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UNCLAS ISLAMABAD 000144 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KMDR KPAO OIIP OPRC PGOV PREL PK
SUBJECT: SUBJECT:  PAKISTAN MEDIA REACTION: JANUARY 21, 2010 
 
Summary: Coverage of Secretary of Defense Gates' visit to the region 
dominated all major newspapers on Thursday morning.  Media reported 
Secretary Gates' warning that Al Qaeda could trigger a war between 
India and Pakistan, and that "India's patience will be limited if 
there is a repeat of 26/11."  The largest Urdu language daily, 
"Jang" and its sister English paper, "The News," published an 
exclusive op-ed by Secretary Gates entitled, "U.S. commitment to 
Pakistan's future."  "The Nation" reported that "tough sessions" are 
expected between Secretary Gates and the GoP regarding Indian's role 
in Afghanistan. Some papers also covered FBI Director Mueller's 
remarks that Al Qaeda and its offshoots are spreading. Papers also 
carried State Department Coordinator for Counter-Terrorism 
Benjamin's statement that Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) could become a 
threat to the West. On the economic front, several dailies reported 
that the U.S. will release $480 million to Pakistan in January under 
the Coalition Support Fund.  Possible fallout of the Supreme Court's 
judgment against the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) 
continued to garner media attention, with reports that President 
Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani were making "hectic consultations" 
with their aides, and that the government may file a new petition 
against the verdict.  Reports of the announcement of Mehsud tribal 
jirga to handover Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Hakeemullah 
to the government also received extensive coverage. All newspapers 
reported a bomb blast that injured an NWFP Assembly member in 
Peshawar.  End Summary. 
 
 
TOP STORIES 
 
News Story: Al Qaeda Can Trigger Indo-Pak War: Gates, US Defence 
Secretary Says India's Patience Will Be Limited If There Is A Repeat 
Of 26/11 - "Daily Times" (01/21) 
 
"US Defence Secretary Robert Gates on Wednesday warned that South 
Asian militant groups were seeking to destabilize the entire region 
and could trigger a war between Pakistan and India." (Story also 
front paged in all newspapers) 
 
News Story: Terror Groups Aim To Destabilize Region, Says Gates - 
"Dawn" (01/21) 
 
"A syndicate of terror groups affiliated with Al Qaeda might try to 
start a war between India and Pakistan as part of an organized 
effort to sow upheaval across South Asia, US Defence Secretary 
Robert Gates said on Wednesday." 
 
News Story: Will India Be Assigned A Major Role, Tough Talks 
Expected with Gates - "The Nation" (01/21) 
 
"In a bid to defend its interest in the region, Pakistan is said to 
have decided to walkout from the upcoming London Conference on 
Afghanistan, to be held on January 28, in case the Organizers offer 
India a leading role in Afghanistan. Well-placed sources told The 
Nation on good authority that the message from the Presidency and PM 
Secretariat to the higher authorities of the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs to defend country's interest at any cost, at a meeting to be 
held in Dubai on 26 January, just two days before inaugural session 
of International conference on Afghanistan to be held in London." 
 
News Story: LeT A Global Threat: US - "Dawn (01/21) 
 
" Pakistan-based banned group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), blamed for the 
Mumbai attacks, could become a threat to the West like Al Qaeda, a 
US counter-terrorism official warned on Wednesday. 'Should it decide 
that it wants to either compete with Al Qaeda or supplant Al Qaeda 
it would ... present itself as an extremely formidable terrorist 
opponent,' Daniel Benjamin told reporters." 
 
 News Story:  Qaeda Spreading, Rebuilding: FBI - "Daily Times" 
(01/21) 
 
"Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Robert Mueller on 
Wednesday said that Al Qaeda and its offshoots were spreading and 
rebuilding. He said the US had dismantled much of Al Qaeda's 
infrastructure in Afghanistan, 'but the terror network and its 
associated groups are rebuilding in Pakistan, Yemen, and the Horn of 
Africa'." 
 
News Story: Force Not Only Option To Fight Terror: Gilani - "Dawn" 
(01/21) 
"Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that the use of force is 
not the only option to confront terrorists and extremists. Political 
means, along with social and economic development, were potent tools 
to fight the menace, he added." 
 
TERRORISM/MILITARY ISSUES 
 
News Story:  Mehsud Jirga Agrees To Hand Over Hakimullah - "The 
News" (01/21) 
 
"A Jirga of the Mehsud tribe on Wednesday agreed to hand over their 
378 wanted men, including the chief of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan 
(TTP) Hakimullah Mehsud, to the government and announced to fully 
support the government in maintaining peace and reconstruction 
process." 
 
