PAKISTAN MEDIA REACTION: NOVEMBER 17, 2009

UNCLAS ISLAMABAD 002760

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KMDR KPAO OIIP OPRC PGOV PREL PK
SUBJECT: PAKISTAN MEDIA REACTION: NOVEMBER 17, 2009

Summary: Several major newspapers highlighted reports that top
editors and executives of 21 leading international media
organizations urged the government of Pakistan to take necessary
steps to ensure the safety of all foreign media personnel working in
the country. Newspapers published the U.S. Embassy's statement
contradicting press reports as "false and malicious" that U.S. has
shifted Tehrik Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Hakimullah Mehsud and
others to Afghanistan. All dailies highlighted a NYT report that
NSA Jones delivered President Obama's letter to President Zardari
urging Islamabad to expand military offensive against Taliban and Al
Qaeda. Commenting on the LA Times report about the CIA's funding
for ISI, "Daily Times" opined that "this stream of payment is a
clandestine counterpart to the rewards publicly offered by the U.S.
State Department." TV networks reported a bomb explosion in Quetta
that killed one person, and wounded a senior policeman on Tuesday
morning. End Summary.

TOP STORIES

News Story: Editors Criticize Article Against WSJ Reporter "Dawn"
(11/17)

"Top executives and editors of 21 leading international media
organizations have collectively voiced concern over publication of
an article in a Pakistani national newspaper, accusing Mathew
Rosenberg, a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, of working
for foreign intelligence services and even the U.S. military
contractor Blackwater. In a joint letter addressed to Information
Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira, they said the development had caused
alarm among international media organizations working in the country
and urged the government to take all possible steps to ensure the
safety of all media personnel in future." (Story also covered in
'The News,' 'Jang')

News Story: U.S. Embassy Denies Report On TTP "The News" (11/17)

"The U.S. Embassy has contradicted a news item appearing in section
of the press which alleged that the U.S. had shifted
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Chief Hakimullah Mehsud and other
Taliban leadership to Afghanistan. Terming the allegations false and
malicious, the statement said the United States extended support to
the decisive military action being taken by the Pakistan military
forces against militants in South Waziristan and elsewhere." (Story
also covered in 'Jang,' Express,' 'Pakistan,' 'Islam,' 'Mashriq,'
'Al-Akhbar')

News Story: U.S. Steps Up Pressure On Pakistan "Dawn" (11/17)

"The United States has stepped up pressure on Pakistan to expand its
fight against Taliban and Al Qaeda militants, warning that the
success of its new Afghanistan strategy depends on it, The New York
Times reported on Monday. President Obama sent a letter to President
Asif Ali Zardari saying he expected the Pakistani leader to rally
political and national security institutions in a united campaign
against extremists, the Times reported, citing a U.S. official who
was briefed on the letter's contents." (Story also front paged in
all newspapers)

News Story: Nothing To Be Done At The Prodding Of Others: Qureshi
"Dawn" (11/17)

"Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Monday that U.S.
President Barrack Obama in his letter to President Asif Ali Zardari
had not asked Pakistan to 'do more.' Talking to newsmen in Multan,
the Minister said it was Pakistan which had to decide the course of
the military operation against militants." (Story also front paged
in all newspapers)

TERRORISM/MILITARY ISSUES

News Story: Gilani Rules Out Talks With 'Beasts' "Dawn" (11/17)

"Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told the National Assembly on
Monday it was no time to talk to militants he called beasts and said
the ongoing military operation in South Waziristan would be
conclusive."

News Story: Islamabad Taking Militant Challenge Very Seriously:
State Department "Daily times" (11/17)

"Recognizing Pakistan's recent anti-Taliban actions, the U.S. on
Monday said it had confidence in Islamabad's ability to take on the
challenge. U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly, when asked in
a daily briefing to comment on the backdrop of a news story in The
New Yorker about Washington pressuring Pakistan on further
anti-Taliban actions, stressed that Islamabad itself was taking the
challenge very seriously."

News Story: 4 Killed In Yet Another Suicide Attack On Peshawar
Police "Daily Times" (11/17)

"At least four people were killed and 43 injured when a suicide
bomber targeted Badabher police station on Monday. In the fifth
suicide attack in eight days to hit the city, the attacker set off
his bomb after being challenged at a check-post near the police
station on Peshawar's outskirts." (Story also front paged in all
newspapers)

News Story: Osama Is Alive, Rahimullah Tells Geo "Daily Times"
(11/17)

"Osama bin Laden is alive, revealed The News' Resident Editor in
Peshawar Rahimullah Yusufzai in Geo News program Aaj Kamran Key
Saath on Monday. He said the US would continue an operation in the
name of al-Qaeda until Osama is captured or killed. He said al-Qaeda
members from Pakistan and Afghanistan could not operate in Britain
or the U.S."

News Story: Four Insurgents Killed In Swat "The News" (11/17)

"Security forces claimed to have killed four insurgents near
Gulibagh in the volatile Swat district while the body of a militant
commander was found dumped in the Sambat area of Matta Tehsil, the
Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said."

