths in attacks since July 2007, Saeed said he had decided to form a new organisation — Tehreek-i-Taliban Islami.

Taliban commander Fazal Saeed leaves TTP, DAWN, June 27, 2011

Related News

Karachi militants split into smaller groups, Central Asia Online, June 24, 2011
Fifteen killed as rival militant groups clash in Orakzai, DAWN, June 25, 2011
Taliban leader exits group over civilian deaths, Army Times, June 27, 2011
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan vow attacks on West, The Express Tribune, June 27, 2011

Related Research

Pakistani Taleban Bruised But Unbowed, Institute for War and Peace Reporting, February 22, 2010
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan: An Attempt to Deconstruct the Umbrella Organization and the Reasons for its Growth in Pakistan's North-west, Danish Institute for International Studies, December 01, 2010
Governance and Militancy in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Center for Strategic and International Studies, June 16, 2011

Pakistan's Border Regions Vulnerable amid Planned US Withdrawal

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 19:16:43 Z

Fighting across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border will overshadow talks when the two countries meet along with the United States on Tuesday to map out plans for reconciliation with the Taliban. Pakistan on Monday rejected Afghan allegations it had fired 470 rockets into Afghanistan over the past three weeks, saying only that "a few accidental rounds" may have crossed the border when it pursued militants who had attacked its security forces. But the escalation of fighting on the border between Pakistan's ethnic Pashtun tribal areas and Afghanistan has underscored the difficulties the three countries face in working to reach a political settlement to the 10-year Afghan war.

Border shelling overshadows U.S.-Pakistan-Afghan talks, Reuters, June 27, 2011

Related News

Karzai calls on Pakistan to end rocket fire in Afghanistan, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, June 27, 2011
Afghan general claims fresh Pakistan shelling, Al Jazeera, June 27, 2011
Pakistan must show it wants Afghan peace: US, DAWN, June 27, 2011
A community under siege in tribal Pakistan, Al Jazeera, June 27, 2011

Pakistan Expels British Military Trainers

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 19:16:11 Z

Pakistan has expelled a team of British military trainers sent to help with the fight against the Taliban and al-Qaida, as the fallout from the US raid that killed Osama bin Laden continues to rock relations between Islamabad and its western allies. The Ministry of Defence confirmed that at least 18 military advisers, deployed as part of a £15m programme to train the paramilitary Frontier Corps, have been withdrawn from Pakistan. Most are already back in the UK. Their removal is seen as an indirect casualty of worsening relations between Pakistan and the US over the 2 May Navy Seal raid in Abbottabad, which was conducted without Pakistani consent. Although British relations with Pakistan are warmer, the embattled army, stung by a barrage of public criticism, is keen to demonstrate its independence from all western allies.

Pakistan expels British trainers of anti-Taliban soldiers, The Guardian, June 26, 2011

Related News

UK military trainers in Pakistan are withdrawn, BBC News, June 27, 2011
Pakistan expels 90 U.S. military trainers, Army Times, June 08, 2011

Summary of Recent Security Incidents

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 19:15:20 Z

At least 12 people have been killed after a police station in northwestern Pakistani came under attack from suspected Taliban fighters. Three explosions sent plumes of smoke into the air at the Kolachi police station in the Dera Ismail Khan district during the assault, which prompted a standoff on Saturday. Ten policemen were killed and another five wounded in the assault. Two of the attackers were also killed. Ahsanullah Ahsan, a spokesman for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, told the Associated Press that his group was claiming responsibility for the attack. Ahsan said the TTP had sent two attackers, one of them a woman. He said the attack was partly aimed at avenging the raid by US special forces that killed Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaeda leader, on May 2. Dera Ismail Khan is located just outside of the South Waziristan tribal agency in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).

Pakistani police station attacked, Al Jazeera, June 25, 2011

Related News

Forces kill 10 ‘terrorists’ in Kurram, Daily Times, June 25, 2011
Pakistani Taliban send husband and wife team of suicide bombers to attack police, The Washington Post, June 26, 2011
Grandson of Bugti dies in clash at dance party, Daily Times, June 27, 2011
250 families flee anti-terrorist operation in Kurram, Daily Times, June 27, 2011
Pakistani Taliban threaten husband-and-wife bombings, DAWN, June 27, 2011
Gunmen kill senior Pakistani Taliban commander, DAWN, June 27, 2011

Kabul Calls for End to Cross-Border Attacks from Pakistan as "Artillery Shells Kill Four Children"

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 20:40:07 Z

Afghanistan on Friday complained to Pakistan for a second time in a week about its shelling of Afghan villages in which four children were killed, fighting that threatens to raise regional tensions as the United States begins a gradual troop withdrawal. The Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs first complained on Monday about Pakistan shelling soon after an assault by Pakistani forces drove militants across the border. The two sides blame each other for failing to crack down hard enough on militants along a porous border across which insurgents move freely. Islamabad this month also complained twice to Kabul that militants had been attacking Pakistani villages from across the border in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan says 4 children killed in Pakistani border shelling, Reuters, June 24, 2011

Related News

Kabul urges end to cross-border attacks from Pakistan, The Express Tribune, June 24, 2011

Related Research

Still a Dangerous Border, Council on Foreign Relations, May 05, 2008
Afghanistan and Pakistan Regional Stabilization Strategy, United States Department of State, January 22, 2010
The Militant Pipeline: Between the Afghanistan-Pakistan Border Region and the West, New America Foundation, February 25, 2010

Seized Phone Offers Clues to Bin Laden's Pakistani Links

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 20:39:39 Z

The cellphone of Osama bin Laden’s trusted courier, which was recovered in the raid that killed both men in Pakistan last month, contained contacts to a militant group that is a longtime asset of Pakistan’s intelligence agency, senior American officials who have been briefed on the findings say. The discovery indicates that Bin Laden used the group, Harakat-ul-Mujahedeen, as part of his support network inside the country, the officials and others said. But it also raised tantalizing questions about whether the group and others like it helped shelter and support Bin Laden on behalf of Pakistan’s spy agency, given that it had mentored Harakat and allowed it to operate in Pakistan for at least 20 years, the officials and analysts said. In tracing the calls on the cellphone, American analysts have determined that Harakat commanders had called Pakistani intelligence officials, the senior American officials said. One said they had met. The officials added that the contacts were not necessarily about Bin Laden and his protection and that there was no “smoking gun” showing that Pakistan’s spy agency had protected Bin Laden.

