PAKISTAN FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO ADDRESS UNREST IN KARACHI
In a climate of deteriorating security in the Karachi district of Sindh, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has organized meetings with intelligence officials to determine how to quell a surge in violence. Initial reports indicate that leaders plan to grant the Sindh province’s chief minister access to and control over federal forces. The unrest stems follows a public commitment by the Pakistani Taliban to increase insurgent efforts in urban zones, specifically in Karachi, which has faced an influx of Pashtun migrants in recent years, providing the TTP with a larger support and recruiting base. Though the Taliban’s presence is a relatively new phenomenon, criminal syndicates have long held sway in Pakistan’s commercial capital, with mob-style shootouts and assassinations a common affair. The growing instability bodes ill for Pakistan’s flagging economy: Karachi hosts the country’s primary trading port. (The News, September 3, 2013; The News, August 31, 2013)
PAKISTAN WEAPONS PROGRAM PRINCIPLE CONCERN FOR U.S. INTEL
According to a 178-page summary of the U.S. intelligence community’s “black [ops] budget,” released by former NSA employee Edward Snowden, Pakistan is “at the top of the charts listing critical U.S. intelligence gaps.” Though nominally a U.S. ally, the U.S. has “ramped up its surveillance of Pakistan’s nuclear arms” and is concerned about chemical and biological weapons sites in the country. According to the Washington Post, “fears about the security of [Pakistan’s] nuclear program are so pervasive that a budget section on containing the spread of illicit weapons divides the world into two categories: Pakistan and everybody else.” The leaked document, and other files obtained by the Post, expose “systemic human rights abuses in Pakistan,” and implicate the military and intelligence leadership in an “extensive campaign of extrajudicial killings.” (Washington Post, September 2, 2013)
RECORD-SETTING HEROIN SEIZURE IN SRI LANKA
Sri Lankan customs officials have intercepted the largest heroin shipment ever captured in the region. The container was dispatched from Karachi, Pakistan and passed through Sri Lanka on its way to European buyers (a well known trafficking route). The 250kgs of heroin with an approximated worth of $19 million was packed in small “grease cans.” An interdiction of this size is likely to have a sizeable affect on heroin prices, and represents a significant loss to the seller. Historically, heroin coming out of Karachi originates from Helmand or Kandahar in Afghanistan, or other southern Taliban-controlled provinces. A surge in counter-narcotics successes could potentially disrupts the Taliban’s finances. (Associated Press, August 31, 2013)
NAVI PILLAY CONDEMNS SRI LANKAN HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES
A press release by UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay has sparked controversy and infuriated the Sri Lankan government. Ms. Pillay was in Sri Lanka to investigate allegations of governmental human rights abuses during the 26-year-long Tamil insurgency that ended in 2009. In the process of visiting a number of combat zones in disparate regions, she encountered many people interested in talking to her and divulging sensitive information. Later she was told that the government intelligence apparatus had subsequently harassed many of her sources. In response to this, Pillay issued a statement condemning in harsh terms the Sri Lankan government, claiming that it was “becoming increasingly authoritarian.” The government says that such rhetoric is a breach of her fact-finding mandate. (BBC, August 31, 2013; Al-Jazeera, September 1, 2013)
KARZAI STILL RESERVING SUPPORT
In a surprising development, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has appointed a likely presidential candidate to the post of Interior Minister. Umar Daudzai was formerly Karzai’s ambassador to Pakistan, and before that his chief of staff. A position in the current administration bars Daudzai from being a presidential candidate. Instead, Karzai is predicted to throw his support behind Dr. Kalmai Rassoul, his current Foreign Minister. At present, Dr. Rassoul is only a prospective candidate and would need to resign his position as Foreign Minister to be a legitimate presidential contender. As a side-note, Daudzai is intimately familiar with Af-Pak relations, while Rassoul boasts more expertise with regard to India. (New York Times, September 1, 2013)