PAKISTAN MEDIA REACTION: JANUARY 08, 2010

UNCLAS ISLAMABAD 000034 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KMDR KPAO OIIP OPRC PGOV PREL PK SUBJECT: PAKISTAN MEDIA REACTION: JANUARY 08, 2010 Summary: Coverage of the visiting U.S. congressional delegation led by Senator John McCain was front page news in all major English dailies today. Senator McCain's remarks that "drone strikes in Pakistan are an 'effective' part of U.S. strategy and should continue," received extensive coverage along with Pakistani President Zardari's response to the delegation that "drone attacks (are) undermining national consensus on the war on terror." Ambassador Patterson's Karachi visit continued to garner prominent media coverage on the second consecutive day. Her remarks terming the recent statement of Indian Army Chief as "silly," and that the "U.S. supports direct dialogue between Pakistan and India" were also reported. Almost all mainstream newspapers highlighted the U.S. Embassy's statement expressing "concerns" over harassment of its personnel and interception of U.S. Mission vehicles. Media also reported the Pakistani Foreign Office's statement accusing U.S. officials of placing "counterfeit" license plates on their vehicles. Secretary Clinton's comments that the "U.S. aid plan (is) based on partnership, not patronage" were also displayed prominently. English daily, "Dawn," reported the USAID Mission Director's statement that the "U.S. will be relying more on Pakistani government agencies in implementation of future assistance in the NWFP and FATA to ensure effectiveness of the initiatives." Reports of the forthcoming visit of U.S. Special Envoy Holbrooke continued to appear in several dailies today. End Summary. TOP STORIES News Story: Zardari Renews Demand For U.S. Drone Technology - "Dawn" (01/08) "President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday underlined the need for strategic long-term partnership between Pakistan and the United States based on mutual interest, respect and trust. He was talking to a U.S. delegation led by Senator John McCain. The President also reiterated the demand for transfer of drone technology to Pakistan so that Pakistan could itself hit high-value targets in tribal areas. He said drone attacks inside the Pakistani territory had undermined the national consensus on the war on terror." (Story also covered in all newspapers) News Story: Drone Strikes 'Effective' Part Of U.S. Strategy: McCain - "Dawn," "The Nation," "Daily Times" (01/08) "The use of drone strikes against suspected militants in Pakistan is an effective part of U.S. strategy and should continue, Republican �00A;Senator John McCain said Thursday. His comments came after Al-Qaeda reportedly said an attack on a U.S. base in eastern Afghanistan which killed seven CIA agents was to avenge drone strikes that have killed prominent militants. 'The drone strikes are part of an overall set of tactics which make up the strategy for victory and they have been very effective,' McCain told reporters during a brief trip to Afghanistan." News Story: Patterson Terms Indian Army Chief's Remarks 'Silly' - "The News" (01/08) "U.S. Ambassador Anne W. Patterson on Thursday, while terming the recent remarks of Indian Army Chief 'silly', said India and Pakistan should address their issues bilaterally to ensure progress in both the countries. In an interview to a private television channel, the U.S. envoy said there was an enormous potential for economic progress if India and Pakistan got together. The countries have complementary markets and just the commercial implications of the good relations between them are enormous, she said." News Story: U.S. Supports Pak-India Dialogue, Says Patterson - "Daily Times" (01/08) "The U.S. supports direct dialogue between Pakistan and India and wants both neighbors to restart talks this year, U.S. Ambassador Anne W Patterson said on Thursday. She said while addressing the members of the English Speaking Union at a local hotel in Karachi." News Story: U.S. To Invest In Countries Affected By Terrorism - "Dawn" (01/08) "U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said the United States will invest in countries that incubate terrorism as the cost of not doing so will be far greater. In a policy address on Wednesday she also said that the Obama administration intended to put development and foreign aid on the same level as diplomacy and military power in U.S. foreign policy." News Story: Interception Of Vehicles Irks U.S. Embassy - "Dawn," "The News," "Daily Times," "The Nation," "Pakistan Observer," "Business Recorder," "Jang," "Nawa-i-Waqt," Express," "Pakistan," "Khabrain," "Aaj-Kal," "Jinnah," "Al-Akhbar" (01/08) "Simmering diplomatic tensions between Pakistan and the United States came to fore on Thursday, with the two locking horns over the interception of U.S. Embassy vehicles for checking by local law-enforcement agencies. The U.S. Embassy in a press statement termed the interception of vehicles harassment of its staff by Pakistani security agencies and said the move would scuttle 'the new partnership' between Washington and Islamabad. Pakistan's Foreign Office immediately hit back at the criticism and accused some U.S. officials of placing counterfeit license plates on their vehicles" News Story: Aid Plan Based On Partnership Not Patronage: Hillary - "The Nation," "Nawa-i-Waqt" (01/08) "U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made an impassioned appeal Wednesday for greater