Seized phone offers clues to Bin Laden's Pakistani links, The New York Times, June 23, 2011

Related News

Pakistan 'militant' group denies Osama Bin Laden link, BBC News, June 24, 2011
Harkat commander lives openly near Islamabad, The Times of India, June 17, 2011
Clinton warns Pakistan on U.S. military aid, Reuters, June 24, 2011
In Pakistan, pro-American sentiment is rare, The Washington Post, June 23, 2011

Related Research

Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI), South Asia Terrorism Portal, December 09, 2005
Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (Formerly known as Harkat-ul-Ansar), South Asia Terrorism Portal, September 23, 2005

Summary of Recent Security Incidents

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 20:38:38 Z

At least five persons were killed and three others injured as fighting between rival armed groups intensified in Tirah valley of Khyber Agency on Thursday. Also, a khasadar was killed by unidentified assailants in Jawaki area of Frontier Region of Kohat on Thursday. Sources said that volunteers of Zakhakhel Qaumi Lashkar and members of banned militant organisation Lashkar-i-Islam traded heavy fire in Tora Vela of Tirah. They said that volunteers of tribal lashkar captured an important stronghold of the militant organisation in the valley. Sources said that the daylong fierce clashes left at least five persons dead and three injured. Members of both the groups were among the dead and injured, they added.

Five killed in Tirah fighting, DAWN, June 23, 2011

Related News

Targeted Killing: BNP leader Rustom Marri shot dead, The Express Tribune, June 24, 2011
Bomb defused at Karachi’s Jinnah Hospital, DAWN, June 24, 2011
Gas pipeline blown up in Dera Bugti, DAWN, June 24, 2011

Obama "Insists" Pakistan Fulfills Counterinsurgency Promises as US Prepares Afghanistan Withdrawal

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 19:45:59 Z

President Barack Obama on Wednesday vowed the United States will “insist” Pakistan fulfill its promises to counter militant sanctuaries on its soil. “We will work with the Pakistani government to root out the cancer of violent extremism, and we will insist that it keep its commitments,” Obama said in a televised speech on troop withdrawal plans for the war in Afghanistan. Obama’s comments underscored festering tensions between Washington and Islamabad in the wake of a unilateral US raid that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in his hideout in Pakistan last month. In blunt language, Obama made clear he was ready to order more assaults against any safe-havens harboring those who aimed to kill Americans.

US insists Pakistan keep anti-terror pledges, The Express Tribune, June 23, 2011

Related News

Pakistan courts China as relations with U.S. grow strained, The Washington Post, June 22, 2011
Pakistan pledges more than three dozen CIA visas, AP, June 22, 2011
Drawing down, with a vigilant eye on Pakistan, The New York Times, June 22, 2011
Embassy issues 67 visas for CIA staff, DAWN, June 23, 2011
President Obama telephones Pakistan’s Zardari, DAWN, June 23, 2011
Zardari to discuss US-Pak relations with British PM, The Express Tribune, June 23, 2011

India, Pakistan Hold Peace Talks in Islamabad after "Two-Year Freeze"

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 19:38:52 Z

India and Pakistan held talks on peace and security issues in Islamabad on Thursday, part of efforts to stabilise South Asia as the United States prepares to draw down troops from Afghanistan. Concerns over terrorism are likely to dominate India’s agenda since US troops killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan and since a four-year peace process collapsed when gunmen killed 166 people in Mumbai in November 2008. India blamed the attack on Pakistani militants from the banned Lashkar-i-Taiba group and Islamabad acknowledged that the plot was hatched at least partly on its soil. Ending a more than two-year freeze, the two countries announced peace talks would resume after a meeting in February between foreign secretary Salman Bashir and his Indian counterpart Nirupama Rao.

India, Pakistan hold peace talks, DAWN, June 23, 2011

Related Research

India-Pakistan Peace Talks: Slow Progress, Center for Strategic and International Studies, October 01, 2004
India, Pakistan and Kashmir: Stabilising a Cold Peace, International Crisis Group, June 15, 2006
How the Kashmir Dispute Affects Security in South Asia, Council on Foreign Relations, July 14, 2009
Another Go at India-Pakistan Dialogue, International Relations and Security Network, November 05, 2009

Pakistan's Madrasas: Report

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 19:38:14 Z

Why have the madrasas become a subject of such controversy? What roles do madrasas play in Pakistani society? What are the main challenges and opportunities for madrasa reform? Since 11 September 2001, Pakistan’s madrasas have received much attention from the media, policy analysts and politicians. The bulk of the literature has asserted strong links between madrasas and militancy. Madrasas have thus become the focus of a much larger debate on Islam and militancy. This security discourse has placed the most radical madrasas in the spotlight and has left out the moderate, non-militant and non-political madrasas. From a broader policy implication perspective, one can more constructively and fruitfully approach the “madrasa challenge” by looking at the diversity of schools existing in this sector, in terms of size, financing, and theological and ideological positions, as well as at their links to political groups. This report presents the core issues in the debate and identifies some of the challenges and opportunities for reform.

