Editor’s Note:  I’ve been sitting on this post for a few weeks now and finally have a chance to post it.  Fortunately for me, questions still linger about Pakistan’s motivations behind the recent spate of Taliban arrests.
SUMMARY
The first two months of 2010 have brought about a sea change on the ground in Afghanistan and Pakistan.  [...]

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HAKIMULLAH DEAD, PROBABLY.
Multiple media outlets reported today that Hakimullah Mehsud, leader of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), succumbed to his wounds from the January 14th drone strikes on Shaktoi, South Waziristan.  Pakistan’s interior minister, Rehman Malik, also stated that there was credible information that Hakimullah was dead.  (Insider Brief sources claimed on January 17th that Mehsud had [...]

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Editor’s Note:  Lt. Gen. (retd.) Shahid Aziz has been making headlines after his revelations about anti-corruption efforts and the war on terror during President Pervez Musharraf’s tenure.  The general and I have corresponded over the last few days, discussing his motivations, and he agreed to publish one of his e-mails here:
Hello Shaan,
My appearance on the [...]

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For the last several months, we’ve witnessed Pakistan tread down the path of implosion. The country finds itself in a recession and is relying once again on the IMF for budgetary support. The military campaign in South Waziristan may have merely displaced militants who continue to carry out retaliatory bombings and assassinations [...]

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Summary
Despite widespread skepticism of the Pakistani military’s will and ability to fight the Taliban, the second Swat campaign appears to be on the road to a successful conclusion with the expulsion of the Taliban from the once scenic valley.  Backed by civilian support, Pakistan’s military leadership looks to have plotted and executed a well thought [...]

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Summary
On September 23rd, Reuters reported that three intelligence officials confirmed that Pakistani troops and tribesman shot down a suspected US military unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) over South Waziristan. If true, Pakistan’s fast developing UAV industry could find itself bolstered with the latest American UAV technology.
Analysis
Viewed in the context of multiplying reports covering US cross-border [...]

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Summary
Today, Asif Zardari and Nawaz Sharif, chairmen of Pakistan’s two largest parties agreed in principle to impeach President Pervez Musharraf. The agreement, however, is contingent on all coalition partners supporting the move. Just as there has been little-to-no “progress” on the reinstatement of the justices Musharraf sacked, it is just as unlikely that [...]

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The Intel
Insider Brief sources report that Pakistani intelligence officials have recently been engaged in a spate of closed-door meetings. The topic of discussion? The ouster of Asif Ali Zardari and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) from power and the engineered return of Nawaz Sharif.
The Why
The news in and of itself should not be [...]

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As we had reported last week, Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, the Chief of Army Staff, is looking to replace the present Director General of Military Intelligence (DGMI), Maj. Gen. Nadeem Ejaz. Our sources now expect to see a new DGMI in place towards the end of this month. Potential candidates for the job post include (but [...]

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A military helicopter went down in South Waziristan today. All eight on board were killed including Major General Javed Sultan, the recently promoted commanding officer of Kohat garrison as well as two brigadiers. The official explanation from Islamabad is that the crash was due to “technical reasons.”
However, sources report that the helicopter was [...]

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THE ARMY ADVANCES …
Hot off its relative success in sweeping Swat of militants led by Maulana Fazlullah, sources report that the Pakistan Army has set its sights on Baitullah Mehsud, the purported mastermind behind the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.
In addition to military action, sources also report that a major facet of the newfound campaign involves [...]

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Around Christmas, sources had reported that Pakistani intelligence had indications that the violence afflicting the rest of the country — Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Rawalpindi — was making its way to Lahore.
Today, it did. A suicide bomber detonated himself amidst a 70-member police contingent, minutes before a weekly lawyer’s protest in front of the Lahore [...]

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Pakistan is in the throes of chaos following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.  Scores of people have died and there has been a grave loss of property attributable to violence, fires and looting.  The situation, as it stands now, according to sources: 

The government does not intend on imposing martial law at this point in time. [...]

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Benazir Bhutto, Chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party and two-time Prime Minister, has been assassinated in a bombing in Ralwapindi.  In a sad twist of fate, the assassination took place at Liaquat Bagh — the park that marked the spot of the assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan — Pakistan’s first prime minister.

Chaos and looting continue [...]

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Reports are coming in of a suicide bombing at a rally being held by Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi. Benazir Bhutto and Sherry Rehman are in CRITICAL condition. The rear portion of Benazir Bhutto’s car, which was departing, underwent severe damage. Scores dead and wounded. Body parts litter Liaqat Bagh, where the [...]

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