PAKISTAN MEDIA REACTION: DECEMBER 02, 2009

UNCLAS ISLAMABAD 002889 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KMDR KPAO OIIP OPRC PGOV PREL PK SUBJECT: PAKISTAN MEDIA REACTION: DECEMBER 02, 2009 Summary: All TV networks telecast live Wednesday morning President Obama's address announcing the new Afghan Strategy. Newspapers highlighted reports that President Obama is sending 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. Commenting on the subject, "Daily Times," cautioned that "any knee-jerk response may not only be futile, it may actually unleash unforeseen and unintended consequences." Several major dailies reported Pakistan Foreign Minister Qureshi's remarks that "Pakistan's problem was not increase in troops in Afghanistan, but their positions of deployment." Secretary of State Clinton's statement, made while addressing American business executives, that the "U.S. can ignore Pakistan only at its own peril" also received prominent display. Reports of the assassination of an NWFP legislator in a suicide attack in Swat garnered front-page coverage. "The News," quoted Prime Minister Gilani who terming the U.S. drone attacks as "counterproductive." Some dailies also reported that an American and a Swiss national along with their facilitator were detained at Landi-Kotal for entering the tribal district without permission. End Summary. TOP STORIES News Story: New Strategy For Afghanistan: U.S. Going For Troop Surge; Withdrawal In Three Years "Dawn" (12/02) "U.S. President Barack Obama is sending 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan but plans to conclude the war and withdraw most American troops within three years, White House officials said on Tuesday. 'We came to that determination through a series of deliberations and getting a strategy for how we go forward in Afghanistan,' White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told CNN." (Story also covered in all newspapers) News Story: Our Concern Is About Area Of Deployment: Qureshi "Dawn" (12/02) "Pakistan had been informed by the U.S. that it planned to increase troops in Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said in Frankfurt on Tuesday, Mr. Qureshi said at a press conference. He said that U.S. National Security Adviser James Jones had contacted Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in Frankfurt and informed him about the U.S. decision. Mr. Qureshi said that Pakistan had no objection to the increase in the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, but wanted details about their deployment." (Story also covered in all newspapers) News Story: U.S. Can Ignore Pakistan Only At Its Own Peril: Hillary "Dawn" (12/02) "U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday that the United States could ignore Pakistan only at its own peril. In an address to American business executives, Secretary Clinton pointed out that the United States could not afford to ignore threats emanating from far-off places because on Sept 11, 2001 it learned how dangerous it was to do so." (Story also covered in all newspapers) News Story: Success In Afghanistan Linked To Pakistan: U.S. President "Dawn" (12/02) "President Barack Obama said on Tuesday that U.S. success in Afghanistan, where he plans to deploy 30,000 more troops, was 'inextricably linked' to Washington's partnership with Pakistan. 'We will act with the full recognition that our success in Afghanistan is inextricably linked to our partnership with Pakistan,' Obama told cadets at the U.S. military academy at West Point, in a speech televised live nationwide." (Story also covered in all newspapers) News Story: Obama, Karzai Discuss New U.S. Afghan Policy "Dawn" (12/02) "Afghan President Hamid Karzai and President Barack Obama discussed the new U.S. policy for Afghanistan during an hour-long videoconference call on Tuesday morning. Karzai's office said the two leaders discussed in detail the security, political, military and economic aspects of the strategy." News Story: No Exit But Strategy Is Transfer And Transition: Mullen "The Nation" (12/02) "Welcoming President Barack Obama's new Afghan policy, the top US military commander today said the decision to start withdrawing of troops from the war-torn country in 18 months is not an exit, but it is a strategy of transfer and transition, Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chief of Staff, was quoted as saying by American Forces Press Service." TERRORISM/MILITARY ISSUES News Story: Security Man Killed In Islamabad Suicide Blast "The News" (12/02) "A Navy official Ashraf has been killed and three others injured in a suicide attack at the entrance of Naval Headquarters at 1330 PST, Wednesday, December 02, in sector E-8 in Islamabad. According to sources, a suicide bomber aged between 16 to 17 years blew