PAKISTAN MEDIA REACTION: MARCH 05, 2009

UNCLAS ISLAMABAD 000486 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KMDR KPAO OIIP OPRC PGOV PREL PK SUBJECT: PAKISTAN MEDIA REACTION: MARCH 05, 2009 Summary: National political stories as well as the follow-up reports on the Lahore shooting episode dominated headlines in all newspapers on Thursday. Newspapers reported that "Pakistan shared with Sri Lanka initial findings of the investigation into the Lahore attack." The government's "rejection" of the "FBI's offer" to probe into the Lahore attack also received prominent coverage. All major dailies highlighted report that the "government and Sufi Mohammad reached an understanding for enforcement of the 'Nizam-i-Adl' Regulation in Swat." In a front page story, the English daily, "The News," reported that the "NATO military chief asked Pakistan to do more" to eliminate the safe havens of terrorists deep inside Pakistani territory. A local Urdu newspaper, "Express" published an incorrect news story claiming that the "U.S. Consulate in Peshawar closed down following terror incident in Lahore." Newspapers ran editorials on a host of subjects including the overall security situation, the Swat peace deal, and the fallout of attack on Sri Lankan team. Commenting on the "lapses in security" in Lahore, the center-right daily, "The Nation," noted that the "lapse has put the country to shame and ridicule before the world community." Toeing the line, the prestigious daily, "Dawn," observed that "if security had been foolproof, there would have been no attackers and no causalities." Connoting the involvement of some neighboring countries in the Lahore incident, the Urdu daily, "Jang," advised that the "allies of the war on terror must find out those elements or countries who want to thwart the global efforts against terrorism and extremism." End Summary. -------------- News Stories -------------- "Initial Leads Shared With Sri Lankan Minister" "Dawn" (03/05) "Pakistan shared with Sri Lanka on Wednesday initial findings of the investigation into the Lahore attack, which suggest foreign involvement in the terror strike." "Lankan FM Has Full Confidence In Pak Probe" "The News" (03/05) "Pakistan has shared initial findings of the Tuesday attack on cricketers in Lahore with Sri Lanka, which has expressed full confidence in investigations being carried out by Pakistan in the tragic incident." "Government Declines FBI Probe Offer" "Dawn" (03/05) "Pakistan declined on Wednesday an offer made by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation to probe into the Lahore attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team, a well-placed source told 'Dawn.' The FBI offer was made during a meeting of the agency's Director Robert Mueller with President Asif Ali Zardari." "Zardari Vows To Bring 3/3 Perpetrators To Justice" "The News" (03/05) "President Asif Ali Zardari has said the perpetrators of the heinous terrorist assault on the Sri Lankan cricket team will be unearthed and dealt with iron hands. He said this in a meeting with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama, who called on him in Islamabad at the Presidency on Wednesday." "Expert Getting Close To 3/3 Attack Sponsors" "The News" (03/05) "An investigating team comprising top officials of the ISI, the MI, the IB and other agencies may be able to resolve by Thursday (today) the multi-million dollar mystery who had sponsored the daring attack on the Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore." "Lahore Commissioner Admits To 'Security Lapses'" "Dawn" (03/05) "The Commissioner of Lahore, Mr. Khusro Pervez, has admitted to a huge security failure which led to the attack on the Sri Lankan team in the city's busy Gulberg area, Lahore on Tuesday." "FBI Satisfied With Pak Mumbai Probe" "The News" (03/05) "Director Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Robert Mueller, while expressing satisfaction over Pakistan's findings with regard to last year's deadly terrorist attacks in Mumbai, hoped that Pakistan and India would collaborate with each other to bring the perpetrators to justice." "Understanding Reached With Sufi For Shariah Enforcement" "Dawn" (03/05) "The government and the Tehrik-i-Nifaz-i-Shariat-i-Muhammadi reached an understanding on Wednesday for enforcement of the Nizam-i-Adl Regulation in Malakand. Soon after the 17-point understanding was reached, security forces started vacating the Mamdheri center, once headquarters of the Swat Taliban." "Top NATO Military Chief Asks Islamabad To Do More" "The News" (03/05) "NATO's Supreme Allied Commander for Europe, U.S. Army Gen. Bantz J. Craddock, on Wednesday asked Pakistan to do more to eliminate the safe havens of terrorists deep inside the Pakistani territory and refused to give any timeframe for the withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan, while speaking to