Pakistan Security Brief - 13 / 7 / 2010

• Missing Iranian scientist at Pakistani embassy in Washington, D.C.;
• Militants destroy another school in Bajaur Agency;
• 170 suspects arrested in Peshawar crackdown;
• Militant commander killed in Lower Dir;
• Security official killed in Orakzai Agency;
• Explosion reported in Mohmand Agency;
• Police arrest 39 suspect terrorists and 170 activists,
• Crackdown on SSP in Punjab;
• Punjab government establishes anti-terrorism board;
• Indian and Pakistani foreign ministers to meet in Islamabad on Thursday;
• Pakistan will not all Indian trade route to Afghanistan;
• Five killed in Karachi violence.

Missing Iranian Scientist in Washington, D.C.

• A missing Iranian nuclear scientist has taken refuge at the Pakistani embassy in Washington, D.C. Shahram Amiri, a researcher at Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, disappeared last year during a religious pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia. Although Tehran claims that Amiri was kidnapped by the U.S. in a bid to undermine Iran’s nuclear program, it remains unclear whether he willingly defected or was indeed kidnapped. As there are no diplomatic relations between Iran and the U.S., the Pakistani embassy in Washington hosts an Iranian interests branch, which provides visas for travel to Iran and other consular services for Iranians in the U.S. According to a Pakistani Foreign Office spokesperson, Amiri arrived at the Pakistani embassy around 6:30 pm on Monday.[1] also [1A]

Punjab

• Police arrested at least 39 suspected terrorists – 20 from Multan and 19 from Lahore – and 170 activists on Tuesday as part of an expanded crackdown on banned militant groups in southern Punjab. According to reports from Rahimyar Khan, Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar and Layyah district, police conducted nighttime raids targeting Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) in Lahore, Multan, Sahiwal, Khanewal, Jhang, Bhakkar, Gujrat, Vehari, Rawalpindi and other cities. Police also closed 22 offices associated with SSP, which were operating under the alias Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat. In Bahawalpur district, six activists of the Sipah-e-Sahaba, Millat-e-Islami and Jaish-e-Muhammad have also been arrested.[2]

• The Punjab government announced on Tuesday that it has established a new anti-terrorism board in order to combat terrorists operating throughout the province. The Chief Minister of Punjab, Shahbaz Sharif, was chosen to head the board that will include the provincial law minister, Inspector General, chief prosecutor, and home secretary. A committee was also established to coordinate intelligence gathering and sharing between various departments and the chief secretary, improve police performance, and manage a provincial awareness campaign.

FATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

• Militants destroyed another government-run school in Khar Tehsil of Bajaur Agency on Monday. According to tribal sources, a group of militants detonated explosives placed throughout the Government Girls Primary School in Sheikh Baba Killay with a remote-controlled device. This is the 93rd school destroyed by militants so far in Bajaur. The building was empty at the time. Following the destruction of the school, security forces arrested several suspects from the area. [3]

• At least 170 people were arrested on Tuesday during coordinated search operations in various parts of Peshawar, including Gul Bahar, Phandoo and Chamkanai. According to sources, police also seized 10 rifles, 10 AK-47s, 14 pistols, and 830 rounds of ammunitions during the operations. These arrests follow reports on Sunday that police arrested 410 suspects throughout the city. [4]

• Security forces killed a key militant commander, Naseer Kakkar, during search operations in Lower Dir on Monday. Kakkar is believed to be responsible for ordering attacks in Lower Dir and masterminding last month’s suicide attack in the area. [5]

•A security official was killed and four others were wounded on Monday in a roadside bomb blast in Orakzai Agency. According to sources, security forces were on a routine patrol when their vehicle struck a landmine in Sangra, Lower Orakzai. [6]

•Dawn News reported that an explosion occurred in Sarokoli in Mohmand Agency on Tuesday. There are no reported casualties at this time. [7]

