Pakistan Conflict Monitor

Press Q&A with Admiral Mullen on AfPak Security

Pakistan Press Avail, Delivered by Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Joint Chiefs of Staff, July 24, 2010

EXCERPT: "[Q] Admiral, you were just quoted in New Delhi saying something that we do not always agree to the whole way the ISI works: 'The manner that they work, we have our differences.' Can you expand on that? Exactly where do you differ on the manner of working? [A] It is both the Pakistan – the military as well as the ISI. And the ISI in particular have captured or killed more terrorists than any other organization, any other country – sorry, it’s the military as well as the ISI – in the world. They’ve worked with us incredibly well in important areas. There are parts of the ISI I don’t understand specifically. [...] I think I’ll just leave it where I said it: that very specifically, there have been great accomplishments on the part of the Pak mil and ISI specifically and there certainly are areas that I just don’t have a clear picture of. [...] [Q] There are perceptions in Pakistani press and Pakistani people that Americans always rely on the information provided to them by Indian sources, like the movements of the – (inaudible) – in Pakistan or the whereabouts of the – and coming – the terrorists want Pakistan to be Afghanistan. [...] [A] Well, I’ll be very specific with respect to terrorists which move freely across the border. And I want to assure you that our information and intelligence in that regard doesn’t come from the Indians, very specifically."

Read the full interview.

Related articles:
Admiral Mullen asks ISI to shift its strategic focus, Times of India, 30 July 2010
Afghans pose awkward questions for US military chief, The Associated Press, 27 July 2010

Related posts:
US troops in Pakistan to oversee development projects, 21 July 2010
ISI trains, funds, and supplies Taliban: Report, 14 June 2010
US special ops aiding Pakistan's "hold and build" operations, 13 April 2010
Response to US troop presence surprisingly muted, 4 February 2010

Lashkar-e-Taiba Expands Focus, Links with Al-Qaeda

Lashkar-e-Taiba’s Growing International Focus and Its Links with al-Qaeda, The Jamestown Foundation // Terrorism Monitor, 29 July 2010

EXCERPT: "Recent revelations that several so-called 'home-grown militants' connected to terrorist plots in Europe, North America and Australia had passed through camps controlled by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) have generated growing concern that the group may be emerging as a new global actor working in collaboration with al-Qaeda. Compounding these fears is evidence that LeT’s ideological and operational focus is now going well beyond the liberation of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and the foment of an Islamist revolution in India. However, while ties with al-Qaeda cannot be fully discounted, LeT’s close relationship with the Pakistani state combined with its fabled discipline and tight organizational cohesion would seem to suggest that it is not (yet) morphing into another affiliate of Bin Laden’s global Islamist enterprise. [...] Although the LeT has always promoted an international agenda (promising, for instance, to plant the Islamic flag in the capitals of the United States, Russia and Israel), it has mostly focused its activities on local and regional theaters. Today, there is as much emphasis given to fighting Washington and allied governments supportive of the global war on terror as on staging attacks in India and J&K. [12] This shift in focus is arguably supported by LeT’s alleged involvement in the aforementioned attacks and other plots in the UK, Australia and Bangladesh."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
Lashkar-e-Taiba has become global threat: Admiral Mullen, Times of India, 25 July 2010
India fears LeT strike at Commonwealth Games: Report, The Hindu, 25 July 2010

Related posts:
LeT seeks to destabilise South Asia, ISI-Taliban links a problem: Holbrooke, 22 July 2010
Pakistan bans 23 Militant outfits, 6 July 2010
Lashkar-e-Taiba increasingly independent, ambitious: Report, 19 March 2010
US worries LeT might trigger India-Pakistan war, 11 March 2010
Lashkar-e-Taiba: One year after Mumbai, 26 November 2009

LeT Seeks to Destabilise South Asia, ISI-Taliban Links a Problem: Holbrooke

Militants Looking to Trigger India-Pakistan Conflict: US, AFP, 22 July 2010

EXCERPT: "Top US diplomatic and military officials warned Thursday of fresh attempts by militant groups to push nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan into a military conflict. The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, said he feared extremists would attempt another operation similar to the 2008 Mumbai attacks in order to goad India into armed retaliation against its neighbour and arch-rival. [...] Mullen began a two-day visit to India on Thursday that coincided with a visit by the US special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke. Speaking earlier to reporters in Delhi, Holbrooke said the LeT was just one of a number of regional militant groups, along with the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban, looking to destabilise South Asia. [...] At the same time, Holbrooke said Washington had also raised concerns with Islamabad about links between Pakistan's ISI intelligence agency and the Taliban. 'The links between the ISI and the Taliban are a problem,' he acknowledged. Mullen, however, stressed that the Obama administration had no choice but to 'stay engaged' with the ISI, given its crucial role in Pakistan."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
Holbrooke admits ISI link with Taleban, Khaleej Times, 23 July 2010
US wants better relations between India, Pakistan, Sify News, 22 July 2010