U.S. international development aid, saying it was vital to U.S. and global security at a time of growing extremist threats. Development is a 'strategic, economic and moral imperative,' the top U.S. diplomat said in a speech at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington." News Story: U.S. To Channel Aid Thru Govt. Agencies - "Dawn" (01/08) "The United States will be more relying on Pakistan's government agencies in implementation of future assistance in the NWFP and Federally Administered Tribal Areas to ensure effectiveness of the initiatives, Robert J. Wilson, Mission Director of United States Agency for International Development (USAID),told journalists in Peshawar on Thursday." TERRORISM/MILITARY ISSUES News Story: U.S. Stays Focused On Pak-Afghan Region: Pentagon - "Dawn" (01/08) "The United States still regards the Pak-Afghan region as the epicenter of the war against extremists despite a Yemen-based attempt to bomb a U.S. airliner, says the Pentagon. 'I think there is no question that the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region is clearly the heartland of Al Qaeda and associated sympathetic terrorist militant groups,' Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell told a briefing in Washington." News Story: COAS Briefs President On Preparedness - "Dawn" (01/08) "Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani called on President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday and briefed him on the army's operational preparedness, overall security situation and the drive against militancy and extremism." News Story: President Okays Air Strikes Against Militants - "The Nation" (01/08) "President Asif Ali Zardari in his capacity as Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of Pakistan has given a go-ahead to the air strikes against identified strongholds of the militants in the difficult terrains of mountains. The President accorded approval to the coordinated efforts of the armed forces against the militants during his meeting with Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani who called on him in the Aiwan-e-Sadr on Thursday evening." News Story: No Compromise On Core Interests, Pakistan Tells U.S. - "The News" (01/08) "The United States has been clearly told that while Pakistan was looking forward to evolving a strategic partnership based on mutual trust, interest and benefits, it was also aware about Pakistan's 'red lines,' where Pakistan would never compromise on its core interests. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Nawabzada Malik Amad Khan said this while addressing the second meeting of the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs to discuss the new U.S. Afghanistan policy at the Foreign Office Thursday." News Story: Drone Attacks 'Arrogant Violation' Of Pak Sovereignty: JI - "Daily Times" (01/08) "In a press release issued on Thursday, Senators from the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) condemned the U.S. drone strikes in North Waziristan and called it an 'arrogant violation of Pakistan's sovereignty.' News Story: U.S. May Increase Pressure On Pakistan To Arrest Haqqani - "The News," "The Nation," "Daily Times" (01/08) "The United States will push Pakistan hard to take the risky move of going after the Haqqani militant network if the group is linked to a Jordanian who killed seven CIA employees in Afghanistan.... 'The CIA never suffered such big losses. They will not only take revenge locally, they will put pressure on Pakistan to take action against this group,' said Rahimullah Yusufzai, a veteran journalist and expert on militant affairs." News Story: Al Qaeda Says CIA Attack 'Revenge' For Drone Killings - "Daily Times" (01/08) "Al Qaeda hailed the suicide bombing that killed seven CIA agents in Afghanistan as 'revenge' for the deaths of top militants in U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan, extremists' websites said on Thursday." News Story: Deputy Chief Of TTP Held In Islamabad - "Dawn" (01/08) "Police claimed to have arrested on Thursday a suspect said to be the deputy chief of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan. A vehicle rigged out with explosives was seized, sources told 'Dawn' on Wednesday." News Story: Major Operation Soon: Malik - "The Nation" (01/08) "Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said that a major operation is being launched in Karachi against target-killings, while talking to a private TV channel on Thursday." News Story: Ten Die As Violence Erupts In Karachi - "Dawn" (01/08) "Ten persons, mostly with political backgrounds, were gunned down in Lyari and the adjoining localities on Thursday. The killings fuelled tension in the neighborhoods as frequent gunshots in the localities forced businesses to close and traffic to remain off the roads." News Story: Four Militants Killed, Several Arrested In Swat - "Dawn" (01/08) "Four militants were killed and several suspects were arrested during a search operation in different parts of the Swat valley on Thursday, according to an ISPR press release." News Story: Army To Train AJK Police In Fighting Terrorism - "Dawn" (01/08) "The Azad Jammu and Kashmir government on Thursday decided to get its police personnel trained by the armed forces to effectively combat terrorism, which has lately found its way in this peaceful region. This and many other important decisions were taken at a high level meeting, chaired by AJK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider and attended among others by General Officer Commanding 12-Div Maj-Gen Maqsood Ahmed, Chief Secretary Khalid Sultan and IGP Javed Iqbal." News Story: EU Calls For Common Stance On Airport Scanners - "Dawn" (01/08) "The Spanish EU presidency called on Thursday for a common European stance on the use of body scanners at airports as member states bickered over the issue after a failed plot to blow up a U.S. airplane, Spanish Transport Minister Jose Blanco said.' A common position would be beneficial for all of us' even if it wasn't binding, he told a press conference in Madrid." News Story: IDPs Crisis In Pakistan Far From Over: UN - "Dawn" (01/08) "Tens of thousands of Pakistanis are likely to be forced from their homes in 2010 as the military continues an assault against the Taliban, the head of the UN office responsible for emergencies said on Thursday. About 2.3 million people, mainly in the northwest of the country, were displaced by fighting at the peak of the crisis last year, creating one of the largest displacements in recent times." POLITICAL ISSUES News Story: Holbrooke To Visit Pakistan Next Week - "Dawn" (01/08) "U.S. Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke plans to visit the two countries next week as part of 'routine' consultations with their governments, according to a spokeswoman for his office." News Story: Situation in Pakistan Not Worst: Holbrooke - "The News" (01/08) "The U.S. Special Envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke has said he is not willing to accept that situation in Pakistan is worst. Speaking at Brooking Institute in Washington on Thursday, Holbrooke said 'Though Pakistan has some internal problems but it is working through to sort them out in its own way.'" News Story: Pak Warns Against Foreign Meddling In Afghan Affairs - "Dawn" (01/08) "Pakistan has cautioned the international community against outside involvement in the war-torn Afghanistan, but said it must remain engaged with its government. "Non-intervention and non-interference in the internal affairs of Afghanistan, however, must be a cardinal element of this engagement. No regional or extra-regional state should be allowed to manipulate the situation," Pakistan's UN Ambassador Abdullah Hussain Haroon told the Security Council during a debate on the situation in Afghanistan on Thursday." News Story: Deadlock Over Provincial Autonomy Continues - "Dawn" (01/08) "The Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Reforms failed on Thursday to reach a consensus on amendments to some articles relating to proclamation of emergency, sources told 'Dawn.' It discussed proposed amendments to Articles 232 to 236 of the Constitution under which the President has the powers to issue proclamation of emergency 'on account of war or internal disturbance' and 'suspend fundamental rights' of citizens. The sources said that members of the committee continued to differ on the thorny issue of provincial autonomy." ECONOMY/ENVIRONMENT News Story: Tax Exemption, Loan Write-Off Offered: Relief Package For NWFP, FATA Unveiled - "Dawn" (01/08) "Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani unveiled on Thursday a package for economic revival of the militancy-hit NWFP and tribal areas. Relief measures in the package include exemptions from different taxes, reduction in mark-up rates on small loans and writing off agricultural loans. The prime minister made the announcement at a ceremony organized by the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the residence of the Chief Minister." News Story: USAID Not Closing Its Program In Pakistan - "Daily Times" (01/08) "U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Pakistan Mission Director Robert J. Wilson said on Thursday the aid agency was not closing its program in Pakistan particularly in FATA due to security concerns and had plans to expand it and the expansion would be through local institutions." News Story: Health, Safety Standards: USAID Joins Hands With CNG Dealers' Association - "Dawn" (01/08) "The All Pakistan CNG Association joined hands with United States Agency for International Development (USAID) here on Thursday for promotion of health and safety standards at the CNG stations. They signed an agreement under the USAID Pakistan Jobs Project with an objective to prepare trained workforce for the CNG stations which will improve employees and employers' income, safety at the stations and customer service.... Meanwhile, USAID Pakistan Jobs chief Brian Cavanagh said the project was aimed at improving the competitiveness of the Pakistani economy by strengthening systems for the workforce development and jobs opportunities for youth." News Story: U.S. Not Willing To Sign FTA - "The Nation" (01/08) "Prime Minister's Advisor on Textile Mirza Ikhtiar Baig, while announcing package for Gilgit-Baltistan women, has said that power and gas load-management plan has already been decided by the Federal Cabinet and if it has yet not been implemented, the trade associations and the business community should pressurize the departments concerned for its implementation. He was speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Thursday.... Talking about the market access, he said that the U.S. was not willing to sign Free Trade Agreement with Pakistan but we could avail the opportunity of Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZs) as the ROZs Bill had been presented before the Congress. He said introduction of Value-added Tax and removal of subsidies and tariff rationalization are the part of the IMF conditionalities." MISCELLANEOUS News Story: Yemen Rejects U.S. Military Intervention - "The Nation" (01/08) "U.S. military intervention in Yemen to help fight Al-Qaeda militants could backfire and strengthen the jihadists believed behind the botched attack on a US airliner, Deputy Prime Minister for Defence and Security Affairs Rashed Al-Aleemi told a Press conference on Thursday." News Story: Does Hijab Trigger Security Checks? - "The Nation" (01/08) "A prominent Muslim civil rights group has asked the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to clarify whether Islamic headscarves, or Hijab, will now automatically trigger additional security measures for Muslim travelers. