PAKISTAN MEDIA REACTION: April 21, 2009

UNCLAS ISLAMABAD 000829 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KMDR KPAO OIIP OPRC PGOV PREL PK SUBJECT: PAKISTAN MEDIA REACTION: April 21, 2009 Summary: Prime Minister Gilani's statement that "Ambassador Holbrooke does not need to worry much about Swat" as "we know the ground realities better than him" dominated headlines in almost all major newspapers on Tuesday. All newspapers also reported on their front pages that the "government failed to move a resolution in the Senate on the Nizam-i-Adl Regulation," following agitation from both treasury and opposition members. Likewise, reports of a "row in National Assembly over Sufi Mohammad's affront to superior courts" received prominent display. Reports of abduction of six security personnel in Swat were highlighted in several major dailies. Security forces' operation in Orakzai Agency continued to garner media coverage. Newspapers reported that "helicopters gunships and jets pounded Taliban positions in Orakzai killing at least 11 militants." The daily, "Dawn," reported State Department spokesman's remarks that the "violent extremism needs to be confronted not just by Pakistan but the entire international community." Newspapers ran editorials on a host of subjects concerning security situation and other issues. In its editorial on the fallout of the Swat Peace Deal, the prestigious English daily, "Dawn," noted that "the demands of Sufi Mohammad illustrates how he has used his position as peace-broker to maneuver greater power and relevance towards the extreme rightwing agenda." Commenting on the suicide attack at a check-post in Hangu, another English language daily, "The News," observed that "till the state shows a greater determination to seize back full control of the country and the welfare of people within it, there will be more such attacks and an expansion in the sense of hatred that under-pin them." The liberal Urdu daily "Express," advised the government to "ensure a permanent solution to this problem as impromptu approach has only led to the present uncertainty where the government's writ is challenged repeatedly." End Summary. -------------- News Stories -------------- "Holbrooke Needn't Worry About Swat, Says PM" "The News" (04/21) "Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday said that the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation was bracketed with peace in Swat and the government would protect it if peace prevailed in the area. . . To a question regarding the concerns voiced by US Special Envoy on Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke over the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation, Gilani said, 'He [Holbrooke] does not need to worry much about it. This is our country. We know the ground realities better than him.'" "Move To Table Adl Resolution In Senate Thwarted" "Dawn" (04/21) "The government came under pressure in the Senate on Monday when the MQM staged a token walkout in protest against the chairman's failure to give a ruling on the status of parliament and its members in view of remarks of the banned TNSM's chief Sufi Mohammad against parliament, parliamentarians, high courts and the Supreme Court. Lawmakers from both the treasury and the opposition opposed tabling of the Nizam-i-Adl Regulation in the house." "Row In NA Over Sufi's Affront To Superior Courts" "Dawn" (04/21) "The government told the National Assembly on Monday it had taken notice of the reported affront to superior courts by Swat valley militant leader-turned-peacemaker Sufi Mohammad and asked for a report from the NWFP administration about his Sunday speech that sparked protests from some lawmakers." "Govt Has Sought Explanation On Sufi's Statement, NA Told" "Daily Times" (04/21) "The government on Monday assured the National Assembly (NA) that it had asked the NWFP government to provide an explanation for TNSM chief Sufi Muhammad's statement declaring the court system, democracy and parliament un-Islamic." "Govt Will Adhere To Swat Deal If Peace Restored: Malik" "Dawn" (04/21) "The government would adhere to the Swat deal if militants restored complete peace in the area and surrender their arms, Adviser to Prime Minister on Interior Rehman Malik said on Monday." "Six Security Personnel Among 10 Kidnapped In Swat" "The News" (04/21) "Suspected militants on Monday kidnapped nine people, including six security personnel, from different areas of the Swat valley, prompting security forces to set up four checkpoints." "Orakzai Air Raids Kill 11 Militants" "Dawn" (04/21) "Helicopter gunships and jets pounded Taliban positions in upper Orakzai Agency on Monday, killing at least 11 militants and injuring five." "Clash In Wana Leaves Two Civilians Dead" "Dawn" (04/21) "Two civilians were killed and seven people, four soldiers among them, were injured in clashes between security forces and militants in two areas of South Waziristan on Sunday night." "US Urges Other Nations To Fight Extremists In Pakistan" "Dawn" (04/21) "The United States said on Monday that the entire international community should join Pakistan in confronting violent extremists like those who now run the Swat valley. 