up himself when Naval guards stopped him at the entrance of Naval Headquarters. Deputy Inspector General Islamabad Police Bin Yameen has confirmed that it was a suicide attack." News Story: Suicide Bomber Kills ANP Lawmaker "Dawn" (12/02) "A teenaged suicide bomber blew himself up, killing ANP lawmaker Shamsher Ali Khan as he was seeing off guests who had come to his house in Mingora to offer Eid greetings on Tuesday. Shamsher Khan's two brothers and nine other people were injured." (Story also covered in all newspapers) News Story: Drone Attacks Blocking Way To Success, Says PM "The News" (12/02) "Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, terming U.S. drone attacks counterproductive, said that it is creating a lot of anti-American sentiment all over the country and without the public support we cannot win this war, the Prime Minister said in an interview with German Magazine Der Spiegel." News Story: War On Terror Was Forced Upon Us, Says Gilani "Daily Times" (12/02) "Pakistan should not be looked upon only as a country at war and the problem of terrorism and the war against it were 'thrust upon us,' Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said on Tuesday. In an interview with German paper SPIEGEL Online, Gilani said the terrorism in the region was a result of the world's alienation of it." News Story: No Need Of Pak-U.S. Joint Command Against Qaeda: FM "The Nation" (12/02) "Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said there is no need of joint command between Pakistan and the United States regarding actions against Al-Qaeda and Taliban, while talking to a British news agency on Tuesday." News Story: U.S., Swiss Nationals Held In Torkham "Daily Times," "The Nation" (12/02) "An American, a Swiss and their local facilitator were brought to Peshawar for interrogation on Tuesday after they were arrested from the Torkham border crossing on Monday. 'We are investigating what forced the two foreigners to attempt crossing the border into Afghanistan,' officials told 'Daily Times.' The American was identified as Nicole Tank and the Swiss as Matayse." News Story: Terrorists Being Targeted In Orakzai, Kurram: ISPR "Daily Times" (12/02) "The military is targeting terrorists in Orakzai and Kurram agencies and has destroyed several training centers in the areas, the Inter-Services Public Relations said on Tuesday. Speaking on Radio Pakistan, ISPR Director General Major General Athar Abbas said the military was moving according to its plans and terrorists had reportedly fled to Orakzai and Kurram, where their hideouts were being targeted. He said around 600 terrorists had been killed and 22 arrested so far in the Operation Rah-e-Nijat in South Waziristan, adding that about 70 army officers and Jawans had also been martyred during the operation." News Story: Four Militants Killed In Bara "The News" (12/02) "The Frontier Corps (FC) officials claimed killing four militants in the Kamarkhel area of Bara during an exchange of fire. Local sources told 'The News' that five houses, owned by the wanted militants, were demolished in the Yousaf Talab area of Bara." (Story also covered in all newspapers) Editorial: Afghan Policy Review, an editorial in the Lahore-based liberal English language daily "Daily Times" (cir. 10,000) (12/02) "Seemingly, the future military plan will be to corner the Taliban at the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and then deliver barrages of drone aircraft attacks against enemy pockets while continuing the fagade of a military and economic alliance with Pakistan. This strategy too is expected to furnish only limited success in a spiraling conflict. Caution in all the possible scenarios remains inescapable. The problem is knotty and needs measured handling, taking into account the nuances and sensitivities of the forces-that-be. Any knee-jerk response may not only be futile, it may actually unleash unforeseen and unintended consequences." Editorial: Obama Surrenders To Warmongers, an editorial in the Islamabad-based rightist English daily "Pakistan Observer" (cir. 5,000) (12/02) "There was parallel pressure on President Obama from warmongers from within his administration and the armament industry, interest of which is best served by consumption of arms and ammunition of all sorts in situations like Afghanistan and Iraq. And it seems they ultimately prevailed and Obama, who came to power with the promise of change, fell victim to their machinations for continuation of the conflict in Afghanistan. We wish the world community should have exerted pressure on Obama advising him against adventurism but now the history is destined to decide things." Editorial: Threats And Lure, an editorial in the center-right national English daily "The Nation" (cir. 20,000) (12/02) "The gist of the