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) made that request after a Muslim woman traveler taking a flight Tuesday from Washington to Los Angeles reported that TSA personnel first asked that she take off her Hijab, then put her through a 'humiliating' public full-body pat-down search when she refused, according to a news release." EDITORIALS/OPINIONS Editorial: U.S. Can Earn More Goodwill In Pakistan, an editorial in the Islamabad-based rightist English daily "Pakistan Observer" (cir. 5,000) (01/08) "The soft-spoken U.S. Ambassador in Pakistan Anne Patterson Wednesday announced one billion rupees financial assistance for the many small businesses of Karachi which suffered losses during the Boulton Martket attack.... Such goodwill gestures earn wider recognition and appreciation from the common man. In our view the U.S. needs to take more similar initiatives to remove any ill will, right or wrong, towards Washington.... It is a fact that traditionally the people and the Government of Pakistan feel comfortable while dealing with the U.S. and these steps would earn more goodwill for the U.S. in Pakistan." Editorial: Other Voices - Pushto Press U.S. Funds For Tribal Areas, an editorial in the Karachi-based center-left independent national English daily "Dawn" (cir. 55,000) (01/08) "U.S. Envoy to Pakistan Anne Patterson has announced that her country would donate Rs4.5bn for the development of war-torn South Waziristan. Patterson regarded the aid as part of an agreement signed on September 30, 2009, under which the U.S. government promised to donate Rs75bn.... This will help Pakistan remove the tag of a state heading towards failure and earn it respect. Pakistan should be respected for its efforts against terrorism. The people of the tribal areas can only be taken on board to fight against extremism and terrorism if their social and economic problems are solved." Editorial: Outrageously Bad, an editorial in the center-right national English daily "The Nation" (cir. 20,000) (01/08) "The U.S. has ridden roughshod over our sovereignty; rather than ending the drone attacks, it has intensified them, bringing more Pakistani territory under the fury of its blitz. A flagrant violation of Pakistan's sovereignty, these strikes speak volumes about the Obama Administration's unilateralist policies and military adventurism resembling the situation in Afghanistan where thousands of civilians have been crushed to death so far, thanks to a joystick controlled thousands of miles away in the U.S. and raining missiles on a hapless population.... These strikes must stop if the region is to be prevented from witnessing further bloodshed and chaos." Editorial: Spreading Terror, an editorial in the Karachi-based center-left independent national English daily "Dawn" (cir. 55,000) (01/08) "Wednesday's bombing was reportedly the first such attack outside the AJK capital. Clearly, the tentacles of terror are spreading. When the Taliban and their affiliates first turned against Pakistan, their sphere of operations was limited mostly to the NWFP and Fata. But their reach grew under a government that was ostensibly fighting militancy and at the same time cutting peace deals from a position of weakness. The so-called Punjabi Taliban started making their presence felt and various extremist outfits across the country also closed ranks with the tribal militants." Editorial: Someone Has To Step Forward To Correct The System, an editorial in the second-largest, nationalist Urdu daily "Nawa-i-Waqt" (cir. 150,000) (01/08) "[In the current scenario] either the Supreme Court has to step forward as the liberator, or undemocratic forces will once again get the opportunity to oust democracy. If this happens, would Mian Nawaz Sharif not be partially responsible? U.S. Ambassador Anne W. Patterson, during her trip to Karachi, has already stated that an effective leadership is imperative for Pakistan. In beggar-countries such as ours, the only effective leadership in American eyes is that of dictator-generals, through which it can easily fulfill its objectives." Editorial: Accept The Offer Of Talks, an editorial in the second-largest, nationalist Urdu daily "Nawa-i-Waqt" (cir. 150,000) (01/08) "Fifteen persons were killed and 6 injured in three consecutive drone strikes in North Waziristan... Hundreds of tribal Muslim brethren have been killed in drone attacks so far. There are hundreds of informers working for CIA, FBI and other agencies in these areas; they have their own method of giving information to drones about suspect areas, and without any confirmation they send the drones on their destructive mission.... Maulana Samiul Haq, Gen.