Pakistan’s Madrasas: Moderation or Militancy? The Madrasa Debate and the Reform Process, Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Centre, June 01, 2011

Related Research

Pakistan: Reforming the Education Sector , International Crisis Group, October 10, 2004
Pakistan: Karachi's Madrasas and Violent Extremism, International Crisis Group, March 29, 2007
Religion, Politics and Governance in Pakistan, Religions and Development Research Programme, February 01, 2009
Beyond Madrasas: Assessing the Links between Education and Militancy in Pakistan, The Brookings Institution // Center for Universal Education, June 23, 2010

Humanitarian, Security Concerns Mount as Up to Five Million at Risk From Floods in Upcoming Monsoon Season

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 19:37:44 Z

Up to five million people in Pakistan are at risk from floods this year, partly due to poor reconstruction and the inadequate rehabilitation of survivors who are still reeling from last year’s epic deluge, the UN said on Wednesday. Monsoon floods began roaring through Pakistan in late July last year, leaving one-fifth of the country — an area the size of Italy — underwater, disrupting the lives of more than 18 million people. The government and aid organisations were criticised for being too slow to respond while the military, seen as a far more efficient institution, took the lead in relief operations. As Pakistan braces itself again for its annual monsoon season — which runs from late June to early September – the UN says authorities and the aid community have learnt lessons and are better prepared — even for the worst case scenario.

Five million Pakistanis at risk from floods: UN, DAWN, June 22, 2011

Related News

One year after its worst flooding, is Pakistan ready for monsoon season?, The Christian Science Monitor, June 22, 2011
Addressing Pakistan’s security concerns, The News International, June 23, 2011

Related Research

Pakistan: Flooding Worsens Situation for People Displaced by Conflict in North-West - A Profile of the Internal Displacement Situation, Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre // Norwegian Refugee Council, September 06, 2010

Military Investigates Additional Four Army Majors for Hizb ut-Tahrir Links

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 19:45:53 Z

Four majors in the Pakistani army are being investigated for alleged links with banned extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir, the army has said. Army spokesman Gen Athar Abbas told the BBC the men were not under arrest but were being interrogated in connection with the case of Brig Ali Khan. He was detained last month and is also accused of links to Hizb ut-Tahrir. The army says it will not tolerate support for extremism within its ranks. Brig Khan's family say he is innocent. The brigadier's lawyer and colleagues have told the BBC he is being victimised for criticising army top brass for their support for the US-led "war on terror".

Pakistan: Majors quizzed over 'links with extremists', BBC News, June 22, 2011

Related News

Has Pakistan's military been infiltrated by extremists?, Foreign Policy // The AfPak Channel, June 21, 2011
National Assembly: Malik threatens to expose ‘facilitators’ of terrorism, The Express Tribune, June 22, 2011

Related Research

Governance and Militancy in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Center for Strategic and International Studies, June 16, 2011

Militants Kill At Least Six in Khyber District Ambush

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 19:45:26 Z

At least five militants and a tribal policeman were killed in a rebel ambush and a bomb attack at checkpoints in Pakistan's lawless tribal belt on Wednesday, officials said. The ambush took place before dawn at the Sarband checkpoint just outside the town of Bara in Khyber district, part of Pakistan's tribal region on the Afghan border where Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked networks have bases. "More than 30 militants launched a two-pronged attack on a police checkpoint and after a gunfight five militants were killed while two policemen were wounded," senior police official Mohammad Ijaz told AFP.

Pakistan policeman, five rebels killed in ambush, AFP, June 22, 2011

Related News

2 killed in blasts in northwest Pakistan, Hindustan Times, June 22, 2011
Police blamed for Matani blast, DAWN, June 22, 2011
Peshawar Briefs, The News International, June 22, 2011

Related Research

Khyber Tribal Agency: A New Hub of Islamist Militancy in Pakistan, Global Terrorism Analysis // The Jamestown Foundation, May 29, 2008

Pakistanis Disapprove of US Presence, are Pessimistic about Country's Future: Pew Poll

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 19:44:44 Z

Pakistanis largely disapprove of the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden, with a majority believing the al-Qaida chief’s death is a bad thing and relations between Washington and Islamabad will suffer as a result, new polling data show. The findings of two Pew Research Center surveys reflect widespread anti-Americanism in a country where many view the U.S. as the main reason for rising Islamist violence that has killed thousands, even as many of the same Pakistanis hold the militants behind such attacks in low regard. The survey results also show a deep pessimism among Pakistanis about the future of their nation and the caliber of their leaders. Roughly nine in 10 Pakistanis say they are dissatisfied with the direction the country is heading.

Poll finds majority of Pakistanis think bin Laden’s death a bad thing and that US is an enemy, The Washington Post, June 21, 2011

Related News

Pakistanis see India as bigger threat than Taliban and Qaida: Poll, The Nation, June 22, 2011
Pakistan rejects Pew’s opinion poll, Associated Press of Pakistan, June 22, 2011
PEW research: Pakistanis disapprove of US raid on Abbottabad, still hate India, The Express Tribune, June 22, 2011

Related Research

Winning the Information War in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Council on Foreign Relations, May 11, 2009
America's Image Remains Poor: Concern About Extremist Threat Slips in Pakistan, Pew Research Center // Global Attitudes Project, July 29, 2010
U.S. Image in Pakistan Falls No Further Following bin Laden Killing, Pew Research Center, June 21, 2011

Pakistan Detains Senior Army Officer "on Suspicion of Ties to a Banned Islamist Group"

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 19:50:58 Z

A senior officer serving at Pakistan's army headquarters has been detained on suspicion of ties to a banned Islamist group that has called for the military to overthrow the country's U.S.-allied government, the army spokesman said Tuesday. The announcement could be an attempt by the Pakistani military to counter Western suspicions that it tolerates within its ranks soldiers who sympathize with militant groups such as the Taliban or al-Qaida. Those suspicions have spiked in the wake of last month's U.S. raid that killed al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden in an army town not far from the Pakistani capital. Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said Brig. Ali Khan was detained recently for suspected links with Hizb-ut-Tahrir, an Islamist organization that wants to re-establish the caliphate, the administrative structure that once governed a large section of the Muslim world.

