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SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KMDR KPAO OIIP OPRC PGOV PREL PK
SUBJECT:  PAKISTAN MEDIA REACTION: DECEMBER 16, 2009 
 
Summary:  Coverage of the suicide car bombing in Dera Ghazi Khan 
dominated front pages this morning.  Against the backdrop of this 
latest attack, U.S-Pakistan dialogue on the fight against violent 
extremism continued to play out in the headlines.  Most papers 
reported Admiral Mullen's meeting with his Pakistani counterpart, 
General Majeed, carrying Mullen's message that "defeating the 
Taliban and al Qaeda is a must for peace".  Vice President Biden's 
comments to MSNBC that stabilizing Pakistan and defeating al Qaeda 
are America's main strategic goals in South Asia were also widely 
covered.  On the Pakistani side, coverage prominently featured the 
Pakistani military's refusal of U.S. demands to crack down on the 
Haqqani network.  Many newspapers also carried Foreign Office 
spokesman's statement that Pakistan has conveyed to the U.S. its 
concerns over the extension of drone attacks.  All major English 
language dailies covered Counsel for the Federation, Kamal Azfar's 
retraction of his statement that the CIA and GHQ threaten the 
Pakistani democratic system; however reports indicate that Azfar 
only clarified his stance on the GHQ, making no mention of his CIA 
claims.  Continuing its conspiratorial slant, The Nation front-paged 
a story entitled "Arrival of the Jackals", alleging the CIA's 
"longstanding presence in Pakistan".  Law enforcement news completed 
today's coverage with reports that the alleged American Jihadis have 
been remanded and will be booked under the Anti Terrorism Act (ATA). 
 End Summary. 
 
TOP STORIES 
 
News Story: 'Concern Over Haqqani Network': Stabilizing Pakistan 
Main U.S. Goal, Says Biden "Dawn," "Daily Times," "The News" 
(12/16) 
 
"Stabilizing Pakistan and defeating Al Qaeda are America's main 
strategic interests in South Asia, U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden 
said on Tuesday. He stressed the need for a long-term partnership 
with Pakistan. In an interview to MSNBC television channel, Mr. 
Biden also emphasized the need to work with Pakistan to undo the 
Haqqani network and defeat the Pakistani Taliban." 
 
News Story: Pak Rebuffs U.S. Demand To Hit Haqqani Group "The 
Nation" (12/16) 
 
"Pakistani military has rebuffed U.S. military's demands to hit 
Siraj Haqqani, whose fighters pose the biggest threat to American 
forces in Afghanistan, The New York Times reported on Tuesday." 
 
News Story: Mullen, Majid Discuss Possible Implications Of U.S. 
Afghan Strategy On Pakistan "Daily Times," "Khabrain," "Express" 
(12/16) 
 
"Chairman U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen called 
on his Pakistani counterpart General Tariq Majid on Tuesday and 
discussed Washington's revised policy for Afghanistan and the 
region. The two exchanged views on the possible implications of the 
new Afghan strategy on Pakistan, envisaging additional 30,000 troops 
to turn around the war on terror and force the Taliban into 
submission. Sources said Gen. Tariq highlighted the importance of a 
stable Afghanistan for Pakistan and said Pakistan's armed forces 
were committed to rooting out militancy from the Tribal Areas, the 
Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said." 
 
News Story: India Using Afghanistan To Destabilize Pakistan "The 
Nation" (12/16) 
 
"U.S. Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Admiral Michael 
Mullen, who arrived here on Tuesday on a two-day visit, called on 
his Pakistani counterpart General Tariq Majeed and discussed new 
U.S. Afghan policy, regional security and other professional matters 
with him.... However, according to the sources, General Tariq 
conveyed his concerns to the American Admiral over potential fallout 
of U.S. troop surge on Pakistan. General Majeed also conveyed to the 
U.S. counterpart the country's concerns over growing Indian 
involvement in destabilizing Pakistan by using Afghan soil." 
 
