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