PAKISTAN MEDIA REACTION: FEBRUARY 25, 2010

UNCLAS ISLAMABAD 000446 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KMDR KPAO OIIP OPRC PGOV PREL PK SUBJECT: PAKISTAN MEDIA REACTION: FEBRUARY 25, 2010 Summary: Coverage of the defeat of a veteran politician, former Information Minister, Sheikh Rashid in a by-election to a National Assembly seat in Rawalpindi dominated headlines in nearly all major newspapers on Thursday morning. Media published conflicting reports about the extradition of Taliban commander Mullah Baradar. Some claimed that the GOP refused to hand over Mullah Baradar to the U.S., while others reported that he will be extradited to Afghanistan. CENTCOM chief General Petraeus and FBI Director Muller's Pakistan visits received extensive coverage. Secretary Clinton's remarks that the State Department is seeking $3.2 billion for Pakistan during the next fiscal year, along with reports that Islamabad received $349.3 million as first installment of the Coalition Support Fund (CSF) received prominent display. Newspapers reported killing of nine suspected militants from Punjab in a drone strike in North Waziristan. All mainstream dailies reported that Taliban have beheaded three men in North Waziristan, on charges of "spying" for the United States. Several newspapers carried reports that the U.S. Senate criticized a "reckless" Blackwater unit in Afghanistan. The issue of the dramatic arrest of Jundullah's chief Abdolmalek Rigi in Iran continues to garner coverage and media quoted Pakistan's envoy to Tehran as claiming that "Pakistan helped Iran nab Rigi." Commenting on the subject, the prestigious daily "Dawn," observed that "Jundallah's claim that Pakistani intelligence helped in Rigi's arrest should serve to remove some misunderstandings between Tehran and Islamabad." Conversely, "The Nation," in its usual critical vein claimed that the "Americans have been exposed yet again for playing cloak and dagger games in the region targeting Muslim states." End Summary. TOP STORIES News Story: Unofficial Results Show PML-N Candidate Beat AML Chief By 21,358 Votes: Sheikh Rashid Trounced - "Daily Times" (02/25) "The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz stamped its authority in Rawalpindi by retaining the NA-55 seat for the third time in less than three years as the party's candidate, Malik Shakeel Awan, trounced Sheikh Rashid Ahmed to a convincing victory in the by-poll, according to unofficial results." News Story: US Request To Hand Over Baradar Turned Down - "Dawn" (02/25) "The government refused on Wednesday to hand over to the US the commander of Afghan Taliban, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, who was recently captured in Karachi." News Story: Pakistan Agrees To Hand Over Baradar To Afghanistan' - "The News" (02/25) "A top Taliban leader picked up in Pakistan as part of a recent crackdown on insurgents will be handed over to Afghanistan, an Afghan government official said on Wednesday. Islamabad said, however, that it had received no formal request to turn him over and that he could be tried first in Pakistan. Mulla Abdul Ghani Baradar is one of at least three Afghan Taliban commanders, who have been captured in recent weeks in Pakistan." News Story: Petraeus Lauds Pak Efforts In War On Terror - "The News," "Experss," "Ausaf," "Aaj Kal," "Pakistan," "Khabrain," (02/25) "Gen. Petraeus praised Pakistan's efforts to confront violent extremists and honored the sacrifices being made every day by the Pakistan military, government and people in their fight to restore peace and stability." News Story: FBI Chief Attends US-Pak-Afghan Session - "Daily Times," "Dawn," "The News," "Express," (02/25) "Robert Mueller, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI),participated in the US-Afghanistan-Pakistan tripartite session in order to discuss various matters of security." News Story: US Seeks $3.2bn For Pakistan, Says Hillary - "Dawn" (02/25) "US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Congress on Wednesday that her department was seeking $3.2 billion for Pakistan during the next fiscal year, which begins on Oct 1." News Story: US Pays $349.3 Million As CSF Against Bill Of $1.350 Billion - "The News" (02/25) "Against the total forwarded bill of $1.350 billion on account of military operation against the militants in the tribal areas, Islamabad on Wednesday received $349.3 million as the first installment during the ongoing financial year 2009-10 in the shape of reimbursement from the USA for Coalition Support Fund (CSF). News Story: US Drone Strike Kills Eight In North Waziristan - "Dawn" (02/25) "A US drone attacked a compound in the Dandy Derpakhel area of North Waziristan on Wednesday, killing eight suspected militants and injuring six others. According to sources, the unmanned plane fired three missiles, one of which hit a parked vehicle. The compound and the car were completely destroyed." News Story: Taliban Behead Three 'US Spies' - "Daily Times" (02/25) "The Taliban have beheaded three men, including two Afghans, in North Waziristan, accusing them of spying for the US, officials said on Wednesday." News Story: US Senate Slams 'Reckless' Blackwater Unit In Afghanistan - "The Nation" (02/25) "Military contractors in Afghanistan working for the security company Blackwater regularly carried unauthorised weapons and engaged in "reckless" behavior that included the accidental shooting of a fellow contractor, a US Senate investigation has found." News Story: US Embassy Offered Less Land At Higher Rate - "Dawn" (02/25) "The government has decided to reduce