Pakistan army officer held on extremism suspicions, AP, June 21, 2011

Related Research

Fighting Kufr and the American Raj: Hizb-ut-Tahrir in Pakistan, Pakistan Security and Research Unit // Department of Peace Studies, University of Bradford, February 12, 2010
The ISI and Terrorism: Behind the Accusations, Council on Foreign Relations, July 26, 2010
Contradictions in Pakistan’s Counterterrorism Strategy Leading to Security Collapse, The Jamestown Foundation, June 17, 2011

Pakistan Seeks Greater Role in US-Taliban Talks

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 19:50:21 Z

Pakistan on Monday sought ‘greater transparency and clarity’ from the United States in its plans to reach out to the Afghan Taliban in a move that indicates Islamabad’s unease over Washington’s recent overtures with insurgents. The Obama administration has recently confirmed that it had established contacts with the Afghan Taliban though it insisted the negotiations were at a preliminary stage. It is widely believed that the US has deliberately kept Pakistan at bay about its efforts to seek a peace deal with the Taliban ahead of the phased withdrawal from Afghanistan. Senior Pakistani officials conveyed concerns to visiting US deputy special representative Frank Ruggiero about Washington’s ‘attempts to bypass’ Islamabad, sources told The Express Tribune.

Afghan reconciliation talks: Pakistan worried about being left out in the cold, The Express Tribune, June 21, 2011

Related News

Obama must assist Pakistan, not punish it: Analysis, The Australian, June 20, 2011
US cautioned to take Pakistan along on talks with Taliban, DAWN, June 21, 2011

Related Research

Pakistan: Why It Must Have Help and How to Provide It, Aspen Atlantic Group, December 09, 2009
Pakistan and the Afghanistan End Game, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, March 15, 2010

Recent Developments in Pakistan-China Relations

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 19:49:50 Z

With India ascendant in the global hierarchy and strengthening ties with the US, China is finding that Pakistan is increasingly important in its bid to fend off the joint Indo-US challenge in the region. Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousef Raza Gilani went to China on a four-day visit last month to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Of course, there is much to celebrate in a bilateral relationship that has been described as "higher than mountains and deeper than oceans." At a time when Pakistan is under intense scrutiny for its role in fighting extremism and terrorism, the world has been watching with interest to see how China decides to deal with Pakistan.

China and Pakistan: a new balance of power in South Asia, ISN Insights, June 20, 2011

Related News

China waits with open arms for a Pakistan rebuffed by America, The Daily Star, June 16, 2011
Pakistan, China friendship embodied in hearts, minds of people from both sides: Vice-Mayor, Associated Press of Pakistan, June 15, 2011

Related Research

China and the "AfPak" Issue, China Leadership Monitor, February 15, 2010
China and Pakistan: Emerging Strains in the Entente Cordiale, Project 2049 Institute, March 25, 2011

Summary of Recent Security Incidents

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 19:49:17 Z

A car bomb explosion in Matni area of Peshawar killed three people including one policeman and peace committee leader Ijaz Bacha while injuring seven people on Monday. Express 24/7 correspondent Umar Farooq reported that unidentified assailants had planted a bomb on a motor-bike before parking it outside the residence peace militia member, Ijaz Bacha. The militia’s head Qadir Khan, said that the attacker quietly fled after parking his motor-bike after which a loud explosion took place.

Peace committee leader among three killed in Peshawar car bomb, The Express Tribune, June 21, 2011

Related News

80pc people suffer from mental illness in Waziristan, DAWN, June 20, 2011
Security official dead in South Waziristan attack, DAWN, June 20, 2011
Blast kills 3 outside home of Pakistani anti-Taliban militia member, CNN, June 20, 2011
9-year-old girl told to be suicide bomber, Pakistan police say, CNN, June 21, 2011

Two Drone Strikes Kill At Least Nine Suspected Fighters in Kurram

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 19:46:34 Z

At least nine suspected fighters have been killed after US drones fired missiles at a vehicle and a residential compound in the Kurram tribal agency, in Pakistan's northwest, according to Pakistani officials. Al Jazeera's sources said that in the first of Monday's two attacks, a vehicle was hit and two suspected fighters were killed. The vehicle was attacked again but just a few minutes later, as the local tribesmen rushed to a nearby residential compound for safety, a second missile was fired killing another seven suspected fighters. Speaking on condition of anonymity, two Pakistani intelligence officials confirmed the attacks. The US administration has intensified covert CIA drone attacks in Pakistan's tribal areas, following the killing of Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda, particularly in the North Waziristan region, which is seen as a safe haven for the Haqqani network.

Drone strikes claim lives in Pakistan, Al Jazeera, June 20, 2011

Related News

How lawyers sign off on drone attacks, The Guardian, June 15, 2011
War evolves with drones, some tiny as bugs, The New York Times, June 19, 2011
Protests against American drone attacks in northern Pakistan, The Telegraph, June 20, 2011

Related Research

The Year of the Drone: Data Source of U.S. Drone Strikes in Pakistan, 2004-2011 [updated 10 May 2011], New America Foundation, May 10, 2011
Backgrounder: U.S. Drone Activities in Pakistan, Council on Foreign Relations, July 19, 2010

Suspicions Rise as Pakistan Bomb Labs Empty Before Raids

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 19:46:07 Z

For the second time this month, bomb-making factories in Pakistan were evacuated shortly after American intelligence officials notified Pakistani security forces of their existence, fueling suspicions that such intelligence is being shared with insurgents. It remains unclear whether the evacuations — four of them in the past month alone — were the result of deliberate or inadvertent leaks or were planned in advance of the intelligence sharing as part of a mobile production operation. But the disclosure, which appeared in an article by The Associated Press over the weekend, prompted senior members of Congress on Sunday to accuse Pakistan of playing a double game by aiding the United States on some counterterrorism operations while also maintaining ties to violent, extremist organizations operating from its territory.