letter that became public, courtesy the American media, and observations of unnamed U.S. officials provide an interesting insight about how the policymakers in Washington view Islamabad's significance and role in the anti-terrorism war and the difficulty in dealing with Pakistan. The view, 'We can't succeed without Pakistan,' is a strategic reality as seen by a senior administration official, contains food for thought for Pakistani leaders, if they had not grasped the point earlier.... The Obama administration should break the mould of the Bush era thinking that denied Pakistan the civilian nuclear technology it so generously offered to India, while the lack of conventional resources to undo the power scarcity was a problem for both, and Pakistan being its partner and a frontline state in the war on terror deserved preferential treatment." Editorial: U.S. And Britain's Insistence On Doing More, an editorial in liberal Urdu daily "Express" (cir. 25,000) (12/02) "American President Obama has warned Pakistan to desist from using Lashkar-e-Taiba and other terrorist outfits as strategic weapons.... Indian diplomacy seems to be instrumental in the change in the American attitude. Firstly, America never before talked of terrorist groups' usage as strategic weapons and secondly, American President has named Lashkar-e-Taiba which India had been accusing of 11/26 attacks in Mumbai.... The adventurism of last eight years in Afghanistan has not been fruitful and al-Qaeda and Taliban are getting strength once again. The need of the time for America and Britain is to play their due role in the campaign in Afghanistan instead of merely increasing pressure on Pakistan." Editorial: The 'Do More' Mantra, an editorial in the country's premier business newspaper, "Business Recorder" (cir. 25,000) (12/02) "A U.S. Senate report commissioned by Senator John F. Kerry, which was released on Monday, holds Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld and his top commander, General Tommy Franks responsible for al Qaeda leadership's slipping into Pakistan. The report sums up the consequences, maintaining that the neglect left the American people 'more vulnerable to terrorism, laying the foundation for today's protracted Afghan insurgency and inflaming the internal strife now endangering Pakistan.' Thus Pakistan is a victim of American negligence. Instead of hectoring Islamabad, Britain and US need to help it as it bears the brunt of terrorism." Editorial: U.S. Press Report And President Obama's Threat, an editorial in the Lahore-based populist center-right Urdu daily "Khabrain" (cir. 50,000) (12/02) "According to press reports, President Obama has warned Pakistan that America will be forced to take any action in Pakistan's western and southern border areas if Pakistan did not take effective action against the terrorists. Pakistan should take a stern note of the U.S. President's threat and should tell him that the war on terror is failing because of U.S. and its allies' incompetence and not because of Pakistan." Editorial: Prime Minister's Flat Refusal, an editorial in the popular rightist Urdu-language daily "Ausaf" (cir. 10,000) (12/02) "Despite the befitting retaliation from Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani over the 'do more' demand from U.S. President Barack Obama, the unfolding events in the region have exposed Washington's covert agenda. It seems that the U.S. has planned to not only occupy the natural resources in this part of the world but also intends to create difficulties for Pakistan as well as China by elevating India to the position of regional bulwark. We urge the government, politicians and the policy-making institutions to put aside their mutual differences and join hands to confront the U.S. designs." Editorial: New Threat To Pakistan from U.S. And Britain, an editorial in the Karachi-based, pro-Taliban Jihadi Urdu daily "Islam" (cir. 15,000) (12/02) "According to several analysts, the real objective of sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan is to cope with Pakistan and the Washington-Delhi-Kabul trio has decided to attack Pakistan. We think that our political and military leadership must develop a comprehensive strategy and take the entire nation on board to confront this threat to our country." Editorial: Become Standing Guards for Survival, an editorial in the Peshawar-based Urdu-language daily "Mashriq" (cir. 55,000) (12/02) "The latest threat from Washington and London seems the reiteration of their old tactics to pressurize Pakistan to follow the guidelines of these powers aimed at vested interests. We are a country replete with natural resources but a weak and irresolute leadership has made Pakistan a 'beggar state'. Our rulers must take immediate steps to achieve the goal of economic