News Story: New U.S. Policy May Include Exit Strategy "Dawn" (11/17)


"The United States is seeking a framework to bring troops home from
Afghanistan and an exit strategy may factor in the new U.S. policy
for the Pak-Afghan region as well, says a senior White House aide.
The major policy statement by White House senior adviser David
Axelrod was backed also by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
who said the Obama administration held 'no illusions' about
transforming Afghanistan into a functional modern democracy."

Editorial: The CIA-ISI Connection, an editorial in the Lahore-based
liberal English language daily "Daily Times" (cir. 10,000) (11/17)

"A report in The Los Angeles Times says the American Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA) has funneled hundreds of millions of
dollars to the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan since
9/11, accounting for as much as one-third of the latter's annual
budget. In addition, the ISI collected tens of millions of dollars
through a classified CIA program that pays for the capture or
killing of wanted militants. This stream of payments is a
clandestine counterpart to the rewards publicly offered by the US
State Department.... The report seems to have enough truth in it to
make the entire edifice of the story credible. The ISI is routinely
blamed for supporting the Taliban, even after 9/11, but things
appear somewhat different now.... The new conjuncture therefore
suggests that at least as far as the Pakistani militants are
concerned, the ISI is in the forefront of the struggle against
terrorism. Whether, for strategic reasons stretching back to the
abandonment of Afghanistan in 1989 by the U.S. and the West, the ISI
nevertheless continues to support the Afghan Taliban remains a moot
point."

Editorial: 'Do more' Mantra, "The Nation" an editorial in the
center-right national English daily "The Nation" (cir. 20,000)
(11/17)

"There seems to be a new onslaught of pressure by the U.S. on
Pakistan, despite the fact that the U.S. has never had so much
official compliance from the Pakistani state as it does at present.
Yet the U.S. is not satisfied and the reason is fairly apparent by
now. It would appear that the military has not got itself into a
quagmire in SWA, unlike NATO and the U.S. military in Afghanistan.
This means that the U.S. Will find it much harder to convince the
world that Pakistan's nuclear assets must be handed over to
international, that is American, control. Yet the U.S. had
everything else in place for this purpose including a special team
to grab these assets.... Now the U.S. wants to formally create a war
zone in the whole of Pakistan. That is effectively the message
General Jones carried for President Zardari according to The New
York Times...."

Editorial: Nuclear Assets Must Be Strongly Safeguarded, an editorial
an editorial in the Lahore-based populist center-right Urdu daily
"Khabrain" (cir. 50,000) (11/17)

"Moreover, reports are also appearing about the infamous U.S.
organization Blackwater. Although according to the civilian and
military leadership Pakistan's nuclear assets are completely safe,
but there should be strong security arrangements around sensitive
areas so that an unpleasant incident is avoided. This is necessary
because the U.S. or another country might take some extraordinary
steps using such an incident as pretext."

Editorial: U.S. Should Take Pakistan On-Board, an editorial in the
Islamabad-based rightist English daily "Pakistan Observer" (cir.
5,000) (11/17)

"For the new strategy, Obama would not only have to consider the
opposing views within his administration about the level of
additional troops to be deployed in Afghanistan but should also lay
down targets and a time frame for an exit strategy. What the U.S.
needs is a grand idea that could help stabilize the situation,
pacify the Taliban, build the capacity of Afghan security forces and
above all provision of more resources for reconstruction of the war
torn country."

Editorial: Millions of People in the Region Looking Towards
Pakistani Leadership, an editorial in the Karachi-based, pro-Taliban
Jihadi Urdu daily "Islam" (cir. 15,000) (11/17)

"The sensational statement by U.S. General David H. Petraeus, in
which he said that his country is launching drone attacks in
Pakistan in connivance with our own government, has exposed the
hypocrisy of our rulers. It means that our government has given the
U.S. a license to kill innocent Pakistanis. We think that until our
rulers refute Gen Petraeus' statement, their sincerity with the
country and the Pakistani nation will remain questionable."

Editorial: Petraeus' Statement on Drone Attacks Again Puts Rulers in
The Dock, an editorial in the popular rightist Urdu-language daily
"Ausaf" (cir. 10,000) (11/17)

"Prime Minister Gilani has expressed his optimism that the Obama
administration will take Pakistan on board regarding any change in
the United States' Afghan policy. But we think that our leadership
must avoid assigning any powers to Washington to bring about any
changes in this region. In fact, as a responsible state Pakistan
deserves the right to play most important role in South Asia and we
should leave no stone unturned to maintain this privileged position
of our country."

Editorial: TTP In Orakzai, an editorial in the Karachi-based
center-left independent national English daily "Dawn" (cir. 55,000)
(11/17)

"With the TTP's strongholds in South Waziristan, the erstwhile
'centre of gravity' of militancy, going down like ninepins, another
tribal agency is beginning to take centre stage in the
counter-insurgency under way in Fata and northwest Pakistan -
Orakzai Agency.... Aerial pounding alone, however, will not do much
to disrupt the TTP that may be regrouping in Orakzai. Past
experience has shown that without boots on the ground, the militants
are by and large able to run their affairs unimpeded."