Pak-Indian Relations

•Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishra will meet with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Thursday in Islamabad in a bid to restore trust and resume peace talks between the two countries. According to India’s foreign ministry, the ministers will try “to work out the modalities of restoring trust and confidence in the relationship, thus paving the way for a substantive dialogue on issues of mutual concern.” Meanwhile, the prime minister of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, Raja Farooq Haider, told reporters, “We reject the foreign ministers’ talks on Thursday… The talks can be meaningful only if Kashmiris are made part of it.” Diplomatic relations between India and Pakistan collapsed in 2008 after the 10 gunmen killed 166 people in attacks in India’s financial capital, Mumbai. [8]

•According to a report from The News, Pakistan will not allow an Indian trade route through Pakistan as part of the Pak-Afghan Transit Trade agreement despite pressure from Washington prior to Thursday’s meetings in Islamabad. “There is no flexibility regarding allowing India to use land route through Pakistan for onward journey into Afghanistan. Trade between Pakistan and India is a bilateral issue and outside the scope of the Pak-Afghan Transit Trade Agreement,” an official told The News. [9]

Karachi

•Targeted killings continue in Karachi as at least five people were killed by gunmen in separate incidents on Tuesday. According to sources, gunmen killed a doctor, affiliated with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), standing outside his clinic in Al-Falah. In a separate incident, gunmen opened fire on a vehicle on Rashid Minhas road,, killing two people. A woman was also killed in Shershah and police recovered another body in Lyari. [10]

  

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Sources:

[1] Nasser Karimi, “Missing Iranian scientist surfaces in Washington,” AFP, July 13, 2010. Available on http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hMjU0wACQ2zOXzyTxJ64UzIB57TwD9GU5T600
“Iranian nuclear scientist turns up in D.C.,” LA Timesm July 13, 2010. Available on http://www.latimes.com/news/la-fg-nuclear-scientist-iran-20100714,0,6109882.story
“Shahram Amiri hiding in DC embassy, wants to return to Iran,” Christian Science Monitor, July 13, 2010. Available on http://www.csmonitor.com/World/terrorism-security/2010/0713/Shahram-Amiri-hiding-in-DC-embassy-wants-to-return-to-Iran?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+feeds%2Fworld+%28Christian+Science+Monitor+|+World%29
[2] “39 suspects arrested during crackdown across Punjab,” Daily Times, July 13, 2010. Available on http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\07\13\story_13-7-2010_pg7_7
“22 SSP offices sealed, over 170 activists held,” The News, July 13, 2010. Available on http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=29986
Abdul Manan, “Police widen hunt for militants,” Express Tribune, July 13, 2010. Available on http://tribune.com.pk/story/27500/police-widen-hunt-for-militants
[3] “Militants blow up 93rd school in Bajaur,” The News, July 13, 2010. Available on http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=250503
[4] “Peshawar police round up 170 suspects,” Express Tribune, July 13, 2010. Available on http://tribune.com.pk/story/27564/peshawar-police-round-up-170-suspects/
“410 arrested in Peshawar search operation,” Daily Times, July 13, 2010. Available on http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\07\13\story_13-7-2010_pg7_10
[5] “Key militant commander killed in Lower Dir operation,” Express Tribune, July 12, 2010. Available on http://tribune.com.pk/story/27384/key-militant-commander-killed-in-lower-dir-operation/
[6] “Security official killed, four injured in Orakzai blast,” Daily Times, July 13, 2010. Available on http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\07\13\story_13-7-2010_pg7_6
[7] “Blast in Mohmand; no word on casualties,” Dawn, July 13, 2010. Available on http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/04-mohmand-blast--qs-02?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dawn%2Fnews%2Fpakistan+%28DAWN.COM+-+Pakistan+News%29
[8] “India, Pakistan to meet for trust-building talks,” Dawn, July 13, 2010. Available on http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/world/14-india-pakistan-to-meet-for-trust-building-talks-zj-02?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dawn%2Fnews%2Fworld+%28DAWN.COM+-+World+News%29
http://tribune.com.pk/story/27531/pakistan-india-to-resume-talks/
“Kashmiris reject India, Pakistan talks,” Dawn, July 13, 2010. Available on http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/world/kashmiris-reject-india-pakistan-talks-jd-01
[9] “Pakistan says no to Indo-Afghan trade via its routes,” The News, July 13, 2010. Available on http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=250500
[10] “At least five killed in Karachi shootings,” Dawn, July 13, 2010. Available on http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/metropolitan/04-karachi-shootings-5-killed-qs-04
“Four killed in incidences of violence in Karachi,” Express Tribune, July 13, 2010. Available on http://tribune.com.pk/story/27561/four-killed-in-incidences-of-violence-in-karachi/
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Beyond Madrasas: Assessing the Links Between Education and Militancy in Pakistan

