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.

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News Stories
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"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."

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Editorials/Op-eds
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"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