PAKISTAN MEDIA REACTION: AUGUST 05, 2009

UNCLAS ISLAMABAD 001808

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KMDR KPAO OIIP OPRC PGOV PREL PK
SUBJECT: PAKISTAN MEDIA REACTION: AUGUST 05, 2009

Summary: Reports on national political developments, in the wake of
the Supreme Court's ruling that declared the imposition of November
3 emergency as unconstitutional, continued to dominate headlines in
almost all newspapers on Wednesday. Newspapers highlighted that
"all five judges of Balochistan High Court including its chief
justice resigned from their office." All dailies also reported
another incident of 'blasphemy' in which a factory owner and two
others were killed for allegedly desecrating the Koran in Muridke, a
suburb of Lahore. Reports of the approval of a bill by the National
Assembly aimed at combating domestic violence received front page
display. Several newspapers highlighted reports that fourteen
people, ten of them women and children, were killed in clashes
between security forces and militants in North Waziristan.

Editorializing the rebuilding process in Swat, the populist and
often sensational national English daily "The News," observed that
"it is a question of determining the future of militancy in the
region - and with this, very possibly, the future of Pakistan
itself." The center-right national English daily "The Nation,"
advised that "our military leadership should take proactive steps to
assure the people of Swat, nay, the whole country, that they are on
the same page on the issue of religious extremist militancy as the
political government." The Peshawar-based Urdu-language daily
"Mashriq," noted that the "people of Swat rightly ask that how can
they resume their routine life in the valley with the fact that the
hardcore leadership of the militants have neither been killed, nor
detained." End Summary.

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News Stories
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"All BHC Judges Call It A Day" "The News" (08/05)

"Balochistan High Court (BHC) Chief Justice Amanullah Khan Yasinzai
and all the other four judges of the court, who had taken oath under
the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO),resigned from their
offices to escape the references against them in the Supreme
Judicial Council (SJC)."

"Factory Owner, Worker Killed In Muridke 'Desecration' Riot" "The
News" (08/05)

"Mian Najeeb Zafar, owner of Eastern Leather Factory and a laborer
were killed and dozens of workers injured in a leather factory on
the Muridke-Sheikhupura road near Kathiala village after a factory
official allegedly incited laborers by accusing the owner of
desecration of the Quranic verses."

"Gojra Incident A Plot To Tarnish Pak Image: Malik" "The News"
(08/05)

"Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik has categorically said that
elements behind Gojra violence would be dealt with strictly saying
Gojra incident is a planned conspiracy to defame Pakistan."

"NA Bill Outlaws Domestic Violence" "Dawn" (08/05)

"In a major move against domestic violence against women and
children, the National Assembly passed a private bill on Tuesday
aimed to prevent the prevalent curse through quick criminal trials
and a chain of protection committees and protection officers."

"10 Civilians, Four FC Men Die In NWA Clashes" "The News" (08/05)

"Fourteen people, 10 of them women and children and four
paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) soldiers, were killed and several
others sustained injuries in clashes between security forces and the
militants in North Waziristan Agency on Monday night."

"Four Killed In Air Strikes" "Dawn" (08/05)

"Four militants were killed when helicopter gunships pounded
hideouts of the outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Chappri
Ferozekhel area of Lower Orakzai Agency on Tuesday, officials said."


"Taliban Commander To Give Up Violence, Leave Maidan" "Dawn"
(08/05)
"Maulana Shahid alias Qari Shahid, a key commander of Miadan
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP),announced on Tuesday that his group
would lay down arms, leave the area and start a new life, while
talking to local journalists by phone from an undisclosed location."


"Forces Blow Up Madarassa, Militants' Houses In Shangla" "The News"
(08/05)

"Security forces demolished the Madarassa of Maulana Waliullah
Kabulgrami and several houses of militants and their supporters in
different areas in Puran Tehsil of the Shangla district on Tuesday."


"Policeman Killed In Swat Clash" "The News" (08/05)

"A cop was killed and a paramilitary soldier sustained injuries in a
joint operation against the Taliban militants in Qalang area in
Swat, while bodies of five militants were recovered from Mingora
city and its surroundings on Tuesday, official sources said."

"Courts, Schools Reopen In Buner" "Dawn" (08/05)

"Educational institutes and courts in the district resumed
functioning on Monday. Additional District and Sessions Judge
Sajjad Anwar Khan remained present in his chamber and senior Civil
Judge Manzoor Qadir and Civil Judge Islamudin Khan would start
hearing of cases from Wednesday."

"Swat Terrorists Behind Gojra Violence: Taseer" "Daily Times"
(08/050

"The terrorists who fled the operation in Swat were behind the
recent violence against Christians in Gojra, Punjab Governor Salmaan
Taseer said on Tuesday."