Download Copy: Beyond Madrasas: Assessing the Links Between Education and Militancy in Pakistan

Increasing educational attainment is likely to reduce conflict risk, especially in countries like Pakistan that have very low levels of primary and secondary school enrollment. Education quality, relevance and content also have a role to play in mitigating violence. Education reform must therefore be a higher priority for all stakeholders interested in a more peaceful and stable Pakistan. Debate within the country about education reform should not be left only to education policymakers and experts, but ought to figure front and center in national dialogues about how to foster security. The price of ignoring Pakistan’s education challenges is simply too great in a country where half the population is under the age of 17.

There has been much debate concerning the roots of militancy in Pakistan, and multiple factors clearly come into play. One risk factor that has attracted much attention both inside Pakistan and abroad is the dismal state of the national education sector. Despite recent progress, current school attainment and literacy levels remain strikingly low, as does education spending. The Pakistani education sector, like much of the country’s public infrastructure, has been in decline over recent decades. The question of how limited access to quality education may contribute to militancy in Pakistan is more salient now than ever, given the rising national and international security implications of continued violence.

The second half of 2009 witnessed not only the Pakistani government stepping up action against insurgents but also the release of a new Pakistan National Education Policy that aspires to far-reaching and important reforms, including a commitment to increase investment in education—from 2 to 7 percent of gross domestic product. Hundreds of millions of dollars in international education aid have been newly pledged by donor countries. This renewed emphasis on education represents a substantial opportunity to seek to improve security in Pakistan and potentially also globally over the medium to long term. Policymakers both inside and outside Pakistan should give careful consideration to whether and how education investments can promote peace and stability, taking into account what we now know about the state of the education sector and the roots of militancy.

This report takes a fresh look at the connection between schools, including but not limited to Pakistan’s religious seminaries, known as “madrasas,” and the rising militancy across the country. Poor school performance across Pakistan would seem an obvious area of inquiry as a risk factor for conflict. Yet to date, the focus has been almost exclusively on madrasas and their role in the mounting violence. Outside Pakistan, relatively little attention has been given to whether and how the education sector as a whole may be fueling violence, over and above the role of the minority of militant madrasas.

Source: The Brookings Institution

International Education, Pakistan, Education, South Asia, Development

Rebecca Winthrop, Co-Director, Center for Universal Education
Corinne Graff, Fellow, Global Economy and Development, Center for Universal Education
The Brookings Institution
June 2010 —

Report Predicts Biorefineries Will Offer a Solution to Significantly Reducing CO2 Emissions and Creating Economic Growth

http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_FutureIndustrialBiorefineries_Report_2010.pdf

Biorefineries have a major role to play in tackling climate change, according to the World Economic Forum report The Future of Industrial Biorefineries launched on 29 June 2010. The report, produced in collaboration with Royal DSM N.V., Novozymes, DuPont and Braskem, says that the biorefineries industry could supplement demand for sustainable energy, chemicals and materials, aiding energy security. The report also acknowledges that a number of obstacles still stand in the way of biorefineries realizing their full economic potential.

