SUBJECT: PAKISTAN MEDIA REACTION: JANUARY 21, 2010

UNCLAS ISLAMABAD 000144

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KMDR KPAO OIIP OPRC PGOV PREL PK
SUBJECT: SUBJECT: PAKISTAN MEDIA REACTION: JANUARY 21, 2010

Summary: Coverage of Secretary of Defense Gates' visit to the region
dominated all major newspapers on Thursday morning. Media reported
Secretary Gates' warning that Al Qaeda could trigger a war between
India and Pakistan, and that "India's patience will be limited if
there is a repeat of 26/11." The largest Urdu language daily,
"Jang" and its sister English paper, "The News," published an
exclusive op-ed by Secretary Gates entitled, "U.S. commitment to
Pakistan's future." "The Nation" reported that "tough sessions" are
expected between Secretary Gates and the GoP regarding Indian's role
in Afghanistan. Some papers also covered FBI Director Mueller's
remarks that Al Qaeda and its offshoots are spreading. Papers also
carried State Department Coordinator for Counter-Terrorism
Benjamin's statement that Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) could become a
threat to the West. On the economic front, several dailies reported
that the U.S. will release $480 million to Pakistan in January under
the Coalition Support Fund. Possible fallout of the Supreme Court's
judgment against the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO)
continued to garner media attention, with reports that President
Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani were making "hectic consultations"
with their aides, and that the government may file a new petition
against the verdict. Reports of the announcement of Mehsud tribal
jirga to handover Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Hakeemullah
to the government also received extensive coverage. All newspapers
reported a bomb blast that injured an NWFP Assembly member in
Peshawar. End Summary.


TOP STORIES

News Story: Al Qaeda Can Trigger Indo-Pak War: Gates, US Defence
Secretary Says India's Patience Will Be Limited If There Is A Repeat
Of 26/11 - "Daily Times" (01/21)

"US Defence Secretary Robert Gates on Wednesday warned that South
Asian militant groups were seeking to destabilize the entire region
and could trigger a war between Pakistan and India." (Story also
front paged in all newspapers)

News Story: Terror Groups Aim To Destabilize Region, Says Gates -
"Dawn" (01/21)

"A syndicate of terror groups affiliated with Al Qaeda might try to
start a war between India and Pakistan as part of an organized
effort to sow upheaval across South Asia, US Defence Secretary
Robert Gates said on Wednesday."

News Story: Will India Be Assigned A Major Role, Tough Talks
Expected with Gates - "The Nation" (01/21)

"In a bid to defend its interest in the region, Pakistan is said to
have decided to walkout from the upcoming London Conference on
Afghanistan, to be held on January 28, in case the Organizers offer
India a leading role in Afghanistan. Well-placed sources told The
Nation on good authority that the message from the Presidency and PM
Secretariat to the higher authorities of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs to defend country's interest at any cost, at a meeting to be
held in Dubai on 26 January, just two days before inaugural session
of International conference on Afghanistan to be held in London."

News Story: LeT A Global Threat: US - "Dawn (01/21)

" Pakistan-based banned group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT),blamed for the
Mumbai attacks, could become a threat to the West like Al Qaeda, a
US counter-terrorism official warned on Wednesday. 'Should it decide
that it wants to either compete with Al Qaeda or supplant Al Qaeda
it would ... present itself as an extremely formidable terrorist
opponent,' Daniel Benjamin told reporters."

News Story: Qaeda Spreading, Rebuilding: FBI - "Daily Times"
(01/21)

"Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Robert Mueller on
Wednesday said that Al Qaeda and its offshoots were spreading and
rebuilding. He said the US had dismantled much of Al Qaeda's
infrastructure in Afghanistan, 'but the terror network and its
associated groups are rebuilding in Pakistan, Yemen, and the Horn of
Africa'."

News Story: Force Not Only Option To Fight Terror: Gilani - "Dawn"
(01/21)
"Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that the use of force is
not the only option to confront terrorists and extremists. Political
means, along with social and economic development, were potent tools
to fight the menace, he added."

TERRORISM/MILITARY ISSUES

News Story: Mehsud Jirga Agrees To Hand Over Hakimullah - "The
News" (01/21)

"A Jirga of the Mehsud tribe on Wednesday agreed to hand over their
378 wanted men, including the chief of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan
(TTP) Hakimullah Mehsud, to the government and announced to fully
support the government in maintaining peace and reconstruction
process."