"NATO Plans To Reorganize Command Structure For Afghanistan" "Dawn"
(08/05)

"NATO's governing body approved a plan on Tuesday to reorganize the
alliance's command structure in Afghanistan by setting up a new
headquarters to handle the day-to-day running of the war. NATO
spokesman James Appathurai said the new Intermediate Joint
Headquarters in Kabul will be commanded by U.S. Lt-Gen David
Rodriguez."

"Widespread Rigging In 2008 Polls Revealed" "The News" (08/05)

"The election 2008 was generally acknowledged as free and fair but a
comprehensive report on Feb 18 polls by an independent civil society

organization released on Tuesday reveals innumerable tales of
pre-poll manipulations, rigging, intimidation and misuse of official
machinery in favor of the former ruling party. The report released
by the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN),a coalition of 30
leading Pakistani civil society organizations, also reflected on how
the administrative machinery and the Nazims were involved in
pre-polls rigging."

--------------
Editorials/Op-eds
--------------

"Rebuilding Swat," an editorial in the populist, often sensational
national English daily "The News" (cir. 55,000) (08/05)

"The task of re-building in Malakand goes well beyond simply
fulfilling the needs of people. It is also a question of
determining the future of militancy in the region - and with this,
very possibly, the future of Pakistan itself. The militant threat
it has faced in recent years has endangered the entire country. We
now stand at a point where it has become essential to vanquish the
militants if we are to ourselves survive and move on.... The
re-construction of Swat must aim also at addressing the many
grievances of people who live there."

"Signs Of Normalcy," an editorial in the center-right national
English daily "The Nation" (cir. 20,000) (08/05)

"It is a testament to their resilience that schools have started
functioning and parents have sent their boys and girls back to
school. It is yet another testament to their resilience that the
sands of commerce have also started flowing again.... But all this
does not imply normalcy. This resilience is a coping mechanism of
the residents of the valley; a dark fear still resides in their
bosoms, one that needs to be shooed away by the actions of the
state.... Our military leadership should take proactive steps to
assure the people of Swat, nay, the whole country, that they are on
the same page on the issue of religious extremist militancy as the
political government."

"Situation Not Satisfactory In Swat," an editorial in the
Peshawar-based Urdu-language daily "Mashriq" (cir. 55,000) (08/05)

"It will not be right to describe the security situation in Swat as
satisfactory. There is a need to completely wipe out extremists
from the Malakand division, and the government must remain vigilant
about any potential and would-be fanatics who are present in the
populace. The People of Swat rightly ask that how can they resume
their routine life in the valley when the fact is that the hardcore
leadership of the militants have neither been killed, nor detained.
The religious leaders and the elders of the area are duty-bound to
lead the misguided youths to the mainstream society, so that they
don't fall prey to the ideology of radicals."

"Ending Militancy," an editorial in the center-right national
English daily "The Nation" (cir. 20,000) (08/05)

"Now that the military operation in Malakand Division is all but
over and the residents have begun going back to their homes, the
reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts must receive a fillip to
make for the normal, daily life to return.... Islamabad would have
to urge Washington to exert its influence over these countries to
donate more money, besides markedly increasing its own contribution.
The economic uplift of Malakand would, after all, constitute a
major achievement on the road to putting an end to terrorism from
the region. The U.S. also owes an explanation about the inordinate
delay in the setting up of reconstruction opportunity zones in FATA
that were so proudly announced by President Bush when he visited
Islamabad more than three years ago. They have yet to see the light
of day."

"Propaganda Of Al Qaeda Attack On Our Nuclear Installations,"
editorial in the second-largest, center-right nationalist Urdu daily
"Nawa-i-Waqt" (cir. 150,000) (08/05)

"The British House of Commons Foreign relations Committee's spiteful
remarked that Al Qaeda has focused attention on Pakistan.... The
report said that a direct attack on Pakistani nuclear installations
cannot be ruled out.... This propaganda is in fact a product of a
conspiracy by the satanic trio of America, India and Israel under
which they want to takeover and destroy Pakistan's nuclear
capabilities, technology and installations.... Our government and
military leadership should understand the fact that America is not a
friend and is engaged in worst hostility in the garb of friendship.
It wants to make us helpless by depriving us of our nuclear
capabilities."