Suspicions rise as Pakistan bomb labs empty before raids, The New York Times, June 19, 2011

Related News

CIA not operating in Pakistan: Rehman Malik, The Express Tribune, June 18, 2011
Over 30 people detained in Abbottabad investigation: Haqqani, DAWN, June 19, 2011
Police wonder which militant groups are kosher, The Express Tribune, June 20, 2011
Pakistan determined to probe bin Laden hiding: Haqqani, Daily Times, June 20, 2011
"Not a healthy relationship", Newsweek Pakistan, June 24, 2011

Militants Attack Anti-Taliban Elders in Mohmand

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 19:45:32 Z

Dozens of militants have attacked the homes of two prominent anti-Taliban tribal elders close to the Afghan border, officials say. At least four were killed and four others, including one of the elders, injured in the tribal area of Mohmand. The raid on the homes of anti-Taliban elders happened in the Ziarat Masood village of Mohmand district, another area where the Taliban have been attempting to establish themselves. A group of militants stormed the village and attacked the houses of Malik Ghazi Khan and Malikh Ghulab Khan, members of a local peace committee, which oppose the Taliban, a local official told the AFP news agency.

Pakistan: Militant attack on anti-Taliban elders, BBC News, June 20, 2011

Related News

Four killed, 28 wounded in Pakistan attacks, AFP, June 18, 2011
Soldier killed in attack in S Waziristan, The Express Tribune, June 19, 2011
Pakistan says it drives militants into Afghanistan, The New York Times, June 19, 2011

Related Research

The Battle for Pakistan: Militancy and Conflict in North Waziristan, New America Foundation, April 19, 2010
The Battle for Pakistan: Militancy and Conflict in South Waziristan, New America Foundation, April 19, 2010
The Haqqani Network in Kurram, American Enterprise Institute // Critical Threats, May 09, 2011

Pakistan Hosts Largest Refugee Population: Report

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 19:45:07 Z

The United Nations sought Monday to debunk what it called ‘worrying misperceptions’ about movements of displaced people saying that developing countries hosted 80 per cent of the world’s refugees. The total number of refugees, asylum seekers and displaced persons, had not ceased to grow with the figure reaching nearly 44 million people in 2010, the UNHCR said in a report. “In today’s world, there are worrying misperceptions about refugee movements and the international protection paradigm,” said Antonio Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees. “Fears about supposed floods of refugees in industralised countries are being vastly overblown or mistakenly conflated with issues of migration. “Meanwhile it is poorer countries that are left having to pick up the burden.” The UNHCR’s annual report on refugee trends found that most of the world’s displaced were seeking sanctuary in developing countries, including those which are among the world’s poorest. Pakistan is host to the largest refugee population of 1.9 million, Iran is host to 1.1 million and Syria to one million.

Pakistan host to largest population of refugees: UN report, DAWN, June 20, 2011

Related Research

Afghan Refugees in Pakistan: Push Comes to Shove, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, April 30, 2009
State of Human Rights in 2010, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, April 01, 2011
World Refugee Day: UNHCR report finds 80 per cent of world's refugees in developing countries, ReliefWeb, June 19, 2011

Summary of Recent Security Incidents: Karachi

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 19:44:41 Z

Eleven people, including two activists of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), lost life in separate incidents of violence that took place in different parts of the city on Sunday. The body of a MQM activist bearing torture marks was found from Kikri Ground within the remits of Kharadar police station. The victim was identified as Feroz, son of Iqbal. SHO Ghulam Nabi Afridi said Feroz had recently shifted to Agra Taj Colony from North Karachi, adding he was associated with the MQM Unit 136, North Karachi Sector. The officer said that unidentified men kidnapped him on Saturday and threw his body at an isolated place on Sunday. Another body of a MQM man was found from Ghas Mandi area. It was brought to the Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK) for an autopsy. The victim was identified as Shahid Bali, 36, son of Bilal. The victim was stated to be associated with the MQM Baldia Town Unit 114.

11 more killed in Karachi violence, Daily Times, June 20, 2011

Related News

Brutality, impunity for Pakistan’s paramilitary, Daily Times, June 18, 2011
Extrajudicial killing: Rangers men go on trial Monday, The Express Tribune, June 19, 2011
Bodies of five men found in gunny bags, DAWN, June 20, 2011

Pakistan to Investigate New US Claims that Security Agencies Warned Militants ahead of Raids

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 20:03:16 Z

Pakistan assured US lawmakers on Thursday it was investigating a complaint that Pakistani security agencies asked by the CIA to act against two IED factories in Fata had instead alerted the militants and allowed them to escape. The assurance conveyed to senior US lawmakers in a meeting with a Pakistani delegation headed by Ambassador Husain Haqqani, followed a series of congressional hearings that focused on the allegation. During the meeting, US lawmakers asked the delegation to explain how Osama bin Laden could live in Pakistan for years in plain sight. The delegation agreed that the episode was a moment of introspection for both Pakistan and the US. The delegation assured the lawmakers that Pakistan was forming a high-level commission — along the lines of the 9/11 commission in the US — to examine all aspects of the episode.

US assured of steps to allay misgivings, DAWN, June 17, 2011

Related News

You're still buying spy gear for Pakistan, Wired Magazine, June 16, 2011
Pakistan protests to US, Afghans over incursions, The New York Times, June 17, 2011
Pakistan army: Intelligence on bomb factories was wrong, no collusion with militants, The Washington Post, June 17, 2011

Zawahiri's Succession "Carries Particular Dangers for Pakistan"

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 20:02:45 Z

Ayman al Zawahri's succession to the leadership of al Qaeda, announced over the Internet Thursday, carries particular dangers for Pakistan, a nuclear-armed country reeling from an Islamic insurgency, a faltering economy, endemic corruption and poor governance. Like al Qaeda's late founder Osama bin Laden, Zawahri is believed to be hiding in Pakistan since fleeing the 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. Unlike bin Laden, though, Zawahri has been closely involved with Pakistani extremist groups, married into a local tribe and has aggressively advocated a jihadist takeover. "This is very bad news for Pakistan," said Muhammed Amir Rana, the director of the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies, an independent research organization in Islamabad.

