PAKISTAN MEDIA REACTION: FEBRUARY 02, 2009

UNCLAS ISLAMABAD 000217 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KMDR KPAO OIIP OPRC PGOV PREL PK SUBJECT: PAKISTAN MEDIA REACTION: FEBRUARY 02, 2009 Summary: Reports of the "fresh clashes between security forces and militants" in Swat valley that killed at least 60 people including 43 civilians dominated headlines in all newspapers on Monday. Some major dailies highlighted Prime Minister Gilani's statement that the "government will adopt a new strategy to avoid collateral damage in Swat." Another important header dealt with the "Davos forum failed to come up with any new plan to stem, much less reverse, the global financial meltdown." The United Kingdom Army Chief Jock Stirrup's remarks that "U.S. strikes are not helping Pakistan" received wide coverage. Over the weekend, all major dailies gave prominent display to the U.S. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson's visit to Pakistan and meeting with senior officials. Today newspapers ran editorials on a variety of subjects including the security situation in Swat valley, Pak-Afghan Jirga, and bilateral ties with India. Commenting on the explosive situation of insurgency-hit Swat valley, the English daily, "The Nation," noted that the Pakistan "Army's involvement became inevitable after the government's failure to wrest back the restive region, once a popular tourist resort, from the control of Maulvi Fazalluah and his accomplices." Whereas, the other English daily, "The News," observed that the "failure of the writ of the state in Swat has been progressive throughout the entire tenure of this government, and for whatever reason we now face a strong and emboldened militant/extremist force who give every impression of being there to stay." The Peshawar-based Urdu daily, "Mashriq," opined that the "situation of Waziristan and Wana is also the outcome of our negligence and laxity, had the intelligentsia of Pakistan guided the nation, no individual would have dared to make Pakistan a colony of the United States, or to impose his or her version of Islam on others." End Summary. -------------- News Stories -------------- "Security Forces Regain Control Of Charbagh Swat; 43 Civilians, 16 Militants, A Soldier Killed As Fight Flares In Swat" "The Nation" (02/02) "At least 60 people, including 16 militants and one soldier, were killed and 25 others injured in the fresh clashes between security forces and militants in different areas of the Swat Valley on Sunday. According to an ISPR spokesman, security forces have taken control of various parts of Swat, including Charbagh, a stronghold of the militants." "New Strategy To Curb Militancy In Swat: Gilani" "Dawn" (02/02) "The government will adopt a new strategy to avoid collateral damage in Swat, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Sunday. Addressing a press conference, Mr. Gilani said: 'The dialogue did not work in Swat. Therefore, the government has to change its strategy from dialogue to military action. We are looking at various options. We have the capacity and the will.'" "Locals' Coop Needed To Eliminate Terrorists From Swat: ISPR" "Pakistan Observer" (02/02) "Director General, Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR),Major General Athar Abbas has said that local people's cooperation is critical to eliminate terrorist from the Swat valley. Speaking in a PTV program telecast on Sunday, the DG said 'we are hopeful in establishing peace in Swat. We would not let these militants to succeed in their designs.'" "JI Chief Accuses Establishment For Disturbing Swat Situation" "Jasarat" (02/02) "Chief of Jamaat-e-Islami, Qazi Hussain Ahmad has said that military operation in Swat is being done under U.S. orders, and the intelligence agencies are involved behind blowing up the schools. He said that the local people are not even allowed to bury the dead bodies and that the establishment is behind worsening the situation in Swat." "Obama Worried About Afghanistan, Not Kashmir" "Dawn" (02/02) "Richard Holbrooke, U.S. President Barack Obama's special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, arrives in Islamabad on February 9 for exploratory talks with Pakistani leaders. And even before his schedule was announced, the State Department made it obvious that Ambassador Holbrooke had a single-point agenda: winning the war in Afghanistan and FATA. He would not deal with other regional issues, certainly not occupied Kashmir." "No Answer At Davos Forum To Global Meltdown" "Dawn" (02/02) "Mired in indecision and uncertainty, the world's foremost gathering of the best and brightest in government and business failed to come up with any new plan to stem, much less reverse, the global financial meltdown. The five-day World Economic Forum in this Swiss alpine resort wrapped up on Sunday in the same atmosphere of doom and gloom that it began, with a realization that the depth of the crisis is still unknown and the solution remains elusive." "U.S. Strikes Not Helping Pakistan, Says U.K. Army Chief" "The News" (02/02) "Peace will only come to Afghanistan if Pakistan can sort out the militants on its side of the border, where the U.S. strikes are not helping, the head of Britain's armed forces told 'The Sunday Times' newspaper. Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup said only long term politics could bring peace on both sides of the frontier. The Chief of the defence staff said that weaknesses in Afghan President Hamid Karzai's government were causing difficulties for the 8,300 British troops battling Taliban in the troubled south of the country." "Congress To Take Up Pakistan Aid Package Soon" "Dawn" (02/02) "A bipartisan bill that seeks to triple U.S. economic assistance to Pakistan will soon be reintroduced in the new Congress, Ambassador Husain Haqqani said on Saturday. 'So long as the U.S. considers Pakistan an ally, the assistance will not stop,' he said while dismissing the impression that the proposed aid package known as the Biden-Lugar bill was dead.'" "No Taliban In Pakistan, Says Ahmad Mukhtar" "The News" (02/02) "Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar said in Faisalabad on Sunday, there are no Taliban in Pakistan while foreigner media is erroneously portraying tribal people as Taliban." "Hoti Resigns Over FATA Operation" "The Post" (02/02) "Federal Minister for Narcotics Mohammad Khan Hoti, announcing his resignation from his office due to differences with the party and military operation in FATA, has alleged that the provincial government has failed to honor its pledges with the masses and has left them at the mercy of terrorists. He made the announcement while addressing a news conference in Islamabad on Sunday." "Terrorism Will Continue To Threaten India" "Dawn" (02/02) "India will continue to face a serious Jihadi terrorist threat but lacks military options that have strategic-level effects without a significant risk of a military response by Pakistan. This is one of the key conclusions arrived at by Brian Michael Jenkins of US-based think tank Rand Corporation in his testimony presented before the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee last week (January 28)." "Pakistan Seeks Solid Proof, Joint Probe" "The Nation" (2/02) "In its response to Indian dossier on Mumbai attacks, most likely to be communicated tomorrow (Tuesday),Pakistan has sought concrete evidence and also urged New Delhi to drop its opposition to Islamabad's proposal of joint investigations, said a senior official in Islamabad on Sunday desiring not to be named." "Two Sets Of Queries Sent" "Dawn" (02/02) "Pakistan is probing the Mumbai terror attacks in a manner an investigating agency should proceed and has sent two sets of questions to India's dossier handed over to it, one of which has already been replied to, India's National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan said on Sunday, Mr. Narayanan told CNN-IBN channel." "Pakistan 'Taking Dossier Seriously'" Narayanan" "Daily Times" (02/02) "Pakistan appears to be taking the Indian dossier of evidence on the Mumbai terrorist attacks seriously so far, Indian National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan said on Sunday, but added that India would 'wait and see.'" "Narayanan, Mukherjee Differ On Pak Response" "The Nation" (2/02) "In an interview with CNN-IBN, Indian National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan's disclosure that Pakistan has reverted to India with regard to dossier about Mumbai attacks appears to have generated confusion as External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee has maintained that there has been no official response from Islamabad." "U.S. Congresswoman Seeks Law To Resolve Women Issues" "The News" (02/01) "U.S. Congresswoman Jackson Lee has underlined the need to formulate proper legislation aimed at resolving the issues faced by the women folk of the country. She said this while addressing female journalists in a meeting held in Islamabad at U.S. Embassy on Saturday." -------------- Editorials/Op-eds -------------- "Swat Flare-Up," an editorial in the center-right national English daily "The Nation" (cir. 20,000) (02/02) "The Army's involvement became inevitable after the government's failure to wrest back the restive region, once a popular tourist resort (Swat),from the control of Maulvi Fazlullah and his accomplices.... It is time its leadership put its act together and sincerely endeavored to contain the growth of terrorism, renouncing the policies of the clerics who have turned the province into the militants' stronghold." "The Wake-Up Call," an editorial in the centrist national English daily "The News" (cir. 55,000) (02/02) "The failure of the writ of the state in Swat has been progressive throughout the entire tenure of this government, and for whatever reason we now face a strong and emboldened militant/extremist force who give every impression of being there to stay. Recent moves to challenge them on their own turf may be belated, but they may just avert a complete loss of both writ and territory." "We Should Review Our Mistakes," an editorial in the Peshawar-based Urdu-language daily "Mashriq" (cir. 55,000) (02/02) "About three decades ago, one of our military dictators had decided to put forward his agenda as Islamic Jihad to show his