News Story: US Equipment Remains In Sihala But Trainers Disappear -
"The Nation" (01/21)

"Despite a vociferous announcement made by the Government about
closing down the American-supervised anti-terrorism camp at the
Police Training College Sihala, nothing has been done in the
shifting of baggage and equipments of US trainers from the College.
Reliable sources said that dozens of containers belonging to US
trainers were still present on the college premises."

News Story: Import Of More Bullet-Proof Vehicles For Embassies
Banned - "Express" (01/21)

"To counter the suspicious activities of Americans in the country,
the Pakistan government, on the recommendation of law-enforcement
agencies, has imposed a ban on the import of more bullet-proof
vehicles by foreign diplomatic missions beyond their allocated
quota. A proposal for the checking of intelligence gadgets installed
in the Americans' vehicles is also under consideration."

News Story: ANP Lawmaker Injured In Peshawar Attack- "Daily Times"
(01/21)

"An Awami National Party member of the provincial assembly was
injured along with four others in a remote-controlled bomb explosion
on Wednesday, police said."

News Story: Lashkar Kills 5 Taliban In Mohmand - "Daily Times"
(01/21)

"As many as five Taliban including Ghulam alias Adil, a key
commander, were killed and two others injured in a raid conducted by
members of the peace committee at Khewzai area of Mohmand Agency,
the Frontier Corps Media Cell said on Wednesday."

News Story: College Graduate Plotted US Troops' Murder, Court Told
- "Dawn" (01/21)

"A New York college graduate, Adis Medujanin, who travelled to
Pakistan in 2008 to apparently attend Al Qaeda training camp,
conspired to kill American service members in Afghanistan, a US
federal prosecutor told a Brooklyn court on Tuesday."

News Story: Pak Warns India Against Violations - "The Nation"
(01/21)

"Pakistan on Wednesday lodged a strong protest with India over
unprovoked firing that killed two of its soldiers in Keil sector,
Rawalakot, on Tuesday."

POLITICAL ISSUES

News Story: Govt In Panic, Short Of Time - "The News" (01/21)

"President Asif Ali Zardari was making hectic consultations with his
political aides on Wednesday night after it became apparent that the
detailed judgment by the full bench of the Supreme Court was about
to trigger a new decisive court battle that might deal a fatal blow
to his constitutional eligibility to serve as the President of
Pakistan, authoritative sources have revealed."

News Story: Govt May File New Petition Against NRO Verdict - "Dawn"
(01/21)

"The government hinted in the National Assembly on Wednesday it
could file another review petition after studying the Supreme
Court's detailed ruling against the controversial Musharraf-era
National Reconciliation Ordinance, but dismissed opposition fears of
a clash with the superior judiciary."

News Story: PM Rules Out Clash Of Institutions - "The News"
(01/21)

"Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday reiterated his
government's sQce on the implementation of the detailed SC
judgQt on the NRO. 'At the moment, my legal and constitutional
experts are examining the detailed judgment of the Supreme Court and
once the process is complete, the government would implement it in
accordanQ with the law and the Constitution,' he said while talking
to newsmen during a visit to the Utility Stores Corporation at G-9
(Karachi Company) here on Wednesday."

News Story: FC Running Parallel Govt, Says Raisani - "Dawn" (01/21)

"Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani has accused the Frontier Corps
of running a parallel government in Balochistan. In a statement
issued here on Wednesday, the chief minister said that FC's attitude
had harmed the ongoing reconciliation process and, as a result, the
situation had worsened."

ECONOMY/ENVIRONMENT

News Story: US To Provide $480m During January: Tareen - "Daily
Times" (01/21)

"The US will release $480 million to Pakistan during January under
the Coalition Support Fund (CSF) and allocations for internally
displaced persons (IDPs),federal Finance Minister Shaukat Tareen
said on Wednesday."

MISCELLANEOUS
Qws Story: Senate Approves Bill To Curb Harassment Of Working
Women- "Dawn" (01/21)

"The Senate approved on Wednesday a bill providing protection to
women against sexual harassment at workplaces and rejected an
amendment introduced by members belonging to religious parties,
including the JUI-F, Jamaat-i-Islami and Jamiat Ahle Hadith."

