Defence & Security Updates

Senate of Pakistan

Senate Standing Committee on Defence Weekly Highlight of Stories and Events
6th Weekly Report
27th – 31st of July, 2015

Pakistan gets $336m in Coalition Support Fund, foreign reserves climb to $19bn

The United States has given Pakistan $336 million as a part of the Coalition Support Fund which was set up in 2001, to combat Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan.
State Bank of Pakistan has announced that the amount has pushed the foreign exchange reserves upwards to a new high of $19 billion.
Pakistan is set to receive a total of $1.5 billion for the current fiscal year ending in 2016; this was the first payment of that amount.

Gunmen who carried out India’s Punjab attack were Muslim: police

A 12-hour battle was fought near the Pakistan border in Indian Punjab which led to the death of ten people.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office issued the following condemnation statement, “We condemn in the strongest terms the terrorist incident in Gurdaspur, India, today, in which a number of precious lives have been lost. There are reports of others having suffered injuries. Our thoughts are with the bereaved families,”
Pakistan’s Foreign Office also issued a statement rejecting India’s baseless allegations. The statement reads, “The Government of Pakistan categorically rejects the baseless allegations made by Mr Rajnath Singh…Pakistan regrets the unsubstantiated and unwarranted assertion that those involved in the Gurdaspur incident of 27 July, had entered India from Pakistan. Pakistan believes that (Indian) home minister’s provocative comments are a threat to peace and security of the region,”
The militants, initially thought to be Sikh separatists were believed to be Muslim, as declared by the Punjab police chief.
Although not confirmed, some police sources believe the assailants were of Pakistani nationality who entered India two days prior to the attack.

Lashkar-i-Jhangvi chief Malik Ishaq, two sons killed in Muzaffargarh ‘encounter’

The chief of the banned sectarian outfit, Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, Malik Ishaq and his two sons, Usman and Haq Nawaz were killed as a result of exchange of fire with policemen.
The attack was launched by militants in hopes of releasing Ishaq from personnel of the Counter Terrorism Department who were escorting the chief to Shahwala to aid police in recovering weapons and explosives.
Malik Ishaq has been responsible for multiple attacks and has been believed to be the mastermind behind the 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team.

Afghan govt, Taliban resume peace talks in Murree on Friday

Senior government officials have disclosed that representatives from Afghanistan government and Taliban will meet in Murree in hopes of solidifying peace talks and end the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan.
This will be the second round of talks in less than a month; the first talks were held on July 7 and are being termed as the Murree Peace Process.
Members from the Pakistan government believe that the level of delegation is likely to remain the same although requests by the Afghan government were made to the Taliban to include more senior members in the delegation.

Sikh resurgence likely, RAW tells Indian Government

In light of the cross fire on the Indian Punjab border, RAW has warned the Indian government (PMO’s office) about Sikh resurgence across the globe.
The report highlighted meetings and rallies held by separatists in Germany, UK, France, US, Malaysia and Pakistan.
There is widespread belief that BKI and Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF), both banned in India, are trying to regroup with the help of ISI in Pakistan.

Mullah Omar died in Karachi in April 2013: Afghan govt

Amid rumors, initially brought to light by BBC, the Afghanistan Government confirmed that Mullah Omar died in a Karachi hospital in 2013.
Some Afghan Taliban, however, refute the reports of the death and insist the leader is “very much alive”.
Other members of the Afghan Taliban acknowledge the leader’s death and are speculating the successor, although there are no clear contenders for the position.