News Story:  US Equipment Remains In Sihala But Trainers Disappear - 
"The Nation" (01/21) 
 
"Despite a vociferous announcement made by the Government about 
closing down the American-supervised anti-terrorism camp at the 
Police Training College Sihala, nothing has been done in the 
shifting of baggage and equipments of US trainers from the College. 
Reliable sources said that dozens of containers belonging to US 
trainers were still present on the college premises." 
 
News Story:  Import Of More Bullet-Proof Vehicles For Embassies 
Banned - "Express" (01/21) 
 
"To counter the suspicious activities of Americans in the country, 
the Pakistan government, on the recommendation of law-enforcement 
agencies, has imposed a ban on the import of more bullet-proof 
vehicles by foreign diplomatic missions beyond their allocated 
quota. A proposal for the checking of intelligence gadgets installed 
in the Americans' vehicles is also under consideration." 
 
News Story:  ANP Lawmaker Injured In Peshawar Attack- "Daily Times" 
(01/21) 
 
"An Awami National Party member of the provincial assembly was 
injured along with four others in a remote-controlled bomb explosion 
on Wednesday, police said." 
 
News Story: Lashkar Kills 5 Taliban In Mohmand - "Daily Times" 
(01/21) 
 
"As many as five Taliban including Ghulam alias Adil, a key 
commander, were killed and two others injured in a raid conducted by 
members of the peace committee at Khewzai area of Mohmand Agency, 
the Frontier Corps Media Cell said on Wednesday." 
 
News Story:  College Graduate Plotted US Troops' Murder, Court Told 
- "Dawn" (01/21) 
 
"A New York college graduate, Adis Medujanin, who travelled to 
Pakistan in 2008 to apparently attend Al Qaeda training camp, 
conspired to kill American service members in Afghanistan, a US 
federal prosecutor told a Brooklyn court on Tuesday." 
 
News Story: Pak Warns India Against Violations - "The Nation" 
(01/21) 
 
"Pakistan on Wednesday lodged a strong protest with India over 
unprovoked firing that killed two of its soldiers in Keil sector, 
Rawalakot, on Tuesday." 
 
POLITICAL ISSUES 
 
News Story:  Govt In Panic, Short Of Time - "The News" (01/21) 
 
"President Asif Ali Zardari was making hectic consultations with his 
political aides on Wednesday night after it became apparent that the 
detailed judgment by the full bench of the Supreme Court was about 
to trigger a new decisive court battle that might deal a fatal blow 
to his constitutional eligibility to serve as the President of 
Pakistan, authoritative sources have revealed." 
 
News Story:  Govt May File New Petition Against NRO Verdict - "Dawn" 
(01/21) 
 
"The government hinted in the National Assembly on Wednesday it 
could file another review petition after studying the Supreme 
Court's detailed ruling against the controversial Musharraf-era 
National Reconciliation Ordinance, but dismissed opposition fears of 
a clash with the superior judiciary." 
 
News Story:  PM Rules Out Clash Of Institutions  - "The News" 
(01/21) 
 
"Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday reiterated his 
government's sQce on the implementation of the detailed SC 
judgQt on the NRO. 'At the moment, my legal and constitutional 
experts are examining the detailed judgment of the Supreme Court and 
once the process is complete, the government would implement it in 
accordanQ with the law and the Constitution,' he said while talking 
to newsmen during a visit to the Utility Stores Corporation at G-9 
(Karachi Company) here on Wednesday." 
 
News Story: FC Running Parallel Govt, Says Raisani - "Dawn" (01/21) 
 
"Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani has accused the Frontier Corps 
of running a parallel government in Balochistan. In a statement 
issued here on Wednesday, the chief minister said that FC's attitude 
had harmed the ongoing reconciliation process and, as a result, the 
situation had worsened." 
 
ECONOMY/ENVIRONMENT 
 
News Story:  US To Provide $480m During January: Tareen - "Daily 
Times" (01/21) 
 
"The US will release $480 million to Pakistan during January under 
the Coalition Support Fund (CSF) and allocations for internally 
displaced persons (IDPs), federal Finance Minister Shaukat Tareen 
said on Wednesday." 
 
MISCELLANEOUS 
Qws Story:  Senate Approves Bill To Curb Harassment Of Working 
Women- "Dawn" (01/21) 
 
"The Senate approved on Wednesday a bill providing protection to 
women against sexual harassment at workplaces and rejected an 
amendment introduced by members belonging to religious parties, 
including the JUI-F, Jamaat-i-Islami and Jamiat Ahle Hadith." 
 