Editorial: Curbing Militancy, an editorial in the populist, often
sensational national English daily "The News" (cir. 55,000) (11/17)

"Militants are under fire across the north. Apart from the 23 killed
in Orakzai and South Waziristan, 22 bodies are reported also to have
been recovered from Swat and Buner. It is somewhat reassuring to
learn that the effort against the Taliban continues in Malakand and
that an effort now seems to be on to clamp down on militants
everywhere.... But to ensure there is no possibility of the Taliban
re-asserting themselves some months or even years down the line more
needs to be done."

Opinion: Arrival of U.S. Squad?, an op-ed by Muhammad Akbar Alam an
editorial in the Lahore-based independent Urdu daily "Waqt" (circ.
5000) (11/17)

"As usual, the U.S. Embassy spokesman and our Foreign Ministry have
denied a report on the arrival of a special U.S. squad in Pakistan.
The U.S. spokesman has termed the report as baseless.... The U.S.
Embassy is responsible for safeguarding its country's interests and
therefore issuing a denial and terming a report baseless is its
duty. As far as our Foreign Ministry is concerned, from the minister
down to the junior level, there is no dearth of pro-U.S. officials
there, for whom it is a routine to remain vigilant about reports
that go against U.S. interests and then issue denials.... One point
that the Seymour Hersh story does not elaborate upon is: who will
announce the atomic emergency [prompting the special squad into
action]? Islamabad or Washington? I fear that the U.S. might make
such an announcement itself with the false claim that Pakistan asked
it for help. Once the special squad completes its mission, it will
be said that Pakistan neither asked for help nor declared a nuclear
emergency, hence there should be an investigation into the matter."


Opinion: Af-Pak Policy A Mistake, an op-ed by Shahid Javed Burki in
the Karachi-based center-left independent national English daily
"Dawn" (cir. 55,000) (11/17)

"Pakistan is not Afghanistan. By coupling the two countries together
and calling it 'Af-Pak,' the United States' intention was to make
policymaking simpler. It may have had the opposite effect....
Treating Pakistan in the context of an Af-Pak strategy would be a
colossal mistake. The West under the leadership of President Barack
Obama needs two different strategies, one for Pakistan and the other
for Afghanistan."

Opinion: Talking The Walk, an op-ed by Akbar Nasir Khan in the
populist, often sensational national English daily "The News" (cir.
55,000) (11/17)

"So what makes Ms. Clinton different? It is her attempt to "turn the
page" and write a new chapter on people-to-people diplomacy. Even if
you believe the more it changes, the more it stays the same, she did
make it look like a good idea. Good or bad, time will tell.... Ms.
Clinton also emphasized the communication gap between the two
nations and vowed to work on it from the American end. I think it
might be better for us to work on it from our side as well. How
would it help us if we keep on going with the 'baby talk' and they
have to come to our level to make us 'understand'? Would it change
anything? We have to mature to be taken seriously. She can say that
she spent eight years as a senator opposing the Bush administration
and its policies but she cannot expect us to 'understand' that
overnight. We do need to be heard because we have been on the
receiving end in real sense, facing consequences of the policies
that have put us through these testing times."

Opinion: Talking To 'Good' Taliban, an op-ed by Iftekhar A. Khan in
the center-right national English daily "The Nation" (cir. 20,000)
(11/17)

"The U.S. is surreptitiously seeking Saudi help to negotiate with
the 'good' Taliban in Afghanistan.... While bullish military
generals demand for more troops, their civilian counterparts advise
against it. Even the hawkish Defence Secretary, Roberts Gates, is
weighing the strategy of compromise with the Taliban. Conceivably,
the U.S. is on the verge of losing the war in Afghanistan, hence the
furtive moves to negotiate with the 'good' Taliban. However, the
problem is how to distinguish between the 'good' and the 'bad'
Taliban, as both share the common goal of ridding their country of
the occupation forces. Anyway, when the U.S. considers negotiating
with the Taliban, it will exert immense pressure on us (Pakistan)
against making peace agreements with the tribesmen in FATA. But what
is good for the imperialist power may not be good for us."

MISCELLANEOUS

News Story: USEFP Celebrates Education Week "Daily Times" (11/17)

"To observe International Education Week 2009, the United States
Education Foundation Pakistan (USEFP) on Monday started a series of
informative events for local students and counselors. Dr Grace
Clarke, the USEFP executive director, was the chief guest in the
ceremony opening the series of events."
News Story: 'Blackwater' Tries To Teach 'Lesson' To The Nation's
Staffer "The Nation" (11/17)

"A photojournalist of Nawa-i-Waqt remained into the custody of
police for more than 45 minutes on the directives of high-ups of
capital police only for taking snaps of a suspected rented house of
Backwater Sunday night. According to details, the police intercepted
photographer Sajjad Haider at a picket near Super Market when he was
driving his car PV55."

News Story: Iran, India Discuss Pipeline, Terror "Dawn" (11/17)

"India and Iran on Monday discussed the fallout of terrorism in
Pakistan on their own security and set up a group of experts to meet
within two weeks to nudge the $7.4 billion Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI)
gas pipeline among other projects, Iranian diplomats said."

(All circulation figures are based on estimation)
Patterson