Zawahri's succession puts Pakistan in al Qaeda crosshairs Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/06/16/2270512/al-zawahris-succession-puts-pakistan.html#ixzz1PYoS6dt6, The Miami Herald, June 17, 2011

Related News

US says 'we will kill Zawahiri just like bin Laden', The Telegraph, June 16, 2011
Ayman al-Zawahiri: from doctor to Osama bin Laden's successor, The Guardian, June 16, 2011
Ayman al-Zawahiri new al-Qaeda head: how does succession work?, The Telegraph, June 16, 2011

Related Research

Taliban Fights Fiercely to Protect Zawahiri, South Asia Analysis Group, August 14, 2008

Journalists Receive Death Threats after Filming Karachi Extrajudicial Killing

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 20:02:06 Z

As Pakistani officials investigate two cases of extrajudicial killings caught on video, both cameramen report that they have been threatened for having recorded the incidents. Last week, Pakistan was shaken by graphic video that showed members of a paramilitary police force shooting a teenager suspected of stealing in a park in the port city of Karachi. The television cameraman who recorded the shooting received death threats and came under intense pressure to say that the chilling video, which was broadcast across Pakistan, was fabricated. Despite those threats, the cameraman, Abdul Salam Soomro, testified on Wednesday that he had been filming as the officers detained and shot the teenaged suspect, Sarfraz Shah, and then left the park without responding to his pleas to be taken to a hospital. The young man later died as a result of the two gunshot wounds inflicted just a few feet in front of Mr. Soomro’s camera.

Pakistani journalists threatened after filming police shootings, The New York Times, June 16, 2011

Related News

Shahzad’s killing raises questions about security, DAWN, June 04, 2011
Witnesses ‘identify’ Rangers men in murder case, DAWN, June 16, 2011
Having captured killing on tape, cameraman fears for his life, Committee to Protect Journalists, June 16, 2011
Saleem Shahzad’s murder: government forms commission headed by SC judge, Daily Times, June 17, 2011

Related Research

Media and Governance in Pakistan: A Controversial yet Essential Relationship, Initiative for Peacebuilding, October 01, 2010
As Bombings Spread, Pakistan Deadliest Nation, Committee to Protect Journalists, December 15, 2010

Detention of Pakistani Informants Highlights Deteriorating US-Pakistan Relationship

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 20:09:31 Z

The Army on Wednesday confirmed media reports that it had made several detentions in connection with the US raid killing Osama bin Laden and other unspecified incidents under ‘a purge’, but denied holding any military officer. “The arrests are part of ongoing cleansing process and are not related to any single incident,” an ISPR spokesman said while commenting on a New York Times report that five persons, an Army major among them, had been arrested on suspicion that they had helped CIA in the hunt for Bin Laden. The spokesman did not clarify what he meant by ‘cleansing process’ and whether it was about CIA’s covert network in the country. Furthermore, it appears from discussions with army officers that the number of those arrested could be more than five.

Informants’ arrest, cleansing process in progress, says ISPR, DAWN, June 16, 2011

Related News

Pakistan-U.S. security relationship at lowest point since 2001, officials say, The Washington Post, June 15, 2011
Gates, Mullen say U.S. must work with Pakistan despite rocky road, CNN, June 16, 2011
'Pressure' on Pakistan army head over US ties, Al Jazeera, June 16, 2011
Pakistan's detention of suspected CIA informants stems from Bin Laden raid frustrations, analysts say, The Los Angeles Times, June 16, 2011

Related Research

Dominoes on the Durand Line? Overcoming Strategic Myths in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Cato Institute, June 14, 2011

Murder Charges Sought in Rangers Killing as Courts Address Other Incident Inquiries

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 20:09:03 Z

A Pakistani prosecutor said Wednesday he would seek murder charges against six soldiers and a civilian remanded over the killing of an unarmed man in a public park that shocked the nation. Paramilitary Rangers shot dead Sarfaraz Shah in Karachi last Wednesday after he was accused of robbery, but his family has demanded justice, insisting he was an innocent student. The killing was filmed by a television cameraman. Public prosecutor Arshad Iqbal Cheema told AFP that the accused were brought before an anti-terrorism court on Wednesday. “Police said they required more time (for investigation) on which the judge extended the remand until Friday,” he said.

Pakistan to seek murder charges over shock killing, DAWN, June 15, 2011

Related News

Assault on surgeon taken up by BHC, tribunal, DAWN, June 15, 2011
Committee to investigate moves to destroy evidence in Kharotabad incident, DAWN, June 15, 2011
Policemen suspended, DAWN, June 15, 2011
Inquiry Commission formed to probe Saleem Shahzad’s murder, Geo TV, June 16, 2011

Summary of Recent Security Incidents

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 20:08:13 Z

More than 200 militants crossed into Pakistan from Afghanistan early Thursday and attacked a border village with rockets, mortars and machine guns, killing five people and kidnapping more than 20, officials and residents said. The deadly raid underlines challenges ahead for the U.S. and Pakistan when Washington begins withdrawing troops from Afghanistan later this year. Pakistan maintains that NATO already needs more troops along the Afghan side of the border. On Thursday, the Pakistani military fought with the militants for roughly six hours, using helicopter gunships, said Sajid Khan, a senior government official in the Bajur tribal region. The dead included three women and two men, and eight others were wounded, he said. The militants fled after the military brought in reinforcements and hit them with artillery fire, said local resident Asar Khan. But they kidnapped more than 20 tribesmen and took them along, he said. It was the second such raid in just two weeks, illustrating how militants can easily move across the rugged border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Militants cross from Afghanistan and attack Pakistani village, killing 5, says official, The Washington Post, June 16, 2011

Related News

Death toll in Karachi violence wave reaches 36, DAWN, June 15, 2011
18 killed in Waziristan drone attacks, DAWN, June 15, 2011

Related Research

Pakistan: Profiling the Violence in Karachi, Pak Institute for Peace Studies, September 14, 2009

Al Zawahiri Becomes Al-Qaeda Chief

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 20:07:39 Z

Al-Qaeda has named Ayman al-Zawahiri as its new chief following the killing of Osama bin Laden, the group has said in a statement issued in the name of the group's general command. "The general command of al-Qaeda announces, after consultations, the appointment of Sheikh Ayman al-Zawahiri as head of the group," the statement, posted online on Thursday, said. US special forces killed bin Laden in a raid on the Pakistani city of Abbottabad on May 2. Al-Qaeda under the new leadership of al-Zawahiri will pursue its fight against the US and Israel, the group said in the statement. "We seek with the aid of God to call for the religion of truth and incite our nation to fight ... by carrying out jihad against the apostate invaders ... with their head being crusader America and its servant Israel, and whoever supports them," it said. Al-Zawahiri has been al-Qaeda's number two for years.

