PAKISTAN MEDIA REACTION: SECRETARY CLINTON'S VISIT, USAID,

UNCLAS ISLAMABAD 002651 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KMDR KPAO OIIP OPRC PGOV PREL PK SUBJECT: PAKISTAN MEDIA REACTION: SECRETARY CLINTON'S VISIT, USAID, TERRORISM/MILITARY, POLITICAL, ECON/BUSINESS, MISCELLANEOUS - OCTOBER 31 - NOVEMBER 02, 2009 Summary: Secretary Clinton's Pakistan visit last week continued to garner media attention over the weekend. The visit spurred a vigorous public discussion about the nature of the U.S. - Pakistan relationship; the Secretary's openness to engagement with Pakistani publics contrasted sharply with the style of Pakistani politicians, earning her kudos even from critics. Reports and photographs of her meeting with tribal elders, a town-hall meeting with women, an interview with radio journalists, visiting the Rawalpindi Police Lines, and meeting with elected representatives were highlighted in all media. The local TV news channels covered her visit at length in hourly bulletins and special talk shows. Secretary Clinton's remarks that "Pakistan (is) not safe without disposing of Al Qaeda" received front page coverage as were questions raised by the public at her various public events. Several major newspapers ran editorials and columns on Secretary Clinton's visit in their weekend editions. The liberal English language "Daily Times" describe the visit as "a successful first big outing of the Secretary in Pakistan." In its editorial, "Something Different," the English language daily, "The News," called it "a triumph of style over content." End Summary. SECRETARY CLINTON'S VISIT News Story: Pakistan Not Safe Unless Qaeda Disposed Of: Hillary "Daily Times" (10/31) "As rescue workers searched for more bodies in the wreckage of one of the country's biggest bomb attacks in Peshawar on Wednesday, visiting U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Pakistan would never escape terror without disposing of Al Qaeda, Clinton told radio journalists." News Story: U.S. Not To Back Dictators In Future, Says Clinton "The News" (10/31) "U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday admitted in her meeting with Parliamentarians that the United States had made a mistake in past to support dictators but in the same breath she assured that this mistake would not be repeated in future.... Hillary Clinton held an interactive meeting with Farooq H. Naek, Chairman Senate, Dr. Fehmida Mirza and Parliamentarians of all shades of opinion at the Parliament House." News Story: Clinton Assailed Over Drone Raids "The Nation" (10/31) "U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton came face-to-face Friday with Pakistani anger over U.S. aerial drone attacks in tribal areas along the Afghan border, a strategy that U.S. officials say has succeeded in killing key terrorist leaders. In a series of public appearances on the final day of a three-day visit marked by blunt talk, Clinton refused to discuss the subject, which involves highly classified CIA operations. She would say only that 'there is a war going on,' and the Obama administration is committed to helping Pakistan defeat the insurgents and terrorists who threaten the stability of a nuclear-armed nation." News Story: Hillary Wants Action Beyond Waziristan "Dawn" (10/31) "U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday jacked up pressure on Pakistan to take on Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups beyond South Waziristan for a lasting solution to terrorism. 'With initial campaign in Swat and now in South Waziristan finished, I think the Pakistani military would have to go on to root out other terrorist groups or else they could come back to threaten Pakistan,' Ms. Clinton said at a town hall-style meeting of Pakistani professional women on the last day of her three day charm offensive." News Story: White House Defends Clinton's Remarks "The News" (10/31) "The White House is calling 'completely appropriate' Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's suggestion that Pakistani officials might know where top terrorists are hiding. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said on Friday that Clinton's public comments echoed what U.S. officials privately tell the Pakistanis. 'I think those remarks were completely appropriate,' Gibbs said." News Story: I Didn't Come Only For Happy Talk: Hillary "Dawn" (10/31) "U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday defended her decision to publicly air America's grievances against Pakistan, saying that she had not come to the country for 'happy talk' alone. Her three-day trip, which ended on Friday, was aimed at getting frank, open discussions going about the fight against terrorism - and that includes presenting U.S. concerns, Mrs. Clinton told CNN." News Story: U.S. Stands By Pakistan In War Against Terror: Hillary "The News" (10/31) "U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that terrorists are enemies of innocent people, killing naive children and women, hitting educational institutions and commercial centers in thickly populated areas. Hillary Clinton expressed solidarity with the police force and said that the U.S. stood by Pakistan in rooting out the menace of terrorism and securing the future of the country. She said that Pakistan and America were jointly fighting against terrorism to maintain peace in the world. 'We are facing a common threat and I am here to express solidarity with the police force,' the U.S. Secretary of State said." News Story: Pak Friends Listened To Me, Understood My Emotions: Clinton "The News" (10/31) "U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton left Pakistan, on completion of her three-day visit, in her special plane from Chaklala Airbase here at 9:00pm on Friday.... To a question of the 'Jang' reporter about her visit, Clinton said: 'If you are asking a conventional question that how much my Pakistan visit is successful, then I may not have proper answer to it.' However, she added, 'I have heard people, felt their sentiments, I believe that Pakistani friends would have listened to me and understand my emotions. I have sentiments of thanks for the Pakistani friends.' She said friendship relations could not be established by force, but 'I think the people heard me with patience, therefore, I believe that they would think over it.'" News Story: "U.S. Wants Women's Empowerment In Pakistan: Clinton" "The News" (10/31) "U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton came face to face with Pakistani women representing different segments of the society at a Town Hall session at the National Art Gallery in Islamabad on Friday.... Hillary Clinton said that her visit was 'different this time as \she aims to meet and address the people of Pakistan. Addressing the women of Pakistan, she said that the U.S. was keen to invest in education and