PAKISTAN MEDIA REACTION: JANUARY 06, 2010

UNCLAS ISLAMABAD 000023 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KMDR KPAO OIIP OPRC PGOV PREL PK SUBJECT: PAKISTAN MEDIA REACTION: JANUARY 06, 2010 Summary: Coverage of a variety of remarks by President Zardari dominated media coverage Wednesday morning, including his pledge to wage a "thousand-year war" over Kashmir. In the milieu of recent remarks of Indian army chief Deepak Kapoor about pursuing a proactive strategy to simultaneously wage wars against Pakistan and China, all major dailies highlighted the Defense Committee of Cabinet's statement that "Pakistan will never allow its security to be jeopardized in any manner." Most newspapers highlighted statements of the human rights groups criticizing the U.S. administration's plan to subject citizens of certain countries to enhanced screenings as "bad policy." Further related to the new TSA directive, several dailies carried editorials citing anti-Muslim bias and U.S. mistrust of Pakistanis. Papers covered Major General Flynn's remarks "dismissing" U.S. intelligence-gathering in Afghanistan as an "ignorant and flawed operation 'starved' of information" which could help wage a successful war against insurgent. The Nation published a report quoting an unidentified security official that "most of the American government officials working in Pakistan have arrived here without getting proper visas." The Nation also highlighted a Stratfor report, stating the U.S. "might mount Special Forces strikes in Pakistan in 2010." The same paper reported that U.S Senators McCain and Lieberman will arrive in Pakistan on Thursday in a bid to "defuse the escalating tension between India and Pakistan." End Summary. TOP STORIES News Story: Ready For 'Thousand-Year War' Over Kashmir: Zardari - "Daily Times" (01/06) "Endorsing the pledge made by the people of Kashmir of waging a thousand-year war, President Asif Ali Zardari said on Tuesday this was a war of ideologies that would last for generations, while addressing a joint session of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Assembly and the Kashmir Council, the President said." News Story: Aggression To Prompt Fitting Response - "Dawn" (01/06) "Noting with concern attempts to undermine strategic balance in South Asia, the political and military leadership of the country said on Tuesday that no one should underestimate Pakistan's capacity to preserve its sovereignty and territorial integrity. "Pakistan will never allow its security to be jeopardized in any manner and will continue to reinforce its strategic and conventional capabilities," the Defence Committee of the Cabinet (DCC) said at a meeting presided over by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani." News Story: Rights Group Assails Racial, Religious Profiling At Airports - "Dawn" (01/06) "The U.S. government's plan to subject citizens of certain countries to enhanced screenings was a 'bad policy' and it would not help the fight against extremists, the American Civil Liberties Union said on Tuesday. The ACLU, which is the largest human rights group in North America, reminded the Obama administration that there was 'no way to predict the national origin of a terrorist and many terrorists have come from countries not on the list.'" News Story: Americans Operating In Pakistan Sans Visas - "The Nation" (01/06) "Most of the American government officials working in Pakistan have arrived in Peshawar without getting proper visas, a senior security official on condition of anonymity told 'The Nation' in Peshawar on Tuesday." News Story: U.S. Senators May Arrive Tomorrow - "The Nation" (01/06) "In a bid to defuse the escalating tension between India and Pakistan, two influential U.S. Senators, John McCann and Joseph Liberman, will arrive here tomorrow (Thursday),sources informed 'The Nation' on Tuesday." TERRORISM/MILITARY ISSUES News Story: U.S. Spy Effort 'Ignorant' - "The News" (01/06) "The U.S. military's intelligence chief in Afghanistan sharply criticized the work of spy agencies, calling them ignorant and out of touch with the Afghan people. In a report issued by the Centre for New American Security think tank, Major General Michael Flynn, deputy chief of staff for intelligence in Afghanistan for the U.S. military and its NATO allies, offered a bleak assessment of the intelligence community's role in the eight-year-old war." News Story: U.S. Might Mount Special Forces Strikes In Pak In 2010: Stratfor - "The Nation" (01/06) "The United States may mount special operations to strike Taliban and Al-Qaeda targets in Pakistan and also step up drone attacks against them in the near future, according to an American intelligence think-tank, reports Indian Express." News Story: Pakistanis Fearing New Influx From Afghanistan: WP - "Dawn" (01/06) "Pakistanis fear that a stepped-up war in Afghanistan could bring more deaths and destruction to their country, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday. The report, sent by the Post correspondent from the areas bordering Afghanistan, notes that as 30,000 additional U.S. troops start arriving in the war-ravaged country, the Pakistanis get more nervous." News Story: Another 26/11 May Incite Pak-India War: U.S. Think Tank - "The News" (01/06) "A leading U.S. strategic think tank has hinted at the possibility of another Mumbai-like attack, saying that there is a strong Jihadi strategic intent to launch a major attack against India in order to trigger a conflict between India and Pakistan. 