drastically the size of land to be sold to the US embassy and sharply increase the price, Dawn has learnt reliably. The embassy was initially offered 18.5 acres of land by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) at a price of Rs15,000 per square yard. Now the size of land has been reduced to 8.5 acres and the embassy will have to pay about Rs85,000 ($1,000) per sq yd." TERRORISM/MILITARY ISSUES News Story: Pakistan Helped Iran Nab Jundallah Chief - "Dawn" (02/25) "Pakistan played a role in helping Iran arrest its most wanted Jundallah chief Abdolmalek Rigi who was seized onboard a flight from Dubai, Islamabad's ambassador to Tehran Mohammad Abbasi said on Wednesday." News Story: Afghan Taliban Fear Maulvi Kabir Captured In Pakistan - "The News" (02/25) "Afghan Taliban said on Wednesday that they had lost contact with their senior leaders, including Maulvi Kabir, in-charge of Afghanistan's important eastern zone, for the past several days. They feared Maulvi Kabir is being held in Pakistan. "I am sure now that Maulvi Sahib (Kabir) has been arrested in Pakistan," said a senior Taliban commander operating in Kunar province while requesting anonymity. He called The News from an undisclosed location and said he had not been able to speak to Maulvi Kabir for the past five days. News Story: Nato Tankers Cause Annual Loss Of Rs50bn' - "Dawn" (02/25) "Federal Minister for Communications Arbab Alamgir Khan said on Wednesday that Nato containers and tankers had been causing a yearly loss of Rs50 billion to the National Highway Authority by damaging the road network in Balochistan." News Story: US Cites Secret Evidence - "The Nation" (02/25) "Prosecutors preparing to try a Pakistani-born Chicago businessman on charges he aided the 2008 Mumbai attackers invoked a secrecy law on Wednesday to control evidence disclosures in the case. Defendant Tahawwur Rana looked on during a federal court hearing where Patrick Fitzgerald, the US Attorney in Chicago, and other prosecutors asked the judge for a private hearing to lay out the government's classified evidence. The judge set the hearing for March 29." POLITICAL ISSUES News Story: U.S. Hopes Talks Will Lead To Sustained Dialogue - "Dawn" (02/25) "On the eve of the New Delhi talks, a senior White House official expressed the hope that India-Pakistan dialogue would move towards more normalized relations between the two neighbors'." News Story: Swiss Cases Can't Be Reopened, PM Told - "The News" (02/25) "Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday was given a briefing on the Swiss cases against President Asif Ali Zardari and informed that these cases could not be reopened under the Swiss law." News Story: NAB Chairman Sends In Resignation, Asked To Continue - "Daily Times" (02/25) "National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Naveed Ahsan formally sent in his resignation on Wednesday, but has been asked by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani to continue until the government finds a replacement." News Story: Pak Foreign Secretary Reaches India For Talks- "Daily Times" (02/25) "Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir arrived in the Indian capital on Wednesday for closed-door talks with his Indian counterpart, Nirupama Rao, today (Thursday). Addressing reporters at the airport, Bashir hoped for the talks to yield a positive outcome. 'It is good to be back here. I have come to bridge the differences, and I hope for a positive outcome,' he said." MISCELLANEOUS News Story: Swat: A Model For US Generals In Afghanistan - "Daily Times" (02/25) "From US National Security Adviser James Jones to Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen, no senior American military dignitary's visit to Pakistan is complete without a trip to the former Taliban stronghold of Swat. Less than 24 hours after a suicide attack ripped through Mingora, US Gen David Petraeus' visit to Swat on Tuesday is a testament to the importance Washington attaches to the "successful Swat model" of an operation against the Taliban." News Story: Obama To Consult Sarkozy On Pakistan, Afghanistan- "The Nation" (02/25) ". . . . A White House statement said Obama "looks forward to consulting with President Sarkozy on a broad range of issues of mutual concern including Afghanistan and Pakistan, Iran, Middle East peace efforts, European security cooperation and global economic recovery. . . ." News Story: UN Commission Meets President, Prime Minister - "Daily Times" (02/25) "UN commission probing the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto met President Asif Ali Zardari at the Aiwan-e-Sadr on Wednesday ahead of finalizing its report, the president's spokesman said." EDITORIALS/OPINIONS Editorial: Rigi's Arrest , an editorial in the center-right national English daily "The Nation" (cir. 20,000) (02/25) ". . . . The Iranian Interior Minister has confirmed that they are in possession of evidence which shows that Rigi was hand in glove with the US and UK to foment unrest in the country. They allege that he has an Afghan passport and had met with the NATO chief leaving no doubt of the US backing him up. Tehran also maintains that hours before his arrest, he was present in a US military base in Afghanistan. The Iranian charges seem to have an element of truth. Even US analyst Seymour Hersh had, in the past, hinted at the possibility of the Bush regime in cahoots with Jundullah to create trouble in Iran. . . . The Americans have been exposed yet again for playing cloak and dagger games in the region targeting Muslim states. On the one hand, they