PAKISTAN MEDIA REACTION: APRIL 01, 2009

UNCLAS ISLAMABAD 000684

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KMDR KPAO OIIP OPRC PGOV PREL PK
SUBJECT: PAKISTAN MEDIA REACTION: APRIL 01, 2009

Summary: Reports on the Supreme Court ruling "restoring the
government of the Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif" dominated
front pages in all newspapers on Wednesday. Some major newspapers
highlighted the statement from the State Department terming the
verdict as the "country's internal matter." U.S. CENTCOM General
Petraeus remarks emphasizing that the "U.S. military is putting
'additional focus' on rooting out ties between Pakistan's
intelligence service and the Taliban" received extensive coverage in
all major dailies. Newspapers also underlined Prime Minister
Gilani's statement repudiating the U.S. officials' allegations of
ISI's connections with Taliban. All dailies reported that the "TTP
(Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan) chief Baitullah Mahsud claimed
responsibility" of terrorist attack on a police training center in
Lahore and warned of "attacks on the U.S. soil." Several major
dailies quoted Secretary Clinton as saying that "we must give
Pakistan the tools it needs to fight the extremists."

Most major dailies ran editorials on the restoration of the PML-N
government in Punjab as a result of the Supreme Court's interim
decree. However newspapers also continued to editorialize the
aftermath of terrorist attack in Lahore. The Lahore-based liberal
daily, "Daily Times," noted that "Pakistan's enemy number one is the
TTP, which commands the chaos-making activities of the Taliban in
the tribal areas and Swat and is now expanding its activity to
Punjab and the southern region, including Karachi." The
center-right national daily, "The Nation," advised that "we must
continue the effort to bring home to the Americans that the drone
strikes are not only hurting the sensitivities of the proud people
of this country, but also damaging the very cause for which they
were being made." A prominent op-ed writer noted in the centrist
national daily, "The News," that "our rulers take U.S. largesse and
allow the Pakistan army to go in and kill Pakistani citizens, more
space is created for violent extremists using terror as a strategy."
End Summary.

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News Stories
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"SC Hands Punjab Back To Shahbaz" "Dawn" (04/01)

"The Supreme Court restored Shahbaz Sharif as Chief Minister of
Punjab on Tuesday, a day before the Provincial Assembly was called
to choose his successor to the office which he had lost in
consequence of a ruling by the apex court on February 25, 2009."

"Shahbaz Bounces Back, Thanks to SC" "The News" (04/01)

"The Supreme Court on Tuesday suspended operation of its earlier
judgment of February 25, disqualifying PML-N President Mian Muhammad
Shahbaz Sharif from contesting elections and restored him as the
Punjab Chief Minister."

"Shahbaz's Restoration Pak Internal Matter: U.S." "The Nation"
(04/01)

"The United States on Tuesday offered no comments on Pakistan
Supreme Court's decision to restore PML-N leader Shahbaz Sharif as
Chief Minister of Punjab, saying it was the country's internal
matter, State Department Deputy spokesman Gordon Duguid said in
response to a question at the regular news briefing."

"U.S. Needs To Build Trust With Pakistan: Patraeus" "The Nation"
(04/01)

"The United States military will reserve the 'right of last resort'
to deal with the threats inside Pakistan, but it would prefer to
enable Pakistani military to do the job itself, Gen. David Patraeus
said in an interview with 'Fox News.' He said that U.S. military is
putting 'additional focus' on rooting out ties between Pakistan's
intelligence service and the Taliban...."

"PM Rejects Allegations Against Army, ISI" "Dawn" (04/01)

"Rejecting allegations leveled by U.S. general about ISI's relations
with Taliban militants, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said on
Tuesday that the Pakistan army and Inter-Services Intelligence were
professional institutions which supported democracy and were
answerable to the Prime Minister."
"Baitullah Claims Responsibility For Terror Attacks" "Dawn" (04/01)

"Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan has claimed responsibility for Monday's
terrorist attack on a police training school in Lahore and said such
attacks might be stepped up. He also warned of attacks on the U.S.
soil. He said that President Asif Zardari had permitted the U.S. to
carry out drone attacks and, therefore, Taliban would step up their
activities unless drone attacks in tribal areas are stooped."