'Such an attack would redirect Pakistani troops from battling these Jihadis in Pakistan's west toward the India border in the east,' the Stratfor, which calls itself a global intelligence company, said in its annual forecast for 2010." News Story: U.S. Seeks Harkat Chief For Khost CIA Attack - "The News" (01/06) "The U.S. authorities have sought from the Pakistani government an early arrest and extradition of Commander Ilyas Kashmiri, the fugitive chief of the Azad Kashmir chapter of the pro-Kashmir Jihadi group, Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HuJI). Kashmiri is being accused of coordinating a suicide attack on the CIA Forward Operating Base of Chapman in the Khost province of Afghanistan on December 31, 2009, which killed seven CIA officers and injured six others." News Story: CIA Base Bomber Was A Triple Agent - "The News" (01/06) "A suicide bomber who killed eight people in an attack on a CIA base in Afghanistan was a triple agent who apparently duped his handlers that boasts he wanted to die a martyr were just a cover. The Jordanian intelligence services had brought the bomber to eastern Afghanistan with the specific mission of finding al-Qaeda number two, Ayman al-Zawahiri, believing he was their double agent, U.S. network NBC News reported late on Monday, citing Western intelligence officials." News Story: Pakistan Wary of U.S. Troops Surge In Afghanistan - "The News" (01/06) "Pakistan's security establishment is increasingly wary of the U.S. military buildup in Afghanistan fearing that an additional 30,000 troops there would push 'a tide of militants' into its territory, and further destabilize its large southwestern border. U.S. officials, however, disagree with the assessment, reflecting the under-currents of mistrust between the United States and Pakistan, The Washington Post said on Tuesday." News Story: No Room For Terrorists, Hitmen, Says Rehman Malik - "The News" (01/06) "Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Tuesday that there was no room for terrorists and hitmen in the country and their networks would be eliminated soon. Talking to a private TV channel, the minister said that earlier, the terrorists were roaming in luxury vehicles, but at the moment, they were on the run and the days were not far when they would not be seen anywhere." Pak Policies Not Anti-American: FM - "Pakistan Observer" (01/06) "Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that Pakistan's policies are not anti American and we are protecting national interests while the present democratic government is presenting Pakistan's stance over war on terror before world in an amicable manner, while talking to media in Karachi on Tuesday." News Story: Rocket Fits Governor House in Quetta - "The News" (01/06) "The Balochistan Governor House and provincial Civil Hospital were targeted on Tuesday night when two rockets landed there, injuring one person. Police said one rocket, which landed on the lawn of the Governor House, failed to explode." News Story: Govt. Leaves Villagers At Mercy Of Criminals - "Dawn" (01/06) "Shah Hassankhel is a small dusty village of roughly 6,500 people on the outskirts of the southern district of Lakki Marwat.... The government promised to give them weapons to defend themselves and keep the militants at arms' length. The promise remains unfulfilled. Nothing has come through since, neither the much-needed guns nor any bullets. In effect people of Shah Hassankhel were left to fend off for themselves." News Story: Militants Blow Up Six Shrines In Orakzai - "Dawn" (01/06) "Militants exhumed the body of a spiritual leader and blew up six other shrines in the Stori Khel area of lower Orakzai Agency on Tuesday. Locals said heavily armed militants came to the area of the Stori Khel tribe, who have raised a Lashkar against them, and dug up the grave of spiritual leader Anwarul Haq. They desecrated the remains and then took it to an unknown location." News Story: Aafia, Kids Picked Up In Karachi, Court Told - "Dawn" (01/06) "Fauzia Siddiqui, the sister of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, who is being tried in the United States, has said her sibling was not arrested from Afghanistan but the previous government had handed her over to the United States after arresting her from Karachi. Fauzia Siddiqui said this on Tuesday while giving a statement before Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry of the Lahore High Court with regard to a contempt petition, seeking action against the government for not approaching the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to get Dr. Aafia recovered and released." News Story: Another School Blown Up In Bajaur Agency; 12 Insurgents Nabbed In Bajaur Operation - The News" (01/06) "Militants blew up yet another school while security forces arrested 12 insurgents and seized weapons during search operations in various areas of Bajaur Agency, tribal and official sources said on Tuesday." News Story: Security Forces Arrest 110 Suspects In Swat - The News" (01/06) "The security forces arrested more than 110 suspects during search and clearance operation against militants in Swat district on Tuesday, sources said." POLITICAL ISSUES News Story: President Links Regional Peace To Kashmir Solution - "The News" (01/06) "President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday said peace can only come to the region if the lingering Kashmir dispute was resolved. "The whole focus of world is on Pakistan. He was addressing a joint session of AJK Assembly and Kashmir Council in the Assembly Hall marking the 'Self-Determination Day' observed across the world, to renew