News Story: "Defeating Taliban, Al Qaeda Must For Peace: Mullen "The 
News," "Jang" (12/16) 
 
"The U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman Admiral Mike 
Mullen has said that defeating Taliban and Al Qaeda was inevitable 
for establishing peace and stability in the region, for which 
Pakistan's cooperation with U.S. was of paramount importance, 
military sources quoted him as saying during his special address at 
National Defense University, Islamabad after arriving from Kabul on 
Tuesday." 
 
News Story: Suicide Attack Outside Khosa's House Kills 33 "Daily 
Times" (12/16) 
 
"A suicide car bomb exploded in a market outside the home of the 
Punjab chief minister's senior adviser, Zulfiqar Khosa in Dera Ghazi 
Khan on Tuesday, killing 33 people and wounding 60 others.... The 
attacker had packed the car with about 900 pounds (400 kilogram's) 
of explosives, senior police officer Muhammad Rizwan said." (Story 
also covered in all newspapers) 
 
News Story: U.S. Flays Blast "The Frontier Post," "Jinnah," 
"Express," "Ausaf," "Pakistan" (12/16) 
 
"The U.S. Embassy in Pakistan Strongly condemned the terrorist 
bombing on Tuesday in Dera Ghazi Khan that claimed the lives of 
innocent Pakistanis and injured many more." 
 
News Story: GHQ's Been A Bad Boy, But Kayani Is A Gentleman "The 
News" (12/16) 
 
"Making a hasty retreat from his stunning Monday statement wherein 
he had tried to unnerve the Supreme Court with CIA-GHQ sponsored 
anti-democracy consequences, Kamal Azfar on Tuesday took refuge 
behind the blame-it-on-past doctrine and told the court that the 
General Headquarters (GHQ) had been destabilizing the democratic 
process but gave the incumbent COAS a good behavior pass." (Story 
also covered in all newspapers) 
 
News Story: CIA Has Longstanding Presence In Pakistan "The Nation" 
(12/16) 
 
"The recent terror incidents in the major cities of the country have 
shown light to an ugly reality related to the hatching up of a 
malicious conspiracy against the very existence of Pakistan, which 
has often been exposed in Western media. CIA has been working on its 
heinous and expansionist plans in Pakistan for years. In a recent 
article published in Times in September 2009, a CIA agent, Art 
Keller, said that about 50 to 100 CIA agents have been working in 
Waziristan to locate the presence of Osama bin Laden for the last 
eight years." 
 
News Story: Court Gives 10-Day Physical Remand: Six Americans To Be 
Booked Under ATA "Dawn" (12/16) 
 
"The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) has reportedly decided to book 
the six United States nationals under Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA). The 
police had registered a case against Waqar Hussain Khan, 22 
(Virginia), Ahmed Abdullah Mani, 20 (Virginia), Ramay S Zamzam, 22 
(Egypt) Iman Hasan Yamar, 17, (California), Omar Farouk, 24 and his 
father Khalid Farouk (Virginia) under the Pakistan Penal Code for 
criminal conspiracy and violation of Foreigners Act after arresting 
them from Sargodha on December 9 and sealed it soon after." (Story 
also covered in all newspapers) 
 
TERRORISM/MILITARY ISSUES 
 
News Story: Concerns Over Drone Attacks' Extension Conveyed To U.S.: 
FO "Daily times," "The Nation," "The News" (12/16) 
 
"Pakistan has conveyed its concerns over the extension of drone 
attacks to Balochistan to the U.S., a Foreign Office (FO) spokesman 
told a private TV channel on Tuesday. Abdul Basit said the U.S. 
could better understand the implications of extension of the 
attacks, adding that the U.S. should not only avoid it but also stop 
such attacks in FATA." (Story also covered in all newspapers) 
 
News Story: NATO Oil Tankers Torched, Gas Pipeline Blown Up "Dawn," 
"The Nation," "The News," "The Frontier Post" (12/16) 
 
"Two oil tankers carrying fuel for NATO forces in Afghanistan were 
torched and a gas pipeline in the Loti area of Dera Bugti district 
(Quetta) was blown up on Tuesday, police said." 
 