Related posts:
India accuses Pakistan spy agency of executing Mumbai attacks, 14 July 2010
ISI trains, funds, and supplies Taliban: Report, 14 June 2010
US worries LeT might trigger India-Pakistan war, 11 March 2010
US pushes for regional approach to AfPak security, 13 May 2010
Lashkar-e-Taiba: One year after Mumbai, 26 November 2009

Pakistan Investigates Ex-Army Officers in Mumbai Attacks

Pakistan Investigates Ex-Army Officers in Mumbai Attacks, The Wall Street Journal, 20 July 2010

EXCERPT: "Pakistan is investigating the possible involvement of two former army officers and four other militants in the 2008 attacks on Mumbai based on new information provided by India, according to a senior Pakistani government official. But the government denies India's assertions that Pakistan's military spy agency orchestrated the strike. Claims of Pakistani-intelligence involvement in the Mumbai attacks were made by a senior Indian government official last week on the eve of a heralded peace summit between the two nations' foreign ministers. Speaking to a local Indian newspaper, Home Secretary G.K. Pillai said New Delhi's questioning of David Headley, a Pakistani-American citizen involved in the Mumbai attacks and now in U.S. custody, had provided evidence that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence military spy agency orchestrated the killings. Mr. Pillai's claims sparked a round of mutual recriminations that cast a pall over efforts to reduce tensions between the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbors. India's national security adviser, Shivshankar Menon, reiterated India's concerns Tuesday that links between Pakistan's 'establishment' - a term for its powerful military and spy agencies rather than the civilian government - and Islamist terrorists were strengthening."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
Lashkar e Tayyiba, Al Qaeda, and Pakistan: Time to clean house, The Brookings Institution // Up Front Blog, 20 July 2010
Pakistan rejects India's allegations on Headley, Sify News, 20 July 2010
Headley's revelations cannot be brushed under the carpet: Krishna, NDTV, 20 July 2010
US shares Headley's revelations with Pak, One India, 20 July 2010

Related posts:
Military's influence hinders political progress, 19 July 2010
India accuses Pakistan spy agency of executing Mumbai attacks, 14 July 2010
Headley attended Lashkar terrorism training camps, 15 January 2010
Tactical implications of the Headley case, 17 December 2009
Lashkar-e-Taiba: One year after Mumbai, 26 November 2009

Pakistan Bans 23 Militant Outfits

Pakistan Bans 23 Militant Outfits, The Times of India, 6 July 2010

EXCERPT: "In the wake of twin-suicide blasts on the shrine of Data Ganj Baksh in Lahore, Pakistan has banned 23 militant organizations, except Jammat ud Dawa (JuD), which were operating under new names after having been outlawed by the previous military regime and put the name of JuD chief Hafiz Saeed on the Exit Control List (ECL). The Punjab government has directed police to keep a strict vigil on 1,690 office-bearers and workers of the banned outfits. Sipah-i-Sahaba, Jaish-i-Muhammad, Laskar-e-Taiba, Tehrik-i-Jafria, Harkatul Jihad Islami, Harkatul Mujahideen, Hizbul Tahrir, Lashkar-i-Jhangvi and Sipah-i-Muhammad had been banned by the Musharraf government in 2002, but most of them started their activities with new names. Sipah-i-Sahaba was renamed as Millat-i-Islamia Pakistan, Jaish-i-Muhammad as Alfurqan and Khuddamul Islam and Tehrik-i-Jafria as Islami Tehrik Pakistan and Lashkar-e-Taiba as Jamaatud Dawa. However, Hizbul Tehrir did not change its name. According to the Punjab’s home department, Jamaat ud Dawa of Hafiz Saeed has not been restricted like others, but Mr Saeed and his two associates have been barred from travelling abroad."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
JuD a terror outfit, admits Pakistan, The Times of India, 6 July 2010
Religious fundamentalism main root of violence in Pakistan, The Calgary Herald, 6 July 2010
Pakistan forms taks forces against terror groups, One India, 6 July 2010
Emerging networks of terrorists in Pakistan, Center for Research and Security Studies, 13 June 2010

Related posts:
Punjabi Taliban split from established militant groups, 17 June 2010
Extremists strive to exploit India-Pakistan water dispute, 2 June 2010
Face to face with Pakistan's most wanted, 26 March 2010
Militant group easily evades ban, 23 February 2010
Punjabi Taliban and the sectarian groups in Pakistan, 19 February 2010