the Pakistani editors in Mons, Belgium." "Pakistan More Difficult Challenge For Obama" "The Nation" (03/05) "A top U.G. General Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute said in a speech to the World Affairs Council of Jacksonville, Florida, that Pakistan - home to three different insurgency groups - is likely to be an even more difficult challenge for President Obama in years to come." "Pakistan Navy To Host 'Aman 2009' Exercise" "Daily Times" (03/05) "The Pakistan Navy will host the exercise 'Aman 2009' from March 5 to 14, an official of the Inter-Services Public Relations announced on Wednesday. As many as 38 countries including the United States, Britain, China, France, Japan, Bangladesh, Turkey, Malaysia, Kuwait and Nigeria will participate in the exercise." "U.S. Consulate In Peshawar Closed Down Following Terrorism In Lahore" "Express" (03/05) "U.S. Consulate in Peshawar has been closed down temporarily following terror incident in Lahore recently. The Consulate was opened just two weeks back, but it was closed again yesterday, and all the staff had been moved to Islamabad. Besides the U.S. Consulate, all the officials of the UNICEF, UNHCR, and the foreign NGOs working on the Polio vaccine program have also been shifted to Islamabad immediately." "Efforts On to Seek Solecki's Release" "The News" (03/05) "Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Wednesday said all possible measure would be taken to ensure the safe release of UNHCR official John Solecki, while talking to a delegation of UNHCR led by its Country Representative Guenet Guebre-Christos in Islamabad." "Pakistan, U.S. Sort Out Differences On Coalition Support Fund (CSF) Bill Reimbursement" "The News" (03/05) "Pakistan and United States have sorted out differences on the format of reimbursement bill for rendering military services for fighting against Taliban supporters in the tribal areas in a bid to bring more transparency in funds utilization, a top official in the Finance Ministry told 'The News' on Wednesday." -------------- Editorials/Op-eds -------------- "An Unforgiveable Lapse," an editorial in the center-right national English daily "The Nation" (cir. 20,000) (03/05) "The lapse has put the country to shame and ridicule before the world community and reinforced the feeling among its people that if the law enforcement agencies could not prevent the assault on the honored guests, they simply cannot take care of their lives and property. It must not go unpunished and those responsible for planning and executing the security arrangements should be taken to task." "Lapses In Security," an editorial in the Karachi-based center-left independent national English daily "Dawn" (cir. 55,000) (03/05) "Living in a state of denial is fast becoming a Pakistani specialty. At least one senior police officer in Punjab and Federal Minister insist there was no security lapse and that the police did all they could when the Sri Lankan cricket team came under attack. It is said that police officers died trying to save the Sri Lankans, who in the end escaped with injuries that were not life-threatening. This, it is claimed with an astonishing ignorance of the larger picture, is proof enough that there was no security lapse in Lahore on Tuesday morning.... But the point is this: the circumstances should have been different. If security had been foolproof, there would have been no attackers and no casualties." "Attack On Sri Lankan Team - Some Important Aspects," an editorial in the leading mass circulation centrist Urdu daily "Jang" (cir. 300,000) (03/05) "The allies of the war on terror must find out those elements or countries who want to thwart the global efforts against terrorism and extremism, and to create problems for Pakistan which is a frontline state in this drive. India has a long track-record of interfering in the internal affairs of its neighboring countries, and blaming them for all wrongs and troubles on its soil. Moreover, by and large Pakistanis believe that the Lahore attack has a striking resemblance with the Mumbai carnage too." "Pledge Not To Compromise With Terrorists: President, PM Should Also Recognize Designs Of America, India, Israel," an editorial in the second-largest, center-right nationalist Urdu daily "Nawa-i-Waqt" (cir. 125,000) (03/05) "In the aftermath of the attack on Sri Lankan cricket team, the government is busy strengthening the American stand on existence of terrorists safe havens in the tribal areas despite the fact that it has found clues on Indian intelligence agency's involvement in the attack.... The attack was aimed at proving Pakistan unsafe for sports and foreign investment. The attack was also meant to give credence to the need for waging the war of U.S. interests inside Pakistan." "No Closer To The Truth," an editorial in the centrist national English daily "The News" (cir. 55,000) (03/05) "We