News Story: Taliban Want Talks With Govt.: Malik "Daily Times" 
(12/16) 
 
"The Taliban leadership is sending messages from various sources to 
the government for holding dialogue, Interior Minister Rehman Malik 
said on Tuesday. 'The government cannot hold talks with unreliable 
people who don't even fulfill their commitments. If the 
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) really wants to hold dialogue with 
the government, they must surrender and lay down their arms first,' 
Malik said." 
 
News Story: 20 Killed In Orakzai Air Strikes "Dawn" (12/16) 
 
"Twenty militants were killed and six others injured in air strikes 
in lower Orakzai Agency on Tuesday evening. Three camps and four 
vehicles of the militants were destroyed, official sources said." 
(Story also covered in all newspapers) 
 
News Story: 23 Militants Killed In Kurram "The News" (12/16) 
 
"Security forces killed 23 more militants and injured five others 
while five were arrested in the Muswozai area in Kurram Agency on 
Tuesday, official sources said." (Story also covered in all 
newspapers) 
 
News Story: Jamaat-e-Islami Holds Anti-U.S., India Rally In Chakwal 
"The Nation," "The News" (12/16) 
 
"Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Chakwal arranged protest rally against America 
and India on Tuesday. The protesters were carrying banners and 
placards in which anti-America and India slogans were inscribed." 
 
EDITORIALS/OPINIONS 
 
Editorial: Please Stop, an editorial in the Karachi-based 
center-left independent national English daily "Dawn" (cir. 55,000) 
(12/16) 
 
"The American side needs to stop its public posturing and reflect 
privately on the pluses of the present partnership with Pakistan. So 
keen of late to drum up the differences, the Americans have perhaps 
deliberately but no less foolishly downplayed the very real 
cooperation of the Pakistani security establishment. From a 
reasonable level of partnership across the Pak-Afghan border to 
impede the flow of militants in both directions to the 
intelligence-sharing that makes drone strikes possible in the 
Waziristan agencies to the occasional breaking up of Al Qaeda cells 
inside Pakistan, there is in fact a healthy degree of ongoing 
cooperation between the two countries. Beating the 'do more' drum, 
however, obscures that reality and makes the security establishment 
here bristle at the thought of being bullied by a 'friend' and an 
'ally'." 
 
Editorial: Our Friend! Our Enemy!, an editorial in the center-right 
national English daily "The Nation" (cir. 20,000) (12/16) 
 
"U.S. Central Command Chief General David Petraeus should not make 
light of the warning by Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq 
Pervaiz Kayani to stop drone attacks in FATA. The U.S. General was 
also told about the Indian involvement in terrorist activities in 
Pakistan through Afghanistan. General Kayani's worry would lend 
credibility to the perception that the U.S. in league with New Delhi 
is involved in the ongoing destabilization of Pakistan.... The 
repercussions of U.S. adventurism would be severe to say the least. 
Drone attacks are no antidote to the prevailing conundrum.... By 
making Pakistan a scapegoat for its own failings in Afghanistan, the 
U.S. would be living up to its reputation of a proverbial 
weathercock ditching its partners in the end." 
 
Editorial: Threat To Quetta, an editorial in the populist, often 
sensational national English daily "The News" (cir. 55,000) (12/16) 
 
"The prospect of drone strikes over an urban centre is indeed 
horrifying. The bombings in the northern areas have already created 
much angst and, in some ways at least, fuelled militancy. Any action 
elsewhere would meet with still angrier reaction. It is obvious that 
loss of innocent lives, or 'collateral damage' as the U.S. terms 
such deaths of women, men and children, will be unavoidable in that 
situation. We must hope and pray that this never becomes a reality. 
But we must also ask what our own government is doing to ensure 
this.... In the wake of the growing demands that the Quetta issue be 
addressed, the government needs to act quickly - and, for once, 
wisely. For our sakes, more than for anyone else, the Taliban need 
to be acted against wherever they are based." 
 
