Pakistan
Govt used anti-corruption cases to silence political opponents, deadly militant violence persisted and govt stepped up diplomatic efforts on Afghan peace process. Ruling-Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) continued targeting of opposition and critics through controversial anti-corruption National Accountability Bureau (NAB): NAB 29 May issued warrants for former Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) PM Sharif and summoned former PML-N PM Abbasi, former Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) PM Gillani and President Zardari. NAB 9 June questioned PML-N president and parliamentary leader of opposition Shahbaz Sharif; and 26 June summoned former PML-N Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif.
Balochistan National Party-Mengal 17 June withdrew support for PM Khan’s govt for violating earlier agreements, including on recovery of Baloch missing persons, reducing PTI majority to eight. Supreme Court 19 June rejected PTI govt corruption charges against Supreme Court judge Qazi Faez Isa. Militant violence continued: in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, bomb blast 4 June killed two people in Bajaur tribal district. Bomb 10 June killed two police officers in North Waziristan tribal district, where, on 21 June, officer and soldier killed in militant attack. Sindhi separatist group claimed three separate attacks on 19 June on paramilitary Rangers force in three cities in Sindh province, killing three Rangers and two civilians. Militant attack on Pakistan Stock Exchange building claimed by Baloch separatist group in Karachi 29 June killed seven, including one police officer and two guards; security forces killed all four militants. Anti-terrorism court 18 June sentenced four leaders of Jamaat-ud-Dawa to prison on terror-financing charges, sentences ranging from one to five years.
Police in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad 15 June briefly detained two Indian embassy employees (see India). Govt stepped up diplomatic efforts relating to Afghan peace process: govt 6 June appointed diplomat Muhammad Sadiq as Pakistan’s special envoy on Afghanistan; Sadiq, army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa and director of military intelligence Faiz Hameed 9 June met Afghan President Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, chair of intra-Afghan talks, to discuss peace process; Sadiq 16-17 June met Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, head of Taliban’s political office, in Doha.