pledge to take the liberation struggle to its logical end." News Story: Committee Agrees To Clip Powers Of President - "Dawn" (01/06) "The Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Reforms has agreed to abolish presidential powers to appoint the Chief Election Commissioner. Sources told 'Dawn' that the committee, which has been reviewing the Constitution article-by-article for almost the past five months, in its meeting in Islamabad on Tuesday discussed articles relating to the appointment of the CEC (Article 214 to 218)." News Story: No Plot Against Zardari: Nawaz - "The News" (01/06) "Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Quaid Nawaz Sharif said on Tuesday that he did not see any conspiracy against President Asif Ali Zardari or the government. However, he added that he would be the first to come to Zardari's rescue if any conspiracy was hatched against him. He was talking to reporters in Karachi at the residence of PML-N Sindh Chief Syed Ghous Ali Shah." News Story: Agencies Failed To Recover Missing Persons: SC - "The News" (01/06) "The Supreme Court on Tuesday observed that the intelligence agencies failed to fulfill their responsibilities and could not trace the missing persons.... The court observed that keeping in view the importance of the case, it would conduct the hearing on day-to-day basis and directed the government to submit a report within two weeks regarding the missing persons." ECONOMY/ENVIRONMENT News Story: Centre Reluctant To Transfer GST On Services To Provinces - "Business Recorder" (01/06) "The Federal government is reluctant to transfer over Rs 200 billion general sales tax (GST) collected on services and entire authority to provinces to collect the same as the drafted Value-Added Tax (VAT) Act 2010 remained unchanged in this regard, sources in the Provincial Excise and Taxation (E&T) Department told 'Business Recorder' on Tuesday." News Story: Pakistan Not To Give Guarantee For Iranian Gas Flows To India - "Dawn" (01/06) "Pakistan has decided not to give any guarantee for gas flows to India through the multi-billion-dollar Iran gas pipeline, it is learned. Informed sources told 'Dawn' on Tuesday that Pakistan and Iran had resolved almost all other issues pertaining to the pipeline project, including pricing, project details and quantity of gas to be purchased." EDITORIALS/OPINIONS Editorial: Anti-Muslim Bias, an editorial in the center-right national English daily "The Nation" (cir. 20,000) (01/06) "The U.S. has promulgated new security regulations for international arrivals at U.S. airports, after the Christmas Day attempt in Amsterdam allegedly to bomb an airliner scheduled to arrive in Detroit, calling for body searches of arrivals from a number of Muslim countries, and Cuba.... This step exposes the anti-Muslim Christian Zionist mentality that is behind the War, and the Crusader spirit in which it is being pursued, and how it is being twisted to work against Muslims, no matter what side they are on in the War on Terror." Editorial: More Security Or More Paranoia?, an editorial in the Lahore-based liberal English language daily "Daily Times" (cir. 10,000) (01/06) "It's as bad as it gets. As feared, the United States has decided to step up security screening at its airports. It's obviously in response to the recent incident involving a Nigerian man's alleged attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound plane over the Atlantic.... Predictably, the latest U.S. move has evoked strong protests from human rights groups and Muslim Americans. Nawar Shora of Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee has condemned the new screening as "very dangerous," terming the policy of classifying people as suspects because of where they come from as 'extreme'. This is indeed unfortunate." Editorial: Muslims' Humiliation On The Pretext Of Security Search, an editorial in the second-largest, nationalist Urdu daily "Nawa-i-Waqt" (cir. 150,000) (01/06) "American authorities have begun strict body search of the Muslims coming to America from 14 Islamic countries including Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.... Muslims' humiliation on the pretext of security will increase existing hatred against America.... The Organization of Islamic Conference should come up with a joint strategy and Americans should be made to go through the same security regime as followed inside America. At least Pakistan should do that." (English version not available online) Editorial: Extraordinary Screening Of Travelers From Muslim Countries: A Step Based On Prejudice, an editorial in the liberal Urdu daily "Express" (cir.25,000) (01/06) "The U.S. has announced extraordinary screening at airports for citizens travelling to the U.S. from 14 countries including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria. Civil rights activists have strongly protested this measure which discriminates against people on the basis of nationality. This step by the U.S. is not right as it is not fair to penalize all Pakistanis or other nationalities for the provocative actions of one group or some individuals." Opinion: Patting Down Pakistanis, an op-ed by Rafia Zakaria in the Karachi-based center-left independent national English daily "Dawn" (cir. 55,000) (01/06) "By subjecting any and every Pakistani (even those who may have lived abroad for decades) to heightened scrutiny the U.S. is demonstrating that while it can trust the Pakistani military to fight a war for it, it cannot trust a Pakistani entering the country. In presuming that they may be terrorists, the U.S. is