"Winning Back Hearts and Minds" Key to Punjab: Expert

Afghanistan and Pakistan: Gaining a Grip, Chatham House // The World Today, July 2010

EXCERPT: "In the first two weeks of June, a jirga or consultative gathering, in Afghanistan produced a road-map providing a possible way forward in Afghanistan: the new British government made the broadest hints yet that it is planning to withdraw its troops and militants in Pakistan destroyed a convoy of trucks containing supplies for NATO troops there. Of the three events, the last appears most significant. [...] Pakistan faces two threats: first the 'Pakistan Taliban' - formally the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan - which is based in the tribal areas. While it contains a number of factions, it is clearly closely linked to the Afghan Taliban and under regular attack from both the Pakistani military and US drones. [...] The other threat is from what has recently been called the Punjabi Taliban which includes a number of groups, many of which were formed to fight India in Indian-administered Kashmir, such as Lashkar-i-Taiba - of which Jamaat-ud-Dawa is the 'charitable' arm - Jaish-e-Mohammad, Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) and Lashkar-i-Jhangvi. [...] But in Punjab the groups are an important element of the political economy, particularly in the south. Their charitable wings provide schools and healthcare; some assisted in the relief effort following the 2005 Kashmir earthquake. [...] Recently, the Punjab law minister, Rana Sanaullah, was caught campaigning with Maulana Ludhianvi, the head of the SSP. He later justified his action saying there was 'no harm' in trying to persuade militant groups to enter the political mainstream. Given the blurring between state and non-state actors in the region, such military action in Punjab would make delineating between Taliban and non-Taliban in Afghanistan something of a cake-walk. [...] If Pakistan is to avoid the trap into which Afghanistan has fallen, attempting to win back hearts and minds in Punjab would appear to be an utmost priority."

Read the full article.

Related articles:
In Afghanistan the cost in sacrifice is high, but that cost must be paid, The Sydney Morning Herald, 23 June 2010
Illusions in Punjab, Foreign Policy // The AfPak Channel, 19 June 2010
AfPak behind the lines: Punjab's growing militant problem, Foreign Policy // The AfPak Channel, 22 June 2010
Pakistan conflicted over targeting rising extremists in its heartland, The Washington Post, 22 June 2010

Related posts:
Punjabi Taliban split from established militant groups, 17 June 2010
Terror groups join forces, form "networked outfit", 11 June 2010
Punjab extremists more numerous, more entrenched than NW Taliban, 7 June 2010
Despite govt's denials, police report suggests Talibanization of Punjab, 17 May 2010
Militants try to cash in on farmer's water woes, 28 January 2010

LeT Expands Operations in Afghanistan

Militant Group Expands Attacks in Afghanistan, The New York Times, 15 June 2010

EXCERPT: "A Pakistani-based militant group identified with attacks on Indian targets has expanded its operations in Afghanistan, inflicting casualties on Afghans and Indians alike, setting up training camps, and adding new volatility to relations between India  and Pakistan. The group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, is believed to have planned or executed three major attacks against Indian government employees and private workers in Afghanistan in recent months, according to Afghan and international intelligence officers and diplomats here. It continues to track Indian development workers and others for possible attack, they said. [...] A number of experts now say Lashkar presents more of a threat in Afghanistan than even Al Qaeda does, because its operatives are from the region, less readily identified and less resented than the Arabs who make up Al Qaeda’s ranks."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
US showed Pakistan evidence on militant faction, DAWN, 16 June 2010
Pakistan's Punjab govt gave Rs 82.77 million to JuD institutions in 2009, Press Trust of India, 16 June 2010

Related posts:
India blames Pakistan for Kabul attack, 1 April 2010
Lashkar-e-Taiba increasingly independent, ambitious: Report, 19 March 2010
Pakistan reluctant to rein in LeT: US experts, 12 March 2010
Lashkar-e-Taiba denies Kabul attack, 4 March 2010
Lashkar-e-Taiba in perspective: An evolving threat, 2 March 2010

Official Confirms Taliban in Punjab, Rules Out Military Action

Pakistan Rules Out Offensive Against Punjab Militants, BBC News, 3 June 2010

EXCERPT: "Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik has stressed there are no plans for military action against militants in the Punjab province. His remarks came hours after he told a parliamentary committee that 'Punjabi Taliban' were entrenched in southern parts of Punjab. Mr Malik said they were planning to destabilise the country. Few Pakistani officials have acknowledged the existence of militant bases in Punjab despite media reports. Over the past few years Pakistan has been waging a bitter battle against militants in the north of the country. Any suggestion that the war is now spreading to the rest of Pakistan would raise concerns about the country's stability - both at home and abroad. [...] The Punjab Chief Minister, Shahbaz Sharif, accused Mr Malik of 'provincialism' for his use of the term 'Punjabi Taliban'. This is the first time a top government minister has acknowledged that militants have bases in southern parts of Punjab province, which houses more than half of the country's population. [...] 'No military operation is planned against banned [militant] outfits in Punjab... [but] effective action would jointly be taken [with the Punjab government] to eliminate them' [...]"