independence in order to safeguard the sovereignty of the country." Editorial: Swat Attack, an editorial in the Karachi-based center-left independent national English daily "Dawn" (cir. 55,000) (12/02) "The killing of Shamsher Ali Khan, an ANP member of the NWFP Assembly, in Swat yesterday is a grim reminder that the war against Maulana Fazlullah and his TTP militants has not yet been won. The problem appears to stem from the security forces' inability to capture or eliminate the top leadership of the militants in Swat.... The focus, therefore, needs to be on finding and capturing or eliminating the leaders of the Swat TTP who are still at large.... Operation Rah-i-Nijat in South Waziristan has cleared many of the Mehsud militants' strongholds, but no leader of note, local or foreign, has been captured or eliminated in the operation. There, too, there has been a lack of adequate human intelligence on the ground. Without a doubt, the security forces have fought bravely and achieved many successes in recent months. But the gains made could yet be lost if the TTP leaders are not captured or eliminated." Opinion: Absurd Demands & Accusations, an op-ed by Shireen M. Mazari in the center-right national English daily "The Nation" (cir. 20,000) (12/02) "Given the growing absurdities of the U.S. and its allies in this region, especially in relation to the unending demands being made on Pakistan, with no reciprocity, it is time for Pakistan to do a major rethink of its whole cooperation with these powers. Renegotiate the cooperation with the U.S. on Afghanistan, including terms for transit access to NATO supplies; demand an immediate end to the Indian presence in Afghanistan alongside the border areas with Pakistan and a clamping down of their covert activities from Afghan soil targeting Pakistan; throw out all the private military contractors, be they DynaCorp or Blackwater or any other; make the U.S. access in Pakistan more transparent; get Parliament to approve all agreements with external powers relating to military and security cooperation.... After laying our country's very existence on the line for the United States' misguided War on Terror, the time has come for Pakistan to demand rather than to continue giving in to U.S. interests." Opinion: The Ghost Of Tora Bora, an op-ed by Rafia Zakaria in the Karachi-based center-left independent national English daily "Dawn" (cir. 55,000) (12/02) "Not living up to the promise of returning to the rule of law as a defining principle of American initiatives abroad is not the only disappointment. While strong on rhetoric against both Al Qaeda and the Taliban, the American President has not defined U.S. objectives in the region. No American and certainly no Afghan or Pakistani knows at this moment whether U.S. objectives are nation-building, counter-insurgency, intelligence-gathering or peacemaking. The resulting confusion obfuscates whether the enemy in question is the Taliban, Al Qaeda or both. Like the Bush administration, the Obama dispensation has failed to unify the various branches of government to construct a cohesive strategy to tackle the war on terror. In the Pakistani case, this means that the U.S. military continues to supply the Pakistan Army with billions of dollars of equipment and aid concomitantly detracting from the power of the flailing civilian government.... The true tragedy of Tora Bora is not the fact that Osama bin Laden remains free. Instead, it is the fact that in being uncertain of its goals and evasive about its ideological and moral position and strategic aims, the United States has let Osama bin Laden dictate the terms of the war on terror." Opinion: The Taliban Mindset, an op-ed by Dr. Khalil Ahmad in the Lahore-based liberal English language daily "Daily Times" (cir. 10,000) (12/02) "What was sowed by the intellectual, political, religious, business, and military elites is today beginning to rear its ugly head and its consequences are affecting ordinary citizens in the form of absolute insecurity that threatens their very existence without any reprieve in sight. This tragedy is deeper than our imagination can fathom.... To fight this war we first have to admit that we are in the midst of an intellectual as well as a real war." Opinion: Increasing U.S. Influence, an op-ed by Muhammad Tahir Iqbal in the Lahore-based liberal English daily "The Post" (cir. 5,000) (12/02) "The Obama administration is again ready to send the reinforcement of 25,000 troops to Afghanistan impending more peril to the already volatile region. The terror has, now, crept into Pakistan with all its machination wreaking every other day its vengeance on the innocent citizens of Pakistan. The reign of terror has been let loose here.... To render this dismal scenario all the more worse, the Americans have