Al-Zawahiri named new al-Qaeda chief, Al Jazeera, June 16, 2011

Related News

Al-Zawahiri: Al-Qaeda chief overshadowed by Bin Laden, BBC News, June 16, 2011

Related Research

Does al-Qaida Articulate a Consistent Strategy? A Study of al-Qaida Leadership Statements, 2001-2009, Norwegian Defence Research Establishment // Forsvarets Forskningsinstitutt, February 18, 2009
Al-Qaeda on Pakistan: Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri’s Morning and the Lamp, The Jamestown Foundation // Terrorism Monitor, March 19, 2010

Summary of Recent Security Incidents

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 19:39:48 Z

Orangi Town [Karachi] remained on edge after at least five people, including two Awami National Party (ANP) supporters and a Muttahida Qaumi Movement supporter, were gunned down on Tuesday. On the second consecutive day of violence in the neighbourhood, the death toll rose to 10 and the area echoed with gunshots. The violence escalated after the target killing of MQM worker, Shafiq, on Monday. On Tuesday, Wajid Shoaib, 15, and Adnan Khan, 16, were injured by stray bullets near Shaheen Hotel in Qasba Colony. Both of them were taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where they succumbed to their injuries. ANP Sindh spokesman Qadir Khan confirmed that the two teenagers are affiliated with the party.

Target killings: Violence in Orangi continues on day two, The Express Tribune, June 15, 2011

Related News

Militancy grows in South Punjab, Pakistan Update, June 10, 2011
Pakistan: US drone strikes kill seven, officials say, BBC News, June 15, 2011
7 more killed, miscreants ransack hospital in Karachi, The Nation, June 15, 2011
Police opens fire on doctors, injuring seven, The Express Tribune, June 15, 2011

Pakistan Arrests CIA Informants in Bin Laden Raid

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 19:37:10 Z

Pakistan’s top military spy agency has arrested some of the Pakistani informants who fed information to the Central Intelligence Agency in the months leading up to the raid that led to the death of Osama bin Laden, according to American officials. A casualty of the recent tension between the countries is an ambitious Pentagon program to train Pakistani paramilitary troops to fight Al Qaeda and the Taliban in the northwestern tribal areas. Pakistan’s detention of five C.I.A. informants, including a Pakistani Army major who officials said copied the license plates of cars visiting Bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in the weeks before the raid, is the latest evidence of the fractured relationship between the United States and Pakistan. It comes at a time when the Obama administration is seeking Pakistan’s support in brokering an endgame in the war in neighboring Afghanistan.

Pakistan arrests CIA informants in Bin Laden raid, The New York Times, June 14, 2011

Related News

Pakistan counter-insurgency funds held back for scrutiny, The Telegraph, June 15, 2011
Pakistan didn't know about Bin Laden: Musharraf?, The Express Tribune, June 15, 2011
Linchpin in hunt for bin Laden back with al-Qaida, AP, June 15, 2011
Pakistan army denies major’s arrest for CIA links, DAWN, June 15, 2011

Pakistan among Top Five Most Dangerous Countries for Women

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 19:36:48 Z

Targeted violence against female public officials, dismal healthcare and desperate poverty make Afghanistan the world's most dangerous country in which to be born a woman, according to a global survey released on Wednesday. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Pakistan, India and Somalia feature in descending order after Afghanistan in the list of the five worst states, the poll among gender experts shows. Pakistan is ranked third on the basis of cultural, tribal and religious practices harmful to women. "These include acid attacks, child and forced marriage and punishment or retribution by stoning or other physical abuse," the poll finds. Divya Bajpai, reproductive health adviser at the International HIV/Aids Alliance, added: "Pakistan has some of the highest rates of dowry murder, so-called honour killings and early marriage." According to Pakistan's human rights commission, as many as 1,000 women and girls die in honour killings annually.

Afghanistan worst place in the world for women, but India in top five, The Guardian, June 15, 2011

Related News

Pakistani woman villager is forced to 'parade naked', BBC News, June 14, 2011
The worst places in the world for women: Pakistan, The Guardian, June 14, 2011
Pakistan's female madrassas breed radicalism, Reuters, June 15, 2011

Related Research

Pakistan: When “Peace” Deals Wage War on Women, South Asia Analysis Group, April 16, 2009
Pakistan's Displaced Girls and Women - an Opportunity for Education, The Brookings Institution, June 11, 2009
Terror, Tribes, and the War on Women in Pakistan, Council on Asian Transnational Threat Research, October 01, 2009

Rising Violence Suggests Government Failing to Protect Religious Minorities: Report

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 18:59:37 Z

The year 2010 ended with violent protests over amendments to the controversial blasphemy laws, and 2011 opened with the brutal target killing of Punjab’s Governor Salmaan Taseer, a staunch advocate of minority rights. This was followed closely by the assassination of Federal Minister for Minorities, Shahbaz Bhatti. Both had supported amendments in the law proposed by a member of Parliament from the ruling party and former federal minister, Sherry Rehman. This report is an analysis of the status of religious minorities in Pakistan and documents the deterioration in the social, political and economic standing of members of these communities in the context of the rising tide of extremism in the country.