Editorial: Pak-U.S. Relations May Ultimately Rupture, an editorial 
in the Islamabad-based rightist English daily "Pakistan Observer" 
(cir. 5,000) (12/16) 
 
"Vibes from Washington and the talks General Petraeus held in 
Islamabad leave no doubt that Pakistan is coming under increased 
pressure from the United States to deploy more troops along the 
Durand Line, expand the military operation to North Waziristan and 
act against alleged Taliban leadership in the vicinity of Quetta. 
The message from the Obama administration is categorical and if it 
does not act more aggressively, U.S. will use considerably more 
force on its side of the border to shut down the Taliban attacks.... 
If the U.S. went ahead with its plan to launch drone strikes in 
Quetta or any other settled area, then the Government and the people 
would certainly react to this misadventure and it may rupture 
Pak-U.S. cooperation in the fight against extremist groups and 
further destabilize the whole region." 
 
Editorial: Time Has Come To Take Courageous Decisions, lead 
editorial in the popular rightist Urdu-language daily "Ausaf" (cir. 
10,000) (12/16) 
 
"Although, for the time being, President Barack Obama has expressed 
his concern over a proposal to expand the drone attacks to Quetta, 
we know that, when it comes to their interests, the Americans feel 
no qualms in violating all the ethics and human rights. We think 
that it is the need of the hour that our rulers pick up some courage 
and take decisions according to the wishes of the Pakistani masses. 
The day, when our rulers succeed in getting rid of the fear from the 
U.S., we would gain the status of an indomitable and respectable 
country in the comity of the nations." 
 
Editorial: Respecting Pakistan's Sovereignty, an editorial note in 
the second-largest, nationalist Urdu daily "Nawa-i-Waqt" (cir. 
150,000) (12/15) 
 
"U.S. magazine Newsweek has revealed in a report the President Obama 
has opposed drone attacks in Quetta and said that there is a danger 
that ordinary citizens might die [in such strikes].... There is no 
existence of the Taliban Shura in Quetta, Al Qaeda and Taliban 
leaders are not in Pakistani areas; they might be in Afghan 
provinces under Taliban control. The U.S. should work within Afghan 
borders, finish the job quickly and leave the country.  Pakistani 
authorities are fully capable of taking all possible measures in 
Pakistan, [the U.S.] need not worry about it." 
 
Editorial: Hopes Pinned On Our Political And Military Leadership: 
Lessons From The Fall Of Dhaka, an editorial in the second-largest, 
nationalist Urdu daily "Nawa-i-Waqt" (cir. 150,000) (12/16) 
 
"Is the satanic triumvirate of U.S.-India-Israel not conspiring 
against Pakistan the way India conspired to break Pakistan in 1971? 
Aren't the infamous Blackwater and RAW playing the same games on 
Pakistani soil?... Our political and military leadership need to 
work together to face this difficult situation; otherwise repeating 
past mistakes could lead to fulfillment of our enemy's aim of 
making  Pakistan disappear from the world map." 
 
Editorial: Undaunted Step Taken By LHC Regarding Deportation of 5 
Detained Americans, second editorial in the popular rightist 
Urdu-language daily "Ausaf" (cir. 10,000) (12/16) 
 
"The entire Pakistan feels pride in the decision of the Lahore High 
Court (LHC) to stop the deportation of five U.S. nationals arrested 
from Sargodha a couple of days ago. We hope this ruling will set a 
trend that in future the American and Pakistani citizens would be 
treated at par before the law." 
 