EDITORIALS/OPINIONS

Opinion: Our Commitment To Pakistan, an op-ed by U.S. Defence
Secretary Robert M Gates in the populist, often sensational national
English daily "The NeQ (cir. 55,000) (01/21)

". . . . Even Q much is still made in the media of a "trust
deficit" between our nations. As I meet with Pakistan's civilian and
military leaders during my visit, I will emphasize that the United
States wishes to relinquish the grievances of the past - grievances
held by both sides - and instead focus on the promise of the future.
I will repeat President Obama's message that the United States is
fully committed to a stable, long-term, strategic partnership with a
democratic Pakistan - an enduring relationship based on shared
interests and mutual respect that will continue to expand and deepen
in the future on many levels, from security cooperation to economic
development. . . ."

Opinion: Dead Or Alive, an op-ed by Charles Ferndale in the
populist, often sensational national English daily "The News" (cir.
55,000) (01/21)

". . . . So strong are the arguments in favor of the hypothesis that
Osama bin Laden is dead, that we should ask why Hilary Clinton,
General Stanley McChrystal and President Barrack Obama still talk
about the need to search for him in Pakistan and to capture him.
Since the onus is now firmly upon anyone claiming that Bin Laden is
alive to give us good reasons to believe it, and since no one who
makes that claim ever offers such reasons, and since it is not
credible that the officials I have just mentioned do not know that
Bin Laden is almost certainly dead, we are forced to conclude that
they are using Bin Laden's supposed existence as one of the four
major fictions designed to justify their interventions in the Af-Pak
region. . . ."

Opinion: Engaging with the US - II , an op-ed by Syed Talat Hussain
in the Lahore-based liberal English language daily "Daily Times"
(cir. 10,000) (01/21)

". . . . Sheeting questionable cooperation with Washington in
ambiguity only fed speculation that the country's sovereignty was
being compromised under US pressure. Also, this 'open-endedness' in
our dealings with the US allowed Washington incredible leeway to
interpret different commitments differently at different times. . .
."

Editorial: Indo-Pak Relations; America Should Stop Interference, an
editorial note in the second-largest, nationalist Urdu daily
"Nawa-i-Waqt" (cir. 150,000) (01/21)

"National Assembly Committee on Commerce Chairman Khurram Dastgir
has said that America is putting severe pressure on Pakistan for
giving India passage for trade with Afghanistan.... What Khurram
Dastgir said has this fact that America looks for opportunities to
protect Indian interests in all the fields.... America wants to
make Pakistan a satellite of India. American policy makers should
know that Pakistan detests this American attitude. India should
resolve the Kashmir disputes if it wants to have friendship with
Pakistan.... America should be told in categorical terms that
unless India resolves Kashmir issue the trade transit facility will
not be given to India.... If America is not willing to mediate for
Pakistan-India relations then it should not as well interfere in
other matters."

Editorial: Supreme Court's detailed verdict, an editorial in the
liberal Urdu daily "Express" (cir. 25,000) (01/21)

"For the first time in the country's history, a step has been taken
to make the rich, the influential and the powerful people of this
country abide by rule of law....If this [verdict] is the first step
towards judiciary's independence, strengthening of democracy,
corruption-free politics, public welfare - then the accused should
take the second step towards justice without any fear in their
hearts."

Editorial: Supreme Court verdict on NRO, an editorial note in the
Lahore-based populist center-right Urdu daily "Khabrain" (cir.
50,000) (01/21)

"The detailed judgment has clarified many points which were vague in
the Supreme Court short order on NRO... However, the Supreme Court
has now clarified that no one, including the President, is exempt.
It is obvious that the government experts will now file appeals for
review, opening a new Pandora's Box. It seems as though things will
not be in the government's control now. The legal aspects of this
case are now clear; the ball is now in the political parties'
court."
Opinion: The Evil One, an op-ed by I. M. Mohsin in the center-right
national English daily "The Nation" (cir. 20,000) (01/21)

". . . . The USA's major strength still is not its military
juggernaut which projects her as 'the evil one'. It is the
intellectual freedom to amass and disseminate knowledge. The
leadership has to gel their diversity and commonality of interests
to an optimal level. Only then would it shed its current stigma. The
United States has to find a way out with Pakistan's help; It cannot
'occupy' the area nor abandon it a la 1990."

(All circulation figures are based on estimation)

Patterson