'Violent extremism needs to be confronted not just by Pakistan but the entire international community,' said State Department spokesman Robert Wood when asked to comment on the situation in Swat." "US Determined To Erase Trust Deficit: State Dept" "Daily Times" (04/21) "The United States on Monday renewed its commitment to support Pakistan's efforts to root out extremism, and pledged sustained economic assistance to demonstrate America's solidarity with the Pakistani people. The State Department also reaffirmed Washington's resolve to erase the trust deficit through continued bilateral cooperation in a range of issues." "NATO Also Needs To Do More Against Terror: ISPR" "Daily Times" (04/21) "Inter Services Public Relations spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas has said the Pakistan Army is 'doing enough' in the war on terror, and instead called on the NATO to 'do more' in Afghanistan - 'as most of the terror centers, in our opinion, are there,' a private TV channel reported on Monday." "Zardari To Visit U.S. Early Next Month" "The Nation" (04/21) "President Asif Ali Zardari is scheduled to leave for Washington early next month to hold talks with his U.S counterpart Barrack Obama on important bilateral regional and global issues with focus on security situation in Afghanistan and tribal areas." "Swat Taliban Vow To Extend Sharia Law To Other Areas" "Daily Times" (04/21) "Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Muslim Khan has said sharia law would not be restricted to Malakand division and that the Taliban will not lay down weapons unconditionally, a private TV channel reported on Monday." "TTP, TNSM Ban Political Parties In Bajaur" "Daily Times" (04/21) "Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) announced to ban political parties and politics in the agency after talks on Monday, sources said. Both the organizations also banned the assembly of more than three people at a place." "Fazl Assails Manner Of Swat Sharia Enforcement" "Dawn" (04/21) "Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has criticized the manner in which Sharia is being implemented in Swat. 'The process of enforcing Sharia in Swat is incorrect. It must be implemented on the basis of recommendations of the Council of Islamic Ideology.'" "Two Terrorists Held In Capital: SSP" "The News" (04/21) "The Islamabad Police late on Monday announced the arrest of two hard-core terrorists from the federal capital who were acting as planners and facilitators for carrying out acts of terror in the city. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Islamabad Tahir Alam Khan said Khairullah Mahsud, a resident of South Waziristan was arrested by the law enforcing agencies from a local Park." "JI Deplores Govt's Silence On Drone Attacks" "The News" (04/21) "The Jamaat-e-Islami, NWFP chapter, has asked the government to review its 'pro-US policies' and take effective steps for stopping the US drone attacks." -------------- Editorials/Op-eds -------------- "Fallout Of The Deal," an editorial in the Karachi-based center-left independent national English daily "Dawn" (cir. 55,000) (04/21) ". . . Sufi Mohammad has claimed that criminals accused of murder, extortion and terrorism cannot be brought to book. Furthermore, the demand illustrates how Sufi Mohammad has used his position as peace-broker to maneuver greater power and relevance towards the extreme rightwing agenda. It underscores the danger inherent in depending for peace on the man who heads the TNSM, an organization banned for its militant and subversive activities, and whose credentials in terms of respecting the jurisdiction of the lawful government are extremely suspect." "Games Of Hatred," an editorial in the centrist national English daily "The News" (cir. 55,000) (04/21) ". . . The militants who have enforced their own laws in Swat and those who wage war elsewhere in the northern areas are closely inter-connected. They cannot be regarded as separate entities but must be dealt with through one, cohesive strategy. So far this strategy has been lacking. So too has the will and commitment that should back it. This is the reason why militants remain free to create havoc in our country and prove that the writ of the state no longer exists across a large portion. Till the state shows a greater determination to seize back full control of the country and the welfare of people within it, there will be more such attacks and an expansion in the sense of hatred that under-pin them." "Sufi Muhammad's Address And Government's Writ," an editorial in liberal Urdu daily "Express" (cir. 100,000) (04/21) "Reacting to Sufi Muhammad's remarks the Federal Information Minister has said that no one will be allowed to establish a state within a state, and that the media should help inform the nation about who Sufi Muhammad is and what his agenda is. The question is: did the government not think about these issues while signing the peace deal with an outfit - and that too a banned one? Did the government not have any other solution to help stop the violent activities in Swat? The government must ensure a permanent solution to this problem because ad hoc decisions have only led to the present uncertainty where the government's writ is challenged repeatedly." "Sufi Muhammad Shows True Colors," an editorial in the Lahore-based liberal English language daily "Daily Times" (cir. 10,000) (04/21) "The text of the Nizam-e-Adl law was quite harmless. It thought that the provincial judiciary will get to appoint the qazis and will then exercise some supervisory role in the setting up of Darul Qaza appellate courts. Its claim that the law will fulfill the long-standing desire of the Swat people to reintroduce the sharia of the Wali of Swat will be falsified soon after the courts start handing down punishments that the Wali's judicial system never did. The Wali's system was cheap and quick but it was not based on sharia as there were no hudood punishments under it. An Al Qaeda website in February this year lauded a Somali court run by an armed militia called Shabab for sentencing to death a 55-year-old politician for being guilty of 'showing sympathy for Christianity.' After being riddled with bullets, his corpse was thrown into the infidels' cemetery. And Somalia today is counted as a 'failed state.'" "No Room," an editorial in the centrist national English daily "The News" (cir. 55,000) (04/21) ". . . The state, in the form of its most powerful tools, has backed the Maulana, backed him to the point at which he was able to confidently turn the screw a little tighter and demand that all judges in Malakand be abolished giving April 23 as a deadline for the establishment of Darul Qaza. There is every likelihood that the government will comply, if not to the day then very close to