"New Policy Of American Troops Withdrawal From Afghanistan," an
editorial in the center-right Urdu daily "Pakistan" (cir. 10,000)
(08/05)

"President Obama's administration is in the midst of conflicting
thinking about Afghanistan.... Where America is not desirous of any
conciliation with Al Qaeda, it does not hesitate to admit that the
Taliban are a party to Afghanistan political makeup. Encouraging
information gleaned from American experts' conversations with media
tells us that America wants to have a peaceful political resolution
of the Afghan problem and for that it wants conciliation with the
Taliban in order to bring them into the political mainstream of the
country.... The Taliban and other Afghan parties should sit
together to resolve their internal difference."

"Obama's Exit Strategy," an editorial in the country's premier
business newspaper, "Business Recorder" (cir. 25,000) (08/05)

"The Taliban now clearly hear the ongoing contentious debate, in
most of the Coalition's capitals, on the need and rationale to keep
fighting in Afghanistan. The argument, that eight years on, the
victory in Afghanistan is not yet in sight, tends to receive wider
public acceptance.... Obviously, the Obama administration wants a
victory, with the help of additional troops, but quickly. But the
Taliban are in no such hurry, they can wait.... Another strand of
the Obama exit strategy envisages the splitting up of the Taliban
from the al Qaeda. Again, this has no chance, because the war in
Afghanistan is now more of a national resistance, than a 'Jihad' of
the Cold War vintage."

"Destroying Ourselves With A Little Help From The U.S.," an op-ed by
Shireen M. Mazari in the populist, often sensational national
English daily "The News" (cir. 55,000) (08/05)

"A cause for concern, is the U.S. plan to spend $1 billion to expand
its presence in Islamabad - especially, since central to this plan
is the importation of almost 400 Marines with hundreds of APCs.
There is absolutely no logic to this, but who will tell our rulers
who seem hell-bent on kowtowing before Washington? Incidentally
already the U.S. contingent in Pakistan is way over the sanctioned
strength of 350 but does anyone in the corridors of power in
Pakistan care? Nor is the U.S. Marines presence restricted to
Islamabad. As some of us had been writing much earlier, they had
been spotted in and around Tarbela also - where our military's
Special Operation Task Force is located. It now transpires that
there are already 300 plus U.S. military personnel in this area -
the so-called 'trainers.' Of course, given the poor counter
insurgency record of the U.S., heaven knows what training they will
impart to our much better trained army! Also, if they were only
'trainers' why would the U.S. buy a large plot of land around
Tarbela and send twenty large containers there.... As if all these
U.S. military and undercover officials crawling all over the
sensitive parts of the country were not enough, it appears that the
U.S. is also using private covert setups to further a dubious and
threatening agenda within Pakistan.... Unless someone can stop the
rot, it is only a matter of time before the U.S. forces cross over
physically on the ground from across Afghanistan. They may not get
the triggers they plan on seizing but they can trigger a push
towards total anarchy. Our rulers are certainly in self-destruct
mode aided and abetted by the U.S."

"Case Against Sufi," an editorial in the Lahore-based liberal
English daily "The Post" (cir. 5,000) (08/05)

"Now the arrest of Sufi Muhammad should bring normalcy in the area
and steps should be taken so that about two million displaced people
should live in peace in their areas.... This opportunity should not
be lost by giving another chance to the militants."

"Revisiting Gojra," an editorial in the Lahore-based liberal English
language daily "Daily Times" (cir. 10,000) (08/05)

"Gojra was no foreign hand. It was done by the clerics wedded to
the extremist rhetoric of certain sections of our religious
establishment. The signature of an extremist outfit was clearly
there, particularly among the incendiary charges found on the scene
of disaster. Let us not forget that this is not going to stop
unless the local administration is strengthened and the chief
minister takes a closer look at South Punjab from where the
destroyers of Gojra had come."

"Muslims Too Should Mourn Killing Of Gojra Christians," an editorial
in the Islamabad-based rightist English daily "Pakistan Observer"
(cir. 5,000) (08/05)

"The Christians are justified in their protests and we would urge
Muslims as well to come forward and express fullest possible
solidarity with the aggrieved community. Muslims too should take
out processions to condemn the incident and send a strong signal to
a handful of troublemakers that there was no place for them in the
civilized society."

"In The Name Of Religion," an op-ed by Yaqoob Khan Bangash in the
Karachi-based center-left independent national English daily "Dawn"
(cir. 55,000) (08/05)

"It is clear that some aspects of the recent attacks have been
clearly planned, either by local extremists or by national or
international groups whose reading of religion is markedly different
from that of the average Muslim's. The failure of the local
administration, which in all these incidents was a silent spectator,
is inexcusable. Whatever the specific motives behind a particular
attack, it is clear that intolerance still thrives in Pakistan, be
it against another religion or another sect."

(All circulation figures are based on estimation)
Feierstein