found their true pals in Pakistan that can lend them all assistance they need to accomplish their designs. These American allies, ensconced in the power seats at Islamabad, in return want their reign secured and strengthened as reward of their friendship, and that is what they get staking sovereignty and integrity of Pakistan. Thanks to Pakistani media that has imparted acumen to the eye of a layman. Now nothing can remain in wraps for long. In recent times, there have been stories as to the suspicious but meaningful activities of the spreading U.S. network in Pakistan. The credible sources have this that these dubious and mysterious activities of the Americans are well aided by their true pals at Islamabad.... In this disturbed situation fraught with deception and hollow verbosity exhibited by our politicians, who are perhaps dumb and deaf over mounting U.S. interference in Pakistan." Opinion: Time To Listen To Saner Voices, an op-ed by Mahmood Sadiq in the Lahore-based liberal English daily "The Post" (cir. 5,000) (12/02) "President Obama continues facing the same old question - should he continue with his predecessor's course, which has caused great damage to the U.S. He missed the opportunity granted by a broad national mandate and the universal consensus against the Bush policies. One hopes he won't miss the chance this time when the people are demanding to do something about the national and world ailments.... With U.S. economy on an unrelenting decline and no military solution to Afghan problem in sight, Obama should ride the rising tide of the demand of 'do something' and dare to stare the hawks in the eye. If he again misses the opportunity, nothing would save him and his people from disaster." MISCELLANEOUS News Story: SC Moved To Search American Embassy "The News," "Daily Times" (12/02) "The Watan Party has filed a petition at the Lahore High Court, seeking directives to search the U.S. Embassy for the recovery of illegal weapons and evidences for the alleged U.S. involvement in terrorist activities in Pakistan. The counsel for the petitioners, Barrister Zafarullah Khan, cited reports that the ISI director general had shown proofs to the visiting CIA chief last month about his organization's involvement in the terrorist activities in Pakistan." News Story: Iranian Plan To Build 10 Uranium Plants Not A Bluff "Daily Times" (12/02) "Iran's plan to build 10 new uranium enrichment plants is not a 'bluff' and Tehran will go ahead with the program, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a televised interview on Tuesday." POLITICAL ISSUES News Story: Most Of Rs100bn Loans Written Off In Musharraf Era "The News" (12/02) "Industrialists, military men and politicians have got loans of over Rs100 billion written off from banks since 1985, the National Assembly Secretariat record has revealed. A big chunk of loans was written off during the regime of former President Pervez Musharraf." News Story: SC To Take Up Petitions Against NRO On Dec 7 "Dawn" (12/02) "After having failed to get parliamentary protection, the NRO beneficiaries are pinning their hopes on the Supreme Court which has fixed Dec 7 to begin hearing of petitions challenging the controversial law promulgated by former military ruler Gen. (Retd) Pervez Musharraf to grant amnesty to politicians, bureaucrats and holders of public offices involved in corruption and criminal cases." News Story: Zardari Fends Off Opponents, At Least For Now: U.S. Paper "Dawn" (12/02) "President Asif Ali Zardari appears to have fended off his opponents, at least for now, but the struggle has weakened him considerably, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday. In the process, he had to deal with pressures from opponents in the media, the courts, parliament and the military and despite these pressures he 'appears to have reasserted his grip on the presidency for the time being.'" Editorial: Evaporating, an editorial in the populist, often sensational national English daily "The News" (cir. 55,000) (12/02) "The Zardari presidency is clearly crumbling before our eyes and the president has little chance of avoiding this disaster, which is of his own making. Domestically he has lost the support of the media with but a few diehard exceptions.... The president is not going to go quietly and he will fight to retain what he can of his power and position, but the die is now cast - it is a matter of 'when' and not 'if'. It could have been so different had he kept a few more promises and not lost touch with an electorate that in reality was voting for his slain wife and not him as the leader of the hour. But it was not to be and the president who should never have been will be another sad footnote in our political history." (All circulation figures are based on estimation) Patterson