it, with his deadlines. Power and initiative have shifted in the last fortnight, and the game has moved into a different phase. The fractures that run up and down formal politics make governance of national unity - briefly visited post election - impossibility. The much-discussed but never seen 'moderate majority' are looking increasingly like wishful thinking, a mirage." "Maulana Sufi Muhammad's Remarks And Reaction," an editorial in the center-right Urdu daily "Pakistan" (cir. 10,000) (04/21) "Sufi Muhammad's desire for the implementation of Shariah may be justified but he should think a hundred times before calling ulema who disagree with his thought as traitors of Islam... At the same time, we request people reacting to Maulana Sufi Muhammad's statement to realize the gravity of the situation and keep in mind the mindset of people living through a tribal era." "Sufi Muhammad's Address; Implications And Writ Of The State," an editorial in the Urdu daily "Waqt" (cir. 5000) (04/21) "An important part of the Prophet's teachings is to spread the light of education. Sufi Muhammad should look into those tribal areas where around 2000 schools have been destroyed, depriving thousands of girl and boy students of education. Are such steps [as destroying schools] not a negation of the Prophet's teachings? The need is for the leader of the TNSM to focus on the Swat peace deal and try to bring peace in his limited area so that the U.S. and allies can be convinced of the efficacy of peace deals as they are terming such agreements as dangerous for Islamabad." "New Apprehensions Regarding Sufi Muhammad," an editorial in the independent Urdu daily "Din" (cir. 5000) (04/21) "Following the implementation of Nizam-i-Adl Regulation, Maulana Sufi Muhammad has adopted an incomprehensible stance as a show of power... His views are confirming all the apprehensions expressed by the civil society, NGOs, political parties and analysts - i.e., that he will expand his agenda rather than containing himself to the implementation of Nizam-i-Adl. Soofi Muhammad's remarks objecting to turbans of other colors except black; calling democracy, the constitution and judiciary un-Islamic is tantamount to shaking the very foundations of Pakistani society.... It seems like testing times have arrived for our ulema, mashaikh, public representatives and intellectuals - in addition to protecting the country from India and the U.S., they now have to deal with elements raised for years as pressure groups." "Nizam-e-Adl Unconstitutional," an op-ed by Dr Khalil Ahmad in the centrist national English daily "The News" (cir. 55,000) (04/21) ". . . Until and unless the government sets upon this course of action and by taking people in confidence and announcing an all-out war against the terrorists, it has no moral justification to remain in power. If it keeps ceding this or that town or district to the perpetrators of terror under this or that pretext such as dialogue and peace, it is betraying the people who voted for it." "The Taliban Will Be Defeated," an op-ed by Mosharraf Zaidi in the centrist national English daily "The News" (cir. 55,000) (04/21) ". . . The love affair of the Pakistani people with their country is a firewall that will hold. Violent extremists can flog the odd alleged straying couple, but they cannot flog 172 million people. They cannot win this war, and that is why they're so angry all the time." "What Breeds Extremism," an op-ed by Rasul Bakhsh Rais in the Lahore-based liberal English language daily "Daily Times" (cir. 10,000) (04/21) ". . . Religion is embedded in our society, its culture and values system, and is equally a very strong force that shapes social institutions and the general attitudes of people. Religion is not at risk, and does not need to be rescued through the agency of the state; it is the liberties of the citizens and the idea of a free society that are at risk if the hegemonic view of religion replaces pluralism of faith." "Do We Know Our Identity?" an op-ed by Aqab Malik in the Karachi-based centre-left independent national English daily "Dawn" (cir. 55,000) (04/21) "Pakistan is without a doubt a feudal society that has had a succession of sprouting buds, in the form of institution building, quashed in their embryonic stage as soon as the emancipation of the country's masses challenged the status quo. However, this is not to imply that the Taliban are the solution. Far from it, the Taliban represent the most uncivilized form of governance that has emerged from the limited imaginations of the feudal and industrial elite. Their form of justice may well be quick but it is also brutal and not representative of the general Pakistani mindset. . ." "Pakistan's Current Crisis," an editorial in the second-largest, center-right nationalist Urdu daily "Nawa-i-Waqt" (cir. 125,000) (04/21) "To top it all, our civil and military rulers are relying on outsiders, especially the U.S, which has created anger and unrest in the nation - with the result that on the one hand we are facing a rebellion-like situation in NWFP and Balochistan and on the other hand, people are terming democracy and judiciary of Quaid and Iqbal's Pakistan as un-Islamic. This has prompted CM Shahbaz Sharif to say that no one will be able to stop the Taliban from spreading their influence to other parts of the country if Pakistan does not make any progress towards good governance, the state of unrest persists and people are deprived of economic and social justice." "How Disappointing," an editorial in the center-right national English daily "The Nation" (cir. 20,000) (04/21) ". . . US participation in the conference and speaking out the truth without any fear of the Zionist entity (Israel) would have significantly improved its image in the Muslim world. Its contention that Israel should not be condemned in the conference, as it has done nothing wrong to the Palestinians, to all intents and purposes amounts to rubbing salt on the wounds of the Palestinian nation." Feierstein