MEDIA REACTION: INDO-PAK RELATIONS/TALIBAN,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 002197 SIPDIS STATE FOR NP, AC, PM STATE FOR INR/MR STATE FOR SCA/INS, PM/CBM, PM/PRO STATE FOR SCA/PPD, PA/RRU STATE FOR AID/APRE-A USDOC FOR 4530/IEP/ANESA/OSA FOR BILL MURPHY E.O. 12958:N/A TAGS: KMDR KPAO PGOV PREL IN SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: INDO-PAK RELATIONS/TALIBAN, INDIA-CHINA-PAKISTAN RELATIONS, INDIA-CHINA-RUSSIA MEET, PAKISTAN-IRAN RELATIONS; NEW DELHI. This countrywide cable reports on relevant media reaction/opinion from India's large non-English press. The Mission reports on English-language media via email through the daily "Early Edition" summary. -------------- INDO-PAK RELATIONS/TALIBAN -------------- ¶1. "TALIBAN AND INDIA", editorial in October 28 right- of-center Urdu daily HINDUSTAN EXPRESS: "Pakistan's allegation linking India with Taliban is bizarre by any stretch of the imagination. Pakistan is today reaping what it sowed.... America and China may support Pakistan, but Islamabad should understand the perils of allowing any third force to control Indo-Pakistan relations. When will the day come when both India and Pakistan bury the hatchet, in the larger interests of their nations and peoples?" -------------- INDIA-CHINA-PAKISTAN RELATIONS -------------- ¶2. "CHINA-PAKISTAN PROXIMITY WORRYING FOR INDIA," op-ed in October 29 right-of-center Marathi daily, SAAMNA: "India is trying various ways to establish friendly ties with Pakistan, but not a day goes by when Pakistan does not renege from its assurances. Pakistan is hardly taking any initiative to apprehend extremists operating from its soil that were involved in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. The growing Pakistan-China relationship is an upsetting prospect for India, because China harbors dreams of fragmenting India and Pakistan wants Kashmir." ¶3. "STRAIGHT TALK," editorial in October 28 centrist Hindi daily, NAVBHARAT TIMES: "Prime Minister Manmohan Singh snubbed China on Sunday after he reiterated that the exiled spiritual leader Dalai Lama is an honored guest of India and is free to travel anywhere he wishes to. Tawang, and indeed the entire Arunachal Pradesh, is an inalienable part of India. PM Singh did well to remind China about this. The PM's stand is commendable at a time when none less than US president Barack Obama shied away from meeting the Dalai Lama just to keep China in good humor. China is scared that Dalai Lama's visit may turn Tawang into a volatile anti-China outpost that it can very well do without.... While the PM's firm stand is appreciable, one must ask why India wants to stir a hornet's nest by getting into the China-Dalai Lama-Tibet issue? Don't we have enough problems of our own?" -------------- INDIA-CHINA-RUSSIA MEET -------------- ¶4. "BANGALORE COOPERATION," editorial in October 28 centrist Hindi daily, DAINIK HINDUSTAN: "Afghanistan is NEW DELHI 00002197 002 OF 002 becoming a serious concern for India, China and Russia. The October 27 meeting in Bangalore of the foreign ministers of these three nations indicates the level of their concern about Afghanistan. They do not want Pakistan to take over after the U.S. vacates Afghanistan.... It is also important because it can turn the direction of the bitter China-India relations towards their cooperation in new fields. The trilateral cooperation between these three nations could include issues like financial crises and climate change. Although one should not have unrealistic expectations, this may turn into a new form of Shanghai Cooperation." -------------- PAKISTAN-IRAN RELATIONS -------------- ¶5. "TERRORIST COUNTRY PAKISTAN CREATES BITTERNESS WITH IRAN TOO," editorial in October 29 centrist Gujarati daily, GUJARATMITRA: "Pakistan just wants to create hostility with its neighbors. This time it is Iran. Iran has accused Pakistan's Sunni terrorist organization of slaying National Revolutionary Guard team members near Iran's border with Pakistan. This episode has kicked off an acrimonious trading of charges between the two nations. These accusations have further strained the friendly relationship between Iran and Pakistan." ROEMER