"Baitullah Threatens Swoop On White House" "The News" (04/01)

"... Also, the top militant commander and leader of the banned
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP),threatened to show his power to the
world when his people would attack the U.S. capital as a reaction to
frequent drone attacks in the tribal areas and the reward on his
head."

"Three Top Al Qaeda Men Nabbed In Lahore" "The News" (04/01)

"In a major breakthrough secret agencies are understood to have
captured three high profile Al Qaeda members in Lahore on Tuesday in
the light of fresh information obtained from the captured Afghan
national during the Manawan attack. Officials were highly
optimistic that after the arrest of these Al Qaeda figures, whose
identities were being kept secret, the network of these terrorists
based in Lahore might be broken."

"Hillary's Overture To Taliban" "The News" (04/01)

"The International conference on Afghanistan in The Hague got off to
an auspicious start with U.S. Secretary of state Hillary Clinton
echoing Pakistan's long standing strategy that 'peace talks' are the
one of the several ways out to bring sustainable peace in the
region, as military means along had not delivered. The United
States offered Taliban fighters, who renounce violence in
Afghanistan, an 'honorable form of reconciliation' at a time when
more Pakistani soldiers have been killed than the combined
casualties of foreign troops in Afghanistan."

"Proposal For $2.8 Billion Military Aid" "Dawn" (04/01)

"The Obama administration plans to propose roughly $2.8 billion in
aid for the Pakistani military as a U.S. senate panel holds a full
committee hearing on a bill which seeks to triple U.S. economic
assistance to Pakistan. The military aid would be in addition to a
$7.5 billion aid package which will be reintroduced in the U.S.
Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on Wednesday."

"Senator Says No U.S. Aid Until Pakistan Hits Militants" "Dawn"
(04/01)

"Pakistan must prove it is willing to take on extremists within its
own borders before the U.S. delivers financial aid or weapons to the
government there, a key senator said on Tuesday. Senator Carl
Levin, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said he did not
believe the United States could buy stability in Pakistan."

"Pak-Afghan Issue Needs Balanced Approach: FM" "The Nation" (04/01)

"Pakistan on Tuesday urged the international community to adopt a
balanced approach towards Islamabad and Kabul based on the
principles of respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and
non-interference. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said this
while addressing the 'International Conference on Afghanistan' held
at The Hague."

"Zardari In Turkey For Talks With Karzai" "Dawn" (04/01)

"President Asif Ali Zardari arrived in Ankara on Tuesday for
Turkish-sponsored talks with Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai on
boosting cooperation against extremists, a Pakistani diplomat said."


"Pakistan Eager To Resume Talks With India" "Dawn" (04/01)

"Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Tuesday that Pakistan
was eager to resume 'as soon as possible' peace talks with India
that were stalled by the Mumbai terror attacks. Speaking on the
sidelines of a conference on Afghanistan in The Hague, he said his
government believed repairing relations between the nuclear-armed
neighbors was 'in Pakistan's interests.'"

"Singh Stalls Zardari's Bid to Revive Talks" "Dawn" (04/01)

"Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has all but rejected President
Asif Ali Zardari's suggestion to revive the composite dialogue
between their countries, saying Islamabad first needs to show
results in pursuit of the Mumbai attack plotters."

"UN Worried About Health Of Solecki" "Dawn" (04/01)

"The UNHGCR has expressed serious concern about the health of
kidnapped UNHCR official John Solecki and appealed to his kidnappers
to release him immediately, a statement issued by UN Quetta office
on Tuesday."

"No Bar On Militants In Swat - Destruction Continues Even After
Peace Accord" "The News" (04/01)

"Some people from the troubled Swat valley have alleged that the
militants had not put an end to their activities in Matta and Kabal
areas even after the peace deal as they were still dismantling the
half-destroyed houses to sell the material. They have also
complained that the militants were cutting and selling orchards in
the area."