empowerment of women in Pakistan." News Story: Who Were The "Pakhtun Elders" Who Met Clinton? "The News" (11/02) "A news source said the 'Pakhtun elders' who met U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Islamabad during her visit did not include anyone from conflict-hit South or North Waziristan and even Swat though it was reported that they came from these places." Editorial: Something Different an editorial in the populist, often sensational national English daily "The News" (cir. 55,000) (11/01) "Ms. Clinton's recent visit was a triumph of style over content - at least in the public domain. It was carefully stage-managed from start to finish and what we saw was a woman who has eased herself into the role vacated by Condoleezza Rice - who never got much closer to the public than playing cello and piano onstage. Ms. Clinton by contrast was well briefed and had a lawyerly way of answering questions that left you wondering if she had actually answered the question she was asked - or had answered a question she had asked herself unspoken." Editorial: Clinton's Encounter With Media an editorial in the Lahore-based liberal English language daily "Daily Times" (cir. 10,000) (11/01) "Ms. Clinton could fault the American diplomats stationed in Pakistan for not spreading the good word about American assistance effectively. But she also should look at her visit in the perspective of the general American image in the world in the aftermath of the Neocons of President George Bush. Considering how queered the pitch was, it was a successful first big outing of the Secretary in Pakistan." Editorial: Clinton's Call an editorial in the populist, often sensational national English daily "The News" (cir. 55,000) (10/31) "In realistic terms, going beyond rhetoric or wishful thinking, it is inevitable that we will need to work with the U.S. at least for some years to come. We cannot on our own hope to conquer that monster of terrorism that Washington's policies helped create. Nor do we have the economic or moral wherewithal to do this. Hillary Clinton has demonstrated a willingness to better understand concerns in Pakistan and to open wider the doors of communication. There are still plenty of reasons to be wary of U.S. intentions. But for now, the opportunities for a more open relation laid out by the Secretary of State need to be seized and utilized to pull our country out of the pit into which it has stumbled as a result of errors made in the past." Editorial: "Respect For Others' Freedom And Sovereignty is Necessary" an editorial in the leading mass circulation populist, often sensational Urdu daily "Jang" (cir. 300,000) (11/01) "During her recent visit to Pakistan, U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, said that Washington has the right to monitor the utilization of the aid it gives to Pakistan. Almost in all her meetings and other activities during her stay in Pakistan, the tone of Clinton's language appeared as if she was visiting a vassal state of the United States. If Washington wants to establish broad-based bilateral relations with Islamabad, it is necessary for the U.S. to not only respect the independence and sovereignty of Pakistan but also prevent other countries from interfering into our internal affairs." Editorial: Hillary's Brush With Reality an editorial in the country's premier business newspaper, "Business Recorder" (cir. 25,000) (11/02) "Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's interaction with a cross section of Pakistani society must have made her realize why there is growing criticism in Pakistan of the U.S. approach towards the country and some of Washington's policies.... The outburst of resentment in Pakistan against the conditions of Kerry-Lugar Law should make Washington realize that Pakistanis are highly sensitive when it comes to the preservation of national sovereignty." Editorial: Is Al Qaeda In Pakistan? an editorial in the Lahore-based liberal English language daily "Daily Times" (cir. 10,000) (11/02) "U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, talking about Al Qaeda, said in Lahore on Thursday that she found it 'hard to believe that nobody in your government knows where they are and couldn't get them if they really wanted to.'... Al Qaeda and its leaders could not locate themselves on the Durand Line as a line drawn on ground. If Osama bin Laden were to stand on it he would either fall on the Pakistani side or the Afghan side. The only conclusion one can draw is that there is obfuscation here and a measure of 'passing the buck' by two parties not fully in control of things. There is a possibility that there is also an insufficiency of intent to take on Al Qaeda and finish it off. Meanwhile Osama bin Laden teeters on the Durand Line." Editorial: Suspicions Galore an editorial in the center-right national English daily "The Nation" (cir. 20,000) (11/02) "If Secretary Hillary Clinton suspected Pakistan of hiding the truth about Al-Qaeda, she would have known by the time she left for home that those with whom she had interacted here had not been so enamored of her rationalization of questionable deals between the two governments. They had been, in fact, put off by her evasiveness when confronted with questions of concern to them and doubted her explanations in equal measure." Opinion: "What Was The Mission of Hillary Clinton's Visit?" an op-ed by Sikandar Hameed Lodhi in the leading mass circulation populist, often sensational Urdu daily "Jang" (cir. 300,000) (11/02) "The next few days will reveal what the mission of Hillary Clinton's visit was and to what extent did she succeed in achieving her goals. As far as U.S. interests are concerned, I think her trip was successful. She is the first high-ranking U.S. official who did not confine her visit to interaction with the Pakistani government but also reached out to different segments of the society. Hillary Clinton did so with some special objectives in her mind. Perhaps, she wanted to improve the image of her country in the eyes of ordinary Pakistanis and she undoubtedly succeeded in achieving this target." Editorial: "Senator Talha Mehmud's Efforts For Dr. Aafia Siddiqi's Dignified Release" an editorial in the Lahore-based independent Urdu daily "Din" (cir. 5000) (11/02) "Talking to journalists after a meeting, Senator Talha Mehmud, Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Interior, said that the Standing Committee has directed the Interior Ministry to make all possible efforts for the release of 6337 Pakistanis imprisoned abroad, and to make concerted efforts to secure the release and repatriation on Dr. Aafia Siddiqi, he said.... It would have been much better had parliamentarians raised Dr. Aafia's case during their meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton." (All circulation figures are based on estimation) Patterson