allegiance to the United States, and consequently Pakistan had become a hub of 'Mujahedeen.' It was the responsibility of the politicians, scholars and intellectuals of Pakistani society to let the nation know the ground realities and the intentions of the dictator, but they did not perform their duty. Likewise, the situation of Waziristan and Wana is also the outcome of our negligence and laxity, had the intelligentsia of Pakistan guided the nation, no individual would have dared to make Pakistan a colony of the United States, or to impose his or her version of Islam on others." "Creating A Safe Space," an editorial in the centrist national English daily "The News" (cir. 55,000) (02/02) "This is not a war between nation states, it is a form of civil warfare and there is not going to be any armistice, no unilateral laying down of arms on all sides and a concerted rebuilding. There is not going to be the kind of peace that applies across entire territories either.... It is in the space between war and peace that the army, civil society organizations and the national and international NGOs need to work together to provide the social glue that will begin to stick it all back together again - which is precisely what the Taliban do not want to happen." "Pak-Afghan Jirga," an editorial in the Lahore-based liberal English daily "The Post" (cir. 5,000) (02/02) "Both countries' decision to convene Jirga is an effort to stabilize and bring peace to the tribal areas. The Jirga would be able to bring forth the political option, as the tribal elders would be asked to ensure that no militants - local or foreign - are to be given shelter in the tribal areas. In a bid to continue their efforts to fighting terrorism, to stop the cross-border activities and smuggling of narcotics, combined jirgas can play a very useful role.... Holding combined Jirgas would build mutual trust between Afghanistan and Pakistan and lead both nations, as well as the entire region, towards security, peace, social and economic prosperity." "IISS Report And President Zardari's Efforts To End American Attacks," an editorial in Karachi based left-wing Sindhi Daily "Awami Awaz" (Cir. 70,000) (02/02) "Report by IISS has warned us again that the allied forces are losing war in Afghanistan, and the continued U.S. drone attacks are making Pakistan, the most active ally of war on terror, angry. President Zardari, along with Prime Minister keeps demanding an end to these attacks which after all question Pakistan's sovereignty. We believe that the U.S. should respect authority of Pakistani government over its land. The anger and hatred among Pakistani population could cause damage which no one else but the U.S. and its Pakistani ally President Zardari have to bear." "Sad Story Of Dr. Aafia And Our Helplessness," an editorial note in the popular rightist Urdu-language daily "Ausaf" (cir. 10,000) (02/02) "If we cannot bring back Dr. Aafia Siddiqi to Pakistan from the U.S. detention center, and bring the culprit to justice, we don't deserve the title of a free and independent nation." "Military Commanders' Meeting And National Security," an editorial in the Lahore-based Urdu daily "Waqt" (cir. 5,000) (02/02) "India should give up its aggressive designs and come to the negotiating table. It should resolve every issue peacefully and resume the suspended dialogue process with Pakistan. Otherwise, India's political and military leadership should not forget that Pakistani forces are fully prepared to defend the country, and that they enjoy the nation's wholehearted support." "India's War Plans And Our Effective Preparations," an editorial in the second-largest, center-right nationalist Urdu daily "Nawa-i-Waqt" (cir. 125,000) (02/02) "BJP's Rajanath Singh has said that if his party comes to power in India, it would conduct surgical strikes inside Pakistan to destroy terrorist camps. On the other hand, Indian Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor has again threatened that the army remains prepared to attack Pakistan, and is awaiting a signal from the political leadership.... By saying that it is prepared for war means that India has an aggressive agenda and if not war, it will certainly go for surgical strikes the moment it gets a chance. Therefore, there is no need to delude ourselves further, or to trust U.S. and British reassurances as it was due to these countries' assurances in 1965 and 1971 that we suffered such a loss... We should fortify our defense and remain fully prepared to give a befitting response to India." "Deception Of Change Of American Policies," an editorial in the Karachi-based right-wing pro-Jamaat-e-Islami Urdu daily "Jasarat" (cir. 3,000) (02/02) "President Obama's aides in Washington are reportedly drafting a letter for Iran. Iran on the other hand has suggested that before doing that U.S. should withdraw its troops from foreign territories, and should apologize to Iran for past injustice done to it. We believe that unless Obama reverse Bush's policies, changes its perception and understanding of Iran, positive change will not occur, and contradiction in words and actions will not help resolve the problem either." Patterson