Editorial: High Court's Positive Decision [To Stop Deportation Of 5 
U.S. Detainees], an editorial note in the Lahore-based populist 
center-right Urdu daily "Khabrain" (cir. 50,000) (12/16) 
 
"The U.S. government demands that these persons [arrested from 
Sargodha] should be deported. Naturally, one wonders why the U.S. is 
making this demand when around the world every government wants to 
protect its citizens and avoid their deportation. We feel that the 
Pakistani agencies should try to get to the bottom of this issue, as 
some people suspect that these U.S. citizens came to Pakistan with 
terrorist objectives." 
 
Editorial: Deviant Diplomats?, an editorial in the populist, often 
sensational national English daily "The News" (cir. 55,000) (12/16) 
 
"There are a number of reports of vehicles carrying diplomats 
bearing fake number-plates. There have been other incidents where 
usually Americans have been involved in altercations and threatening 
behavior with our citizens. There does not appear to be any record 
of any foreign national being prosecuted for unlawful behavior.... 
It is no unsubstantiated rumor that diplomats are toting weaponry 
and acting aggressively; they have been caught red-handed. We need a 
little more clarity and a lot less fog around the issue of what 
diplomats here are and are not allowed to do. Because in a country 
where accidents happen with monotonous frequency, this is beginning 
to look like a large accident waiting to happen." 
 
Editorial: Ulema Against Terrorism, an editorial in the Lahore-based 
liberal English language daily "Daily Times" (cir. 10,000) (12/16) 
 
"Interior Minister Rehman Malik's initiative to ask the Ulema to 
play their due role in denouncing suicide attacks and defeat the 
menace of terrorism must be appreciated. After Mr. Malik's call to 
the Ulema, many renowned Islamic scholars have come out and spoken 
against suicide bombings in particular and terrorism in general.... 
It was quite disappointing - though hardly surprising - to see 
former Amir of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Qazi Hussain Ahmad saying that 
there was no need for the Ulema to issue a fatwa (decree) against 
suicide bombing.... Instead of being in denial, we would urge Qazi 
sahib to lend his support to the government and the nation in 
spreading the true message of Islam, i.e. peace!" 
 
Opinion: The Blackwater Chronicles, an op-ed by Irfan Husain in the 
Karachi-based center-left independent national English daily "Dawn" 
(cir. 55,000) (12/16) 
 
"In Pakistan's context, the firm has become synonymous with public 
perception about American interference in the country. Despite 
repeated denials, Blackwater/Xe is widely viewed as yet another 
symbol of Washington's intrusive policies. This impression was 
recently reinforced by a New York Times story alleging that the 
firm's operatives worked hand in glove with the CIA in covert 
anti-terrorist operations. In the wake of President Obama's recent 
announcement of the surge that will add 30,000 soldiers to the 
present strength of 68,000 in Afghanistan, few realize how deeply 
the concept of defence outsourcing has become entrenched. For 
instance, there are already 104,000 American private security 
contractors in Afghanistan." 
 
Opinion: Quetta Shura, an op-ed by Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad in the 
country's premier business newspaper, "Business Recorder" (cir. 
25,000) (12/16) 
 
"On September 29, Ambassador Anne Patterson told Washington Post 
that the Quetta Shura was high on the U.S. list and the Obama 
administration had 'turned its focus to Quetta,' which had now 
become a 'major Taliban base' from where Mullah Omar and his 
commanders plan and launch cross-border strikes in Afghanistan.... 
Suspicions, meanwhile, continue to persist. Washington believes 
Pakistan is unwilling to take action against Sirajuddin Haqqani or 
Mullah Omar because it hopes to preserve the Taliban leadership with 
a view to using them as a weight that acts to balance the Indian 
influence in Afghanistan after the U.S. forces have left.... 
Meanwhile, attacks by unmanned aircraft on Quetta are not a feasible 
proposition. The city has a population of 850,000 and the collateral 
damage would be quite high. This would have damaging repercussions 
for the war against al Qaeda and the Taliban. Public opinion in 
Pakistan, currently supporting the military operation in the tribal 
areas, would suddenly take an anti-U.S. turn depriving the army of 
the much-needed popular support, which has led to quick victories in 
Swat and South Waziristan. While drone attacks might kill a few 
Taliban in Balochistan, they would put the government in a position 
where it might not be possible for it to carry on the war on 
terror." 
 