The author of the report, Professor Sir David King, Director, Smith School for Enterprise and the Environment at the University of Oxford, says “The emerging biomass value chain will create significant business opportunities and new winners, with technology- and science-driven companies with access to key enzyme and microbial technologies being central to the development of the bio-based economy. The growth of the bio-based economy could create significant economic growth and job creation opportunities, particularly in rural areas, where incomes and economic prospects are currently moderate, and in advanced manufacturing.”

The report says that a biomass value chain could create revenue potentials by 2030 in US$ billion of 15 for agricultural inputs, 89 for biomass production, 30 for biomass trading, 10 for biorefining inputs, 80 for biorefining fuels, 6 for bioplastics and 65 for biomass power and heat.

The report identifies a number of technical, strategic and commercial challenges that need to be addressed before any large-scale commercialization of the biorefining industry can succeed. These include the need for significant advances in the development and deployment of bio-based technologies, infrastructure development, high capital costs and the issue of restricted land and biomass availability.

Biorefineries using biomass (plant/vegetable-based material) as feedstock would create a transition from fossil carbon to more sustainable bio-based production, says the report. This could fundamentally reshape the industrial landscape.

Feike Sijbesma, CEO Royal DSM N.V., says “We are at the doorstep of a transition to a greener, more sustainable future, with the bio-based economy as the key enabler. No company or government can drive this transition alone – public and private sectors have to work closely together. As innovation will be key in achieving this, the private sector needs to drive this with conviction and new open innovation concepts. At the same time, it offers governments worldwide a great opportunity, too, in which their help to create a positive framework with stimulating regulations and incentives to enable the private sector to accelerate its investments will be key. The transition to a bio-based economy offers a lot of opportunities to all stakeholders involved.”

Steen Riisgaard, President and CEO, Novozymes, adds: “The report confirms the need for biomass replacement that comes at oil’s low price, but without its high cost. Over time, our cars, our trucks, even our airplanes are going to run on low-carbon fuels derived from starch and cellulose. Plastics and chemicals will be made from plants rather than petroleum. Millions of new green tech jobs will be created in rural areas and in biorefineries, producing bioenergy and biomaterials.”

Bernardo Gradin, CEO, Braskem, is already moving on the concept and says, ““Biorefineries offer a new trail to Advanced Manufacturing – a third industrial revolution with new rural and geographical winners and a move towards a bio-based, lower CO2 emissions society. Braskem will open her first by October of this year.”

The report concludes that the development of the bio-based economy is at an early and high-risk stage and no single industry, or company, is cable of managing this phase of its development independently. Government, therefore, has a key role to play in providing seed support – particularly at the pre-competitive stage – to the emerging bio-based sector and creating the market to ensure that it becomes established and successful as quickly as possible.

BBC on borrowed time

BBC fights for its survival

Tessa Jowell, the long-serving culture secretary in the Labour Government and main architect of the BBC’s 10-year licence fee settlement in 2007, has said the BBC is on borrowed time and its behaviour, and that of its regulator the BBC Trust, is endangering its existence.

Jowell, who claims she had fight deep scepticism in government to get the 2007 settlement, accused the BBC of "wanting the benefits of the private sector with none of the risk." She predicted today that the BBC will face "the fight of its life" to preserve the licence fee under the new coalition government.

Jowell said that "the BBC has backed off in terms of its accountability" and implied that the BBC Trust is not doing the job it was set up to do. "The conception of the BBC Trust was essentially to put the licence fee payer in charge," Jowell said. "It is for those who are members of the trust, the chairman of the trust, to exercise the imagination and to understand the mood of the moment." She implied that even though the BBC is funded by a mandatory licence, in effect a national tax, it essentially doesn’t buy in to being part of public service and having to justify its actions and expenses on that basis. "The BBC could become the biggest mutual in the country, but it requires drive, focus, organisation and a love of the public realm," she said.

The BBC Trust responded: "The BBC Trust consults with licence fee payers wherever possible to get their views...the BBC has introduced measures such as a 25 per cent cut in the senior manager pay bill, tough efficiency targets and greater transparency in pay and expenses."

Source: http://www.advanced-television.com/2010/jun14_jun18.htm#m1