(retired) Hamid Gul and Tehrik-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan have repeatedly offered the government that they are willing to act as mediators with the tribal elders... The government must unconditionally accept this offer so that the war can be contained." Opinion: Realization In The USA At Last?, an op-ed by Dr. Ijaz Ahsan in the center-right national English daily "The Nation" (cir. 20,000) (01/08) "Among a section of the U.S. media, the realization seems to be coming about that American adventures in Iraq and Afghanistan are counterproductive.... I feel that if the Americans keep writing at this rate and with such force of argument, U.S. troops may go home earlier than anyone expects." Opinion: Mr. Bush All Over Again, an op-ed by Dr. Muzaffar Iqbal in the populist, often sensational national English daily "The News" (cir. 55,000) (01/08) "With one failed attempt, Mr. Obama has shed all his coloring and now talks exactly like Mr. Bush. His words state what Bush used to: all other human beings are somehow less human than Americans. Had that not been the case, Mr. Obama would have stopped the drone attacks in Pakistan in respect of the lives of innocent women and children.... He would have asked: 'Is it not strange that when Americans kill, no one is supposed to mourn those deaths, no country is allowed to take any measures against continuous American attacks, but it is always the other way around.' When seven CIA agents were killed in Afghanistan last week, the most obvious question that should have been asked was: what were they doing there? Why were they there in the first place? But no one asked that question, at least not in America." Opinion: Planned hype, an op-ed by Dr. Masooda Bano in the populist, often sensational national English daily "The News" (cir. 55,000) (01/08) "The crisis mode created around President Zardari's speech has an air of planned maneuvering around it.... Commentators are arguing that he is putting the country at risk by entering into a confrontation with the U.S. and other institutions of the state.... There is nothing in Zardari's speech that is not part of the popular belief. If he hinted towards the role of U.S. in weakening institutions in Iraq and Afghanistan, and argued that Pakistan won't be allowed to reach that stage while talking about the forces within the state, which are out to destabilize the democratic process, the question is what is so shocking about it. Anyone who engages with the ordinary public on these issues knows that both are popularly argued positions and many within the masses actually want the government to keep a distance from the U.S." Opinion: India's Challenge, an op-ed by Ayesha Siddiqa in the Karachi-based center-left independent national English daily "Dawn" (cir. 55,000) (01/08) "The statement by Indian army chief Gen. Deepak Kapoor regarding his army's capacity to fight a two-front war upset a lot of people in Pakistan. Both Pakistan's army chief and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee rebutted such superfluous claims.... However, Kapoor's statement is one of the many symbols of the growing significance of India's military in the country's security and foreign policy paradigm, particularly as far as Pakistan, China and the U.S. are concerned." Opinion: Cultivating Brevity And Calmness, an op-ed by Ayaz Amir in the populist, often sensational national English daily "The News" (cir. 55,000) (01/08) "Gen. Kapoor's two-front war assessment has been read in Pakistan almost as a declaration of war, and everyone responding to it has done so with a mixture of anger and heightened alarm. From Gen. Kayani has come this warning: 'Proponents of conventional application of military forces, in a nuclear overhang, are charting an adventurous path, the consequences of which could be both unintended and uncontrollable.' The foreign minister has been livid as has been the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen Tariq Majeed. Has all this wordiness been necessary? Are we such an insecure nation that a single misinterpreted statement can so unsettle us? If a riposte was necessary, a one-liner from the Inter-Services Public Relations would have served the purpose. Something like, 'Everyone is entitled to his fantasies,' delivered with an ironic curl of the lips." Opinion: What is Gen. Kapoor Rationale?, an op-ed by A. Siddique in the center-right national English daily "The Nation" (cir. 20,000) (01/08) "Apparently General Kapoor wants to restart the sounding of the Indian mindset that tends to play down efficacy of Pakistan's nuclear deterrence hoping that it would be able to launch aggression without crossing the nuclear threshold.... The military threat and response is a dynamic and evolving issue. And the Pakistan army cannot rest on its laurels in keeping the threat of Indian aggression on bay. The Indian 'Cold Start Strategy' certainly would have been analyzed by the Pakistan army and a response forged; one is certain. Needless to say, Pakistan's nuclear deterrent needs to remain credible, effective and relevant to the timeframe of operations that the Indian Army Chief, General Deepak Kapoor, is contemplating. If the Indian design is to present a fait accompli before a nuclear response materializes then the preparedness level of our nuclear deterrent needs to be tailored accordingly. Possessing tactical nuclear weapons that should destroy the invaders without crossing the Indian nuclear threshold should prove instrumental in deterring a reckless adventure." (All circulation figures are based on estimation) Patterson