MEDIA REACTION: PAKISTAN, TERRORISM: U.S.

UNCLAS NEW DELHI 000024 SIPDIS STATE FOR NP, AC, PM STATE FOR INR/MR STATE FOR SCA/INS, PM/CBM, PM/PRO STATE FOR SCA/PPD, PA/RRU STATE FOR AID/APRE-A USDOC FOR 4530/IEP/ANESA/OSA FOR BILL MURPHY E.O. 12958:N/A TAGS: KMDR KPAO PGOV PREL IN SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: PAKISTAN, TERRORISM: U.S. POLICY, SOUTH ASIA; NEW DELHI. This countrywide cable reports on relevant media reaction/opinion from India's large non-English press. The Mission reports on English-language media via email through the daily "Early Edition" summary. -------------- PAKISTAN -------------- ¶1. "Pakistan's intolerance," op-ed article in left-of- center Marathi daily, APLA MAHANAGAR: "The recent bomb attack on Shias in Karachi shows how the situation is deteriorating in Pakistan with each passing day. Sectarian violence, especially between the Shias and the Sunnis, has always assumed ugly proportions in this crisis-ridden country. Intolerance and fundamentalism is at the core of Pakistan's problems -- domestic tangles as well as the conflict with India." -------------- TERRORISM: U.S. POLICY -------------- ¶2. "U.S. ANTI-TERRORISM MISSION," commentary in January 6 nationalist Hindi daily, RASHTRIYA SAHARA: "America's efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan have not yielded success. It invaded Iraq, but no nuclear weapons were found. Iran is already on its target. Now it is planning a war in Yemen to eliminate Al-Qaida. Actually, what the U.S. wants is a world where no one can challenge it. It is using terrorism as a convenient excuse to attack any country. The U.S. has to be stopped. Tomorrow it could be us!" ¶3. "AMERICA'S TOUGH REGULATIONS," editorial in January 7 right-of-center Gujarati daily, GUJARAT SAMACHAR: "America's new screening procedures for 13 countries at U.S. ports of entry following a failed terrorist attack on a Detroit-bound plane indicate how vigilant the country is about the security of its own people. Indian leaders need to emulate this example and implement such provisions at airports rather than waste time on tweeting about security issues." -------------- SOUTH ASIA -------------- ¶4. "SOUTH ASIA'S MISFORTUNE," op-ed in January 6 right- of-center Hindi daily, DAINIK JAGRAN: "Unlike European countries, South Asia remains stagnant. SAARC has not worked because of egos and enmity. The real problem is that the political parties of these countries do not know how to govern in practical terms. If they had a common union, they could face the challenges of terrorism and backwardness. But they would rather harm their neighbors than cooperating. This is holding South Asia back." ROEMER