EDITORIALS/OPINIONS 
 
Opinion: Our Commitment To Pakistan, an op-ed by U.S. Defence 
Secretary Robert M Gates in the populist, often sensational national 
English daily "The NeQ (cir. 55,000) (01/21) 
 
". . . . Even Q much is still made in the media of a "trust 
deficit" between our nations. As I meet with Pakistan's civilian and 
military leaders during my visit, I will emphasize that the United 
States wishes to relinquish the grievances of the past - grievances 
held by both sides - and instead focus on the promise of the future. 
I will repeat President Obama's message that the United States is 
fully committed to a stable, long-term, strategic partnership with a 
democratic Pakistan - an enduring relationship based on shared 
interests and mutual respect that will continue to expand and deepen 
in the future on many levels, from security cooperation to economic 
development. . . ." 
 
Opinion: Dead Or Alive, an op-ed by Charles Ferndale in the 
populist, often sensational national English daily "The News" (cir. 
55,000) (01/21) 
 
". . . . So strong are the arguments in favor of the hypothesis that 
Osama bin Laden is dead, that we should ask why Hilary Clinton, 
General Stanley McChrystal and President Barrack Obama still talk 
about the need to search for him in Pakistan and to capture him. 
Since the onus is now firmly upon anyone claiming that Bin Laden is 
alive to give us good reasons to believe it, and since no one who 
makes that claim ever offers such reasons, and since it is not 
credible that the officials I have just mentioned do not know that 
Bin Laden is almost certainly dead, we are forced to conclude that 
they are using Bin Laden's supposed existence as one of the four 
major fictions designed to justify their interventions in the Af-Pak 
region. . . ." 
 
Opinion: Engaging with the US - II  , an op-ed by Syed Talat Hussain 
in the Lahore-based liberal English language daily "Daily Times" 
(cir. 10,000) (01/21) 
 
 ". . . . Sheeting questionable cooperation with Washington in 
ambiguity only fed speculation that the country's sovereignty was 
being compromised under US pressure. Also, this 'open-endedness' in 
our dealings with the US allowed Washington incredible leeway to 
interpret different commitments differently at different times. . . 
." 
 
Editorial: Indo-Pak Relations; America Should Stop Interference, an 
editorial note in the second-largest, nationalist Urdu daily 
"Nawa-i-Waqt" (cir. 150,000) (01/21) 
 
"National Assembly Committee on Commerce Chairman Khurram Dastgir 
has said that America is putting severe pressure on Pakistan for 
giving India passage for trade with Afghanistan....  What Khurram 
Dastgir said has this fact that America looks for opportunities to 
protect Indian interests in all the fields....  America wants to 
make Pakistan a satellite of India.  American policy makers should 
know that Pakistan detests this American attitude.  India should 
resolve the Kashmir disputes if it wants to have friendship with 
Pakistan....  America should be told in categorical terms that 
unless India resolves Kashmir issue the trade transit facility will 
not be given to India....  If America is not willing to mediate for 
Pakistan-India relations then it should not as well interfere in 
other matters." 
 
Editorial: Supreme Court's detailed verdict, an editorial in the 
liberal Urdu daily "Express" (cir. 25,000) (01/21) 
 
"For the first time in the country's history, a step has been taken 
to make the rich, the influential and the powerful people of this 
country abide by rule of law....If this [verdict] is the first step 
towards judiciary's independence, strengthening of democracy, 
corruption-free politics, public welfare - then the accused should 
take the second step towards justice without any fear in their 
hearts." 
 
Editorial: Supreme Court verdict on NRO, an editorial note in the 
Lahore-based populist center-right Urdu daily "Khabrain" (cir. 
50,000) (01/21) 
 
"The detailed judgment has clarified many points which were vague in 
the Supreme Court short order on NRO... However, the Supreme Court 
has now clarified that no one, including the President, is exempt. 
It is obvious that the government experts will now file appeals for 
review, opening a new Pandora's Box. It seems as though things will 
not be in the government's control now. The legal aspects of this 
case are now clear; the ball is now in the political parties' 
court." 
Opinion: The Evil One, an op-ed by I. M. Mohsin in the center-right 
national English daily "The Nation" (cir. 20,000) (01/21) 
 
". . . . The USA's major strength still is not its military 
juggernaut which projects her as 'the evil one'. It is the 
intellectual freedom to amass and disseminate knowledge. The 
leadership has to gel their diversity and commonality of interests 
to an optimal level. Only then would it shed its current stigma. The 
United States has to find a way out with Pakistan's help; It cannot 
'occupy' the area nor abandon it a la 1990." 
 
(All circulation figures are based on estimation) 
 
Patterson