Opinion: We Have The Time!, an op-ed by S.M. Hali in the 
center-right national English daily "The Nation" (cir. 20,000) 
(12/16) 
 
"In response to U.S. President Obama's latest Afghan policy, the 
Taliban's response has been: 'You may have the watches but we have 
the time!' That is a pragmatic thought since Obama has exposed his 
cards by disclosing the date of July 2011 for commencing the egress 
of US troops from Afghanistan. Now all that the Taliban have to do 
is to wait the period out, and once the troops withdraw, they would 
take over from where they had left.... The Taliban will never give 
up on its goals and the only resolution would be to grant the 
Taliban the status of a political player. Maybe Obama is buying 
himself some time to negotiate a 'decent interval' which would cover 
his 2012 election campaign, so both Obama and the Taliban are vying 
for time but only the Taliban have it." 
 
Opinion: Chasing Shadows, an op-ed by Iftekhar A. Khan in the 
center-right national English daily "The Nation" (cir. 20,000) 
(12/16) 
 
"The truth is that Obama seems to have lost control of the US 
foreign and defence policies. It is the hawks of the military 
industrial complex and national security advisers, who 'war game' 
with public lives and resources in alien lands, which dictate U.S. 
policies.... the U.S. agenda in Pakistan is not obscure anymore; the 
superpower intends to stretch the war with drone strikes in 
Balochistan beside FATA. The U.S. already knows that the weak-kneed 
Pak government beholden to it will make superficial noises of little 
consequence and not much else. This supports the oft-repeated stance 
that destabilization activity surrounds the arc: 
CAS-Afghanistan-FATA-Balochistan (Gwadar). With surge in U.S./NATO 
troops in Afghanistan, the region round the arc is likely to boil 
over. People are seething with anti-Americanism; they attribute 
deaths and destruction of property because of daily blasts to the 
U.S. War on Terror the country has been sucked into." 
 
Opinion: No More Jihadi Proxies, an op-ed by Dr. Manzur Ejaz in the 
Lahore-based liberal English language daily "Daily Times" (cir. 
10,000) (12/16) 
 
"Pakistan and the U.S. have put themselves in such a tight corner 
that both countries are not left with many choices. President Barack 
Obama made winning the Afghan war his priority even during his 
election campaign.... On the other hand, the Pakistan military does 
not seem ready to go all the way against all kinds of Jihadis 
because of its apprehensions, real or perceived, about India.... 
However, it is clear that the U.S., run by President Obama or 
someone else, can hardly run away from Afghanistan. As a matter of 
fact, China and Russia cannot afford a Taliban-run Afghanistan 
either. Therefore, all the international powers, actively fighting 
or by-standing, are united against the Taliban rule. Therefore, 
Pakistan's military cannot sustain its Jihadi proxies by any means 
and should adopt alternative approaches by strengthening economy and 
democratic rule in the country." 
 
Opinion: Obama's 'Nobel' Path, an op-ed by Shamshad Ahmad in the 
populist, often sensational national English daily "The News" (cir. 
55,000) (12/16) 
 
"To prove himself worthy of the prize, Obama must establish his 
'peaceful' credentials. He could do so only by ensuring U.S. 
withdrawal from Iraq on schedule, ceasing drone strikes across the 
Durand Line, preparing the ground for withdrawal from Afghanistan in 
eighteen months as announced, and getting the Palestinians a state 
by the end of 2011 even through unilateral recognition. Another 
Nobel Laureate and a fellow democrat president, Woodrow Wilson's 
ghost doesn't have to come to remind Obama that to make 'the world 
safe for every peace-loving nation, it must be assured of justice 
and fair dealing, and that unless justice is done to others it will 
not be done to us.' President Obama's 'Nobel' path line is clearly 
drawn. He must go ahead and follow it lest history rewards him, like 
his predecessor, with flying Size 10 Shoes." 
 