are trying to extend their hegemony to Iran in an outrageously highhanded manner and, on the other, enlisting the support of the Indian intelligence RAW to carry out acts of sabotage and bombings in Pakistan. Add to this the alleged unlawful activities of the Blackwater mercenaries and the US dangerous intent becomes clear. We must watch out for our so-called ally." Editorial: Jundallah Chief's Arrest , an editorial in the Karachi-based center-left independent national English daily "Dawn" (cir. 55,000) (02/25) ". . . . Jundallah's claim that Pakistani intelligence helped in Rigi's arrest should serve to remove some misunderstandings between Tehran and Islamabad. Additionally, along with Mullah Baradar's arrest it may also mark a dramatically different, and welcome, approach by the Pakistani security set-up." Editorial: Surge In Extremism, an editorial in the Karachi-based center-left independent national English daily "Dawn" (cir. 55,000) (02/25) ". . . . In recent weeks, there have been many reports from various parts of the country of'resurgence' in the ranks of the extremists. While the administration may be on the lookout for terrorists dispatched by militants from the tribal belt, it also needs to ensure that no local groups are allowed to function through violence and hate-mongering. . . ." Editorial: Killing Civilians ,an editorial in the populist, often sensational national English daily "The News" (cir. 55,000) (02/25) ". . . . General McChrystal says the troops are there 'to protect the Afghan people' but the US and NATO forces use air power excessively and end up killing innocent civilians. Is there a way out? It is unlikely that the foreign troops will leave Afghanistan anytime soon. Obama's troop pullout deadline of July 2011 appears unrealistic as key managers of the war have feared that the fighting is likely to continue for years. And as long as the war continues, so will death and destruction." Opinion: Governing The Governors Of Pakistan an op-ed by Syed Talat Hussain in the Lahore-based liberal English language daily "Daily Times" (cir. 10,000) (02/25) ". . . . In the last 62 years, except for the brief spurt of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's public diplomacy, much of the country's relations with the US have remained a complex network of deals and personal understandings the rulers of the day give to the American negotiators dangling short carrots on long knives. . . ." Editorial: Government's Responsibility After Successful Military Operation, an editorial in the leading mass circulation populist, often sensational Urdu daily "Jang" (cir. 300,000) (02/25) "After the successful operation in South Waziristan, Swat, Malakand, and other tribal areas, the military leadership has asked the civilian authorities to assume control of these places. We think that the rehabilitation of displaced people and compensation of the damage caused to their properties during the war against extremists should be the first and foremost priority of the government. This will ensure full cooperation from these people if terrorists challenge the government's writ in the future." Opinion: Afghanistan: The Initial Salvo, an op-ed I.M.Mohsin in the center-right national English daily "The Nation" (cir. 20,000) (02/25) ". . . . Pakistan has been actively helping in the new U.S. strategy. The cost of it is rising, as is indicated by the latest bombing in incidents in Swat and Chilas. . . .At the same time the regional countries have to realize that they must pool their resources to find a local solution as even the U.S. power appears to be giving a stalemate in nine years. . . . We have already paid a heavy price in the last 30 years due to the old game rejuvinated by the U.S./Soviet Empire of the yore, The U.S. has varied interests but it too can not walk away." Editorial: Indo-Pak Foreign Secretaries Talks: Nothing Except Kashmir And Water Should Be Discussed, an editorial in the second-largest, nationalist Urdu daily "Nawa-i-Waqt" (cir. 150,000) (02/25) "Now that the Pakistani delegation has been sent to India, it should be told in categorical terms that both the countries cannot have good neighborly relations without resolving the Kashmir dispute in keeping with UN resolutions on Kashmir.... If India keeps occupying Kashmir and does not stop its conspiracies to push us into a drought by stopping our water, then Pakistan knows how to protect its security and sovereignty." Editorial: Delhi talks: why was Pakistan's delegation changed? , an editorial in the center-right Urdu daily "Pakistan" (cir. 10,000) (02/25) "Pakistan has changed the composition of its delegation to India by replacing water and power and interior ministries representatives with two directors of the foreign office.... Did someone have a dream just before the departure on Pakistani delegation that two important members of the delegation were replaced with two directors of the foreign office...? By removing the two water and power and interior ministries delegates what message is Pakistan sending. Does it want to say that it would not raise water and terrorism issues in the talks and will discuss only the Kashmir issue? But India does not even want to have Kashmir on the agenda of talks, meaning thereby that the talks will fail before starting.... And if India wants to discuss terrorism then what prompted Pakistan to drop the representative of Interior ministry.... Anyway, Pakistan's altered delegation has reached Delhi and we might see the 'fate' of the dialogue soon." (All circulation figures are based on estimation) Patterson