Read the full story.

Related articles:
Official admits militancy’s deep roots in Pakistan, The New York Times, 2 June 2010
Into the heartland, The Economist, 3 June 2010
Terror in Pakistan's Punjab heartland [by Ahmed Rashid], The New York Review of Books // NYR Blog, 3 June 2010
Punjabi Taliban preparing for major terror attack: Malik, DAWN, 2 June 2010

Related posts:
Arrests made over mosque attacks, govt to tackle Punjab militancy, 31 May 2010
Q&A: Terrorism groups in Pakistan, 28 May 2010
Despite govt's denials, police report suggests Talibanization of Punjab, 17 May 2010
Punjabi Taliban and the sectarian groups in Pakistan, 19 February 2010
Taliban taps Punjab heartland for recruits, 17 November 2009

Extremists Strive to Exploit India-Pakistan Water Dispute

Rhetoric Grows Heated in Water Dispute Between India, Pakistan, The Washington Post, 28 May 2010

EXCERPT: "The latest standoff between India and Pakistan features familiar elements: perceived Indian injustices, calls to arms by Pakistani extremists. But this dispute centers on something different: water. Militant organizations traditionally focused on liberating Indian-held Kashmir have adopted water as a rallying cry, accusing India of strangling upstream rivers to desiccate downstream farms in Pakistan's dry agricultural heartland. This spring, a religious leader suspected of links to the 2008 Mumbai attacks led a protest here of thousands of farmers driving tractors and carrying signs warning: 'Water Flows or Blood.' The cleric, Hafiz Sayeed, recently told worshipers that India was guilty of 'water terrorism.' India and Pakistan have pledged to improve relations. But Sayeed's water rhetoric, echoed in shrill headlines on both sides of the border, encapsulates two issues that threaten those fragile peace efforts - an Indian dam project on the shared Indus River and Pakistan's reluctance to crack down on Sayeed."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
Indo-Pak talks end with resolution of three project, Express India, 2 June 2010
US asks Pakistan to act against LeT, other anti-India groups, Hindustan Times, 2 June 2010
"Pakistan, India can solve water issue with goodwill" [interview], The Hindu, 1 June 2010

Related media:
Indo-Pak water dispute [video], The Express Tribune via YouTube, 2 June 2010

Related posts:
Pakistan, India unable to reach consensus over water, 31 March 2010
US shifts focus to Pakistan's economic, energy and water challenges, 4 March 2010
Distrust over shared rivers complicates India-Pakistan talks, 24 February 2010
Militants try to cash in on farmer's water woes, 28 January 2010
Water challenges a "crucial" issue in Central-South Asia, 19 January 2010

Q&A: Terrorism Groups in Pakistan

Terrorism Out of Pakistan, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 27 May 2010

EXCERPT: "Terror groups operating in Pakistan have been linked to numerous attempted attacks in the United States and Europe and, most recently, to the failed bombing in New York’s Times Square. Renewed attention on militancy spreading from Pakistan’s tribal areas is raising fears that the country’s instability threatens Western security. In a Q&A, Stephen Tankel details the terror groups in Pakistan, their capability of striking beyond South Asia, and how the United States, Europe, and Pakistan can work to prevent deadly strikes. 'While there are groups that are capable of striking the West on their own, the threat comes increasingly from the enhanced collaboration among different actors with varying agendas and capabilities,' says Tankel. It’s essential to disrupt the global connections of these groups, in concert with combating them in Pakistan."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
Lessons from Faisal Shahzad, Foreign Policy // The AfPak Channel, 20 May 2010

Related factsheet:
Key terrorist groups in Pakistan, Institute for the Study of War, 4 May 2010

Related posts:
Kashmir-focused groups of interest to NY terrorism probe, 7 May 2010
Times Square attempt indicates Taliban's broader ambitions: Expert, 6 May 2010
Report: International terrorism and transnational crime, 8 January 2010
Terror without frontiers: Lashkar-e-Taiba's global reach, 15 December 2009
Lashkar-e-Taiba: The new global threat?, 24 November 2009