need to look at the matter with logic and rationality. We all know that groups capable of carrying out the well-planned and expertly executed attack we saw Tuesday exist within the country. It is useless to turn a blind eye to the presence of forces such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) which have the capacity to stage such acts of terrorism. They of course also have reason to try and extract revenge for the crackdown against the group carried out over the past few weeks, in the aftermath of what happened at Mumbai." "Attack And After," an editorial in the Lahore-based liberal English daily "The Post" (cir. 5,000) (03/05) "The government, on its part, has vowed to bring the culprits to book as soon as possible. Will the security agencies be able to do it remains a question. A more important aspect of this tragic incident is how to prevent such incidents from happening in the future.... After the attack, Pakistan has come into the limelight for all the wrong reasons." "Reaching Out For Denial Again," an editorial in the Lahore-based liberal English language daily "Daily Times" (cir. 10,000) (03/05) "The CID's report saying that the intent of the attack was to show Pakistan as a 'security risk' state is naove and behind on facts.... What is important for us to know is that our credibility is damaged internationally every time we accuse India and then have to beat a retreat in the face of facts. What is crucial is: whom does the international community believe? Getting the Pakistani population to believe something that the world doesn't is a dangerously isolating exercise." "This Is The Result Of The War On Terror," an op-ed by Imran Khan in the center-right national English daily "The Nation" (cir. 20,000) (03/05) "The country is sinking into these various crises sparked by the 'War on Terror.' Instead of a government prepared to represent its people, they have pursued Musharraf's policies. The only way to retrieve this situation is to pull Pakistan out of this 'War on Terror.' The Pakistan government must approach the Obama administration and say that unless it changes its strategy, well will sink deeper." "Truce Under Fire," an editorial in the centrist national English daily "The News" (cir. 55,000) (03/05) "The truce in Swat seems to be on the verge of falling apart.... It seems ridiculous that anyone thought the ceasefire with militants would hold. Now that the warnings in this respect have proven correct, there is a need to plan for the future. The government needs to sit down, think and determine how it intends to handle the issue. Attempts at deals have failed before, they will fail again." "Unease About Progress Of Swat Peace Deal," an editorial in the country's premier business newspaper, "Business Recorder" (cir. 25,000) (03/05) "The present problems seem to pertain only to the implementation schedule.... However, there is some confusion as to the contents of the final draft. Hence, the need for distinguishing between elements whom the President has described as 'extremist Taliban and terrorists' and those who belong to Sufi Mohammad's outfit. Such a distinction is imperative for, as Zardari has pointed out, 'this process of weaning reconcilable elements of an insurgency away from the irreconcilables has been mischaracterized in the West.'" "Keep The Peace," an editorial in the center-right national English daily "The Nation" (cir. 20,000) (03/05) "Getting the confidence of those who have been engaged in violence and taming them is no ordinary feat. What is more, to make the deal successful the government took great pains in convincing the U.S. that the initiative would prove to be effective in restoring peace in the restive area.... Thus both government and the Taliban must stay committed to the agreement and try to work for the cause of peace in the valley." "Security High alert," an editorial in liberal and independent Hyderabad based Sindhi Daily "Kawish" (Cir: 105,000) (03/05) "During the ongoing war on terror, Pakistan has remained under high security alert, but the Lahore attack yet again reminded us that the resourceful terrorist networks still exist in the midst of our cities, and the government seems to be ill-prepared, as huge cache of weapons was caught, but not a single terrorist was apprehended. What kind of this high alert is?" "Motives behind terrorist act in Lahore," an editorial in Hyderabad based liberal and independent Sindhi daily "Ibrat" (cir. 80,000) (03/05) "The attack on Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore has given a serious blow to the sports in Pakistan, and there is less likelihood of holding World Cricket Cup (scheduled to be held in 2011). The attack benefitted only those forces who accused Pakistan of its inability to control terrorist outfits, and it seriously damaged the credibility of the security apparatus of Pakistan." GFeierstein