POLITICAL ISSUES 
 
News Story: SC Asks Govt. To Elaborate On 'GHQ Threats' "Dawn" 
(12/16) 
 
"A judge of the Supreme Court implicitly asked the government's 
first law officer on Tuesday to state in clear terms whether the 
government wanted to save President Asif Ali Zardari.... 'Tell us if 
the GHQ (General Headquarters) is doing something. Then we can pass 
a restraining order, but if it is the question of saving President 
Asif Ali Zardari then this should be clearly addressed so that we 
can answer to this,' observed Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja, a member of 
the 17-judge bench hearing the petitions against controversial 
National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO)." 
 
News Story: Taliban Threat To Democracy, Not CIA Or GHQ "Daily 
Times" (12/16) 
 
"An attorney for the federal government - Barrister Kamal Azfar - on 
Tuesday altered a statement he made in the Supreme Court on Monday, 
saying the actual threat to democracy was the Taliban, not the CIA 
and General Headquarters." 
 
Editorial: No One Would Be Threatened If All Remain Within Limits, 
an editorial in the Lahore-based populist center-right Urdu daily 
"Khabrain" (cir. 50,000) (12/16) 
 
"In response to a question before the 17-member Supreme Court bench 
hearing the NRO cases, government lawyer Kamal Azfer said that GHQ 
and CIA pose a threat to democracy; and that GHQ had derailed 
democracy in the past.  Although the army has not directly responded 
to this remark, U.S. General Petraeus who was visiting Pakistan 
stated that the army does not wish to remove Zardari.... It is very 
unfortunate that American Generals are reassuring our government. 
When we drag the U.S. into every issue, why do we complain that we 
face a threat from CIA?" 
 
ECONOMY/ENVIRONMENT 
 
News Story: Pakistan Set To Get $1.2 Billion From IMF "Dawn" (12/16) 
 
 
"Pakistan is set to get the fourth disbursement of $1.2 billion from 
the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the Stand-by Arrangement 
(SBA) later this month. Sources in the finance ministry told Dawn on 
Tuesday that documentation was complete for the IMF Executive Board 
to take up Pakistan's case on Dec 23. This would be the board's last 
major meeting this year." 
 
News Story: Climate Change Will Endanger Livelihood "The Nation" 
(12/16) 
 
"The UNFPA's State of the World Population 2009 and it's Pakistan 
Supplement examined how family planning, reproductive healthcare and 
gender relations could influence the future course of climate 
change.  The supplement highlighted how climate change poses threats 
that could increase the incidence of poverty to put further burden 
on already marginalized setions of population. Report stressed that 
climate change will potentially endanger the lives and livelihoods 
of most vulnerable groups..." 
 
News Story: Load-Shedding Of Up To Four Hours A Day From December 25 
"Dawn" (12/16) 
 
"Electricity load-shedding of up to four hours a day is likely to 
start from Dec 25 across the country because of a sharp decline in 
hydel power generation. Power generation would drop sharply between 
Dec 31 and Jan 31 as releases from water reservoirs would be reduced 
in the wake of the canal cleaning drive by Sindh and Punjab." 
 
MISCELLANEOUS 
 
News Story: NWFP Minister Thanks U.S. For Rescue Equipment "Daily 
Times" (12/16) 
 
"NSFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain has thanked the 
U.S. government for donating search and rescue equipment to the 
provincial government, said an official release issued in Peshawar 
on Tuesday." 
 
(All circulation figures are based on estimation) 
Patterson