'A Question of Faith': A Report on the Status of Religious Minorities in Pakistan, Jinnah Institute, June 01, 2011

Related News

Minorities :‘Us and them’ – what divides Pakistani identity, The Express Tribune, June 09, 2011
"Left with nothing": The state of Pakistan's minorities, Foreign Policy // The AfPak Channel, June 10, 2011
Terrorists chalk out plan to target Ahmedis, Daily Times, June 14, 2011
Pakistan's Sufi Muslims brave bombs to worship, Los Angeles Times, June 14, 2011
Pakistan government failing on minorities, report says, BBC News, June 07, 2011

Related Research

Islamic Radicalism and Minorities in Pakistan, Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, April 01, 2004
Pakistan: Political Expediency of the Government is Putting the Lives of Religious Minorities at Stake, Asian Human Rights Commission, September 15, 2009

Renewed Political Violence Kills at Least 12 in Karachi

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 18:56:37 Z

A fresh wave of violence blamed on political and ethnic tensions killed at least 12 people in Pakistan's biggest city of Karachi overnight, officials said Tuesday. Tensions are high between the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Awami National Party (ANP), which represent different ethnic communities and straddle volatile political fault lines. Killings have been blamed on their loyalists. "At least 12 people were killed in targeted killings, which started Monday evening and lasted late in the night," Sindh province's home ministry spokesman Sharfuddin Memon told AFP. Memon said police and paramilitary troops were stepping up patrols in the troubled western and central neighbourhoods to avert further violence.

Fresh violence kills 12 in Karachi: officials, AFP, June 14, 2011

Related News

MQM blames ANP for MPA’s kidnapping, The News International, June 01, 2011
ANP wants PPP to stop supporting MQM in Sindh, The News International, June 11, 2011
Armed men storm hospital in Karachi, The News International, June 14, 2011
Karachi should be de-weaponized: ANP, The News International, June 14, 2011
Target killings: MQM walks out of Assembly as death toll climbs to 18, The Express Tribune, June 14, 2011
Death toll rises to 15 in Karachi violence, DAWN, June 14, 2011

Terrorist Attacks on Military Installations Underscore Risk to Nuclear Arsenal: Report

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 18:56:11 Z

Recent terrorist attacks on military installations suggest the “safety and security of nuclear weapons materials in Pakistan may very well be compromised,” says an article published in the Combating Terrorism Center’s magazine, Sentinel, at the U. S. Military Academy West Point. “A frontal assault on nuclear weapons storage facilities, which are the most robustly defended elements of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons cycle, is no longer an implausible event,” writes Dr. Shaun Gregory, director of the Pakistan Security Unit at the University of Bradford in Britain. Pakistani terrorists have already shown their ability to carry out violent attacks at facilities that were reliably identified as being part of the country’s nuclear weapons program, he says. But Pakistan’s push to double the size of its nuclear arsenal, by building 12 to 15 nuclear weapons a year over the last three or four years, greatly increases its vulnerability to terrorist attacks on nuclear targets.

Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal may be ‘compromised’: report, National Post, June 14, 2011

Related News

Is Pakistan's military facing an enemy within?, NPR, June 10, 2011
Pak nuclear arsenal safe: [former PM] Shaukat, Pakistan Observer, June 14, 2011

Related Research

Pakistan's Nuclear Weapons: How Safe Are They?, Institute of South Asian Studies // National University of Singapore, November 18, 2009
Pakistan's Nuclear Future: Reining in the Risk, Strategic Studies Institute // United Sates Army War College, January 19, 2010
CTC Sentinel [Volume 4, Issue 6, June 2011], Combating Terrorism Center // West Point, June 13, 2011

CIA Director Visits Pakistan, Discusses US Operations, Links Between Militants and Security

Mon, 13 Jun 2011 20:45:31 Z

Leon E. Panetta, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, confronted Pakistani intelligence officials face to face with what the United States believes is evidence of collusion between Pakistani security officials and militants staging attacks in Afghanistan, an American counterterrorism official said Saturday. During an unannounced trip to Pakistan’s capital on Friday, Mr. Panetta met with the leader of the Pakistani intelligence service, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, and showed him satellite photographs and other evidence of what the C.I.A. believes to be two facilities for the manufacture of bombs used by militants based in Pakistan against American forces in Afghanistan, the official said. The bomb facilities were in the northwestern districts of North and South Waziristan, both havens for militants. The official said Mr. Panetta was compelled to confront General Pasha after the C.I.A. alerted the Pakistanis about the existence of the bomb-making facilities several weeks ago and asked them to raid the locations. But when the Pakistani Army showed up, the militants were gone, making the C.I.A. suspicious that the militants had warning from someone on the Pakistani side.

CIA director warns Pakistan on collusion with militants, The New York Times, June 11, 2011

Related News

Pakistan tells CIA chief no US boots on the ground, DAWN, June 11, 2011
Panetta to press for continuation of ‘critical US operations’, DAWN, June 11, 2011
CIA chief Panetta leaves without deal, DAWN, June 12, 2011

Military Plans to Enlist Tribal Elders in Newest North Waziristan Operation

Mon, 13 Jun 2011 20:45:11 Z

The military is planning to enlist pro-government tribal elders in a fresh campaign it has devised to flush out al Qaeda members and its affiliates from North Waziristan, officials said on Sunday. The move is aimed at deflecting growing US pressure for a full-scale offensive against the Haqqani Network – the deadliest of all Afghan Taliban factions – allegedly based there. Under the plan, local tribesmen have been urged to form laskhars, or tribal militias, to take out ‘hard-core al Qaeda elements and their affiliates,’ who have increasingly challenged the writ of the state by mounting deadly terrorist attacks inside Pakistan. The idea was not only discussed in the recently held meeting of the corps commanders but was also taken up during discussions between army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and CIA chief Leon Panetta, a military official told The Express Tribune. “This strategy has achieved significant results in South Waziristan Agency and now it’s time to apply it in the North,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Army plans tribal purge of N Wazirstan militants, The Express Tribune, June 13, 2011

Related News

JI to resist operation in N. Waziristan, DAWN, June 13, 2011

Related Research

A Who’s Who of the Insurgency in Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province: Part One – North and South Waziristan, Global Terrorism Analysis // The Jamestown Foundation, August 22, 2008
Pakistani Government Offensive in Swat Heading for the Taliban of Waziristan, The Jamestown Foundation // Global Terrorism Analysis, June 18, 2009
Pakistan’s Military Examines its Options in North Waziristan, The Jamestown Foundation // Terrorism Monitor, February 04, 2010