backing the political statement that there is no need to develop profiles based on actual threat. Instead, it prefers to rely on profiling shortcuts that discriminate rather than yield law-enforcement results." Opinion: Purposeless Knee-Jerk Reactions, an op-ed by Shireen M. Mazari in the center-right national English daily "The Nation" (cir. 20,000) (01/06) "So the U.S. has decided to increase the torture for travelers from Pakistan and other "suspect" countries.... But there is a more serious issue involved here in terms of the U.S. and its targeting by non-state actors. The U.S. can do all sorts of tactical measures to secure its homeland from terrorism, but unless it makes a strategic shift in its global policies, it will never rid itself of the threat from extremist militants. For some strange reason there seems to be a total lack of acceptance by the U.S. policy makers, especially Congress, of the impact of their policies including their tactical knee-jerk measures relating to security, that it is at the strategic level where the problem lies. There has to be a policy shift if they want to end the increasing hostility between themselves and the Muslim Ummah.... Knee-jerk reactions only add to the global polarizations and create more fertile breeding grounds for future militants - something no people can afford." Editorial: Shrinking Trust Deficit, an editorial in the Lahore-based liberal English language daily "Daily Times" (cir. 10,000) (01/06) "Afghan Coalition Commander General Stanley McChrystal has said that the trust deficit between the U.S. and Pakistan is shrinking, but things could get better. He said that enhanced cooperation in the war on terror between the two countries as well as Pakistan and Afghanistan could help bridge the trust deficit.... The military operations have undoubtedly put pressure on the border, which is why some of the key al Qaeda operatives have been forced to flee the area and take refuge in Yemen and elsewhere. This poses a threat to worldwide peace." Editorial: Spread of Islam in West, an editorial in the popular rightist Urdu-language daily "Ausaf" (cir. 10,000) (01/06) "After the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. and its European allies opened a front against the Muslim world, while the western media made Muslims a scapegoat of its vitriolic hatred. Paradoxically, this policy not only spurred the Muslims to get even closer to their religion, but also augmented Islam's popularity among the non-Muslims." Editorial: Karzai Suffers A Humiliating Setback, an editorial in the country's premier business newspaper, "Business Recorder" (cir. 25,000) (01/06) "After winning another term, mired by serious accusations of fraud, Karzai has suffered another setback. As many as 17 out of 24 of his nominees for the proposed Afghan cabinet were rejected by country's Parliament, signaling difficulties ahead between the President and the majority of the elected deputies.... There was a widespread perception that the criteria for the selection of ministers were ethnicity, bribery or political and financial support rendered during Karzai's election.... So far Karzai administration's corruption and inefficiency bedeviled Karzai's foreign sponsors. The man they have been betting on was widely seen to be leading a corrupt administration.... Now the U.S. and its allies face another problem in Afghanistan: a government that they hoped would help them achieve victory, has an uncertain hold on parliament, which might not blindly endorse the policies, dictated by Karzai's foreign patrons." Opinion: Obama Needs A 'Plan B', an op-ed by Maleeha Lodhi and Anatole Lieven in the populist, often sensational national English daily "The News" (cir. 55,000) (01/06) "The key question to ask about President Obama's military surge in Afghanistan is, "Where is Plan B?" In other words, if the extra troops do not reverse the Taliban momentum and the Afghan governance structure and army cannot take over from the United States in the next few years, what then? Equally importantly, how does Obama hope to prevent increased U.S. pressure on Pakistan from further destabilizing that country and risking a much greater disaster for the region and the world?... Instead of considering this political approach to underpin the military effort, the U.S. is stepping up pressure on Pakistan, which is already struggling with the bloody militant fallout of previously flawed U.S. policies in Afghanistan. The U.S. should recognize that only Pakistan can bring the Taliban to the table once Washington decides to negotiate. Pressure on Pakistan to act against the Afghan Taliban will not just overstretch the Pakistan Army, undercut its own operations against militants and open a new front for a beleaguered state, but will permanently close the door on a negotiated end to the Afghan conflict." Opinion: End Of The Military-Jihadi Nexus, an op-ed by Dr. Manzur Ejaz in the Lahore-based liberal English language daily "Daily Times" (cir. 10,000) (01/06) "My view has been that it is one thing what the military wants and it is another what it is forced to do in the historical process. The military may have wanted to continue striving for its desired strategic depth in Afghanistan and keep India on its toes through proxy wars, but it was compelled to do just the opposite. Furthermore, the military has not acted against the Taliban and other extremist outfits due to U.S. pressure only, it has also moved to safeguard the state where they enjoy immense privileges." (All circulation figures are based on estimation) Patterson