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Editorials/Op-eds
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"At Last, Pakistan Zeroes In On Baitullah Mehsud," an editorial in
the Lahore-based liberal English language daily "Daily Times" (cir.
10,000) (04/01)

"Mehsud has claimed responsibility for the Manawan attack, and
threatened to carry out similar operations in the future. The fact
is that Pakistan's enemy number one is the TTP, which commands the
chaos-making activities of the Taliban in the tribal areas and Swat
and is now expanding its activity to Punjab and the southern region,
including Karachi.... The foremost threat is internal and it comes
directly from the Taliban-Al Qaeda combine, as proved by the
incident at Manawan. The Pakistani mind should now be concentrated
on the removal of this internal threat."

"Underlining Home Truths," an editorial in the center-right national
English daily "The Nation" (cir. 20,000) (04/01)

"We must continue the effort to bring home to the Americans that the
drone strikes are not only hurting the sensitivities of the proud
people of this country, but also damaging the very cause for which
they were being made. There are almost daily reminders of the death
of innocent civilians by pilotless planes, with vengeful terrorist
attacks taking place across Pakistan. The reconstruction
opportunity zones promised by President Bush three years ago would
not serve the purpose, if drones were allowed to play havoc at the
same time."

"The Aftermath," an editorial in the centrist national English daily
"The News" (cir. 55,000) (04/01)

"Yet we seem to be no closer than before to nailing the TTP leaders
who apparently plan such missions or those who help execute them.
There are still many questions that need answers. From where did
the terrorists acquire the armored personnel carrier they used to
enter the police school? Such vehicles can, after all, not be

easily bought in car showrooms. Why was the detailed intelligence
apparently provided to authorities about just such an attack
ignored.... And, perhaps most crucially of all, what are we doing
to protect ourselves against more such attacks?"

"A Pakistani-Centric Understanding Of Militancy," an op-ed by
Shireen M. Mazari in the centrist national English daily "The News"
(cir. 55,000) (04/01)

"After all, when our rulers take U.S. largesse and allow the
Pakistan army to go in and kill Pakistani citizens, more space is
created for violent extremists using terror as a strategy. When the
Pakistani state allows its territory to be used for drones that kill
Pakistanis - and it is irrelevant whether they are killed
deliberately or as 'collateral damage' - more space is created for
future recruits who want to fight the U.S. and its collaborators."

"Manawan, Af-Pak And Our Deeper Problem," an op-ed by Nasim Zehra in
the centrist national English daily "The News" (cir. 55,000)
(04/01)

"Perhaps the most problematic of all is Pakistan's unqualified
welcome of the Obama policy on Afghanistan. The refrain of the
Obama policy is that Al Qaeda is strong inside Pakistan, that
Pakistan is now the main theatre for the war against terrorism, that
terrorism is the cancer that Pakistan needs to fight for its own
sake. This can be a recipe for greater destabilization of Pakistan.
For all that the U.S. war on terror may have achieved specifically
in weakening Al Qaeda it has generated much greater resentment than
accolades for itself...."

"Obama's Af-Pak Strategy," an op-ed by Gen. (R) Mirza Aslam Beg in
the center-right national English daily "The Nation" (cir. 20,000)
(04/01)

"After the realization that the resistance in Afghanistan, cannot be
defeated, the task is now being transferred to Pakistan, to
accomplish the mission. It is a very naove thinking, because it is
not in the competence of Pak Army to defeat Taliban. Despite the
best efforts made by the army, it could not achieve success in its
operations within the Pakistani territory, in Waziristan, Bajaur and
Swat. They rightly felt that the best option was to engage into a
dialogue and come to a truce. If Pakistan follows U.S. dictates, for
the truce agreement to be quashed, then we would be repeating the
mistakes, General (R) Pervez Musharraf made."
Patterson