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SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KMDR KPAO OIIP OPRC PGOV PREL PK
SUBJECT:  PAKISTAN MEDIA REACTION: JANUARY 06, 2010 
 
Summary:  Coverage of a variety of remarks by President Zardari 
dominated media coverage Wednesday morning, including his pledge to 
wage a "thousand-year war" over Kashmir.  In the milieu of recent 
remarks of Indian army chief Deepak Kapoor about pursuing a 
proactive strategy to simultaneously wage wars against Pakistan and 
China, all major dailies highlighted the Defense Committee of 
Cabinet's statement that "Pakistan will never allow its security to 
be jeopardized in any manner." Most newspapers highlighted 
statements of the human rights groups criticizing the U.S. 
administration's plan to subject citizens of certain countries to 
enhanced screenings as "bad policy." Further related to the new TSA 
directive, several dailies carried editorials citing anti-Muslim 
bias and U.S. mistrust of Pakistanis.  Papers covered Major General 
Flynn's remarks "dismissing" U.S. intelligence-gathering in 
Afghanistan as an "ignorant and flawed operation 'starved' of 
information" which could help wage a successful war against 
insurgent.   The Nation published a report quoting an unidentified 
security official that "most of the American government officials 
working in Pakistan have arrived here without getting proper visas." 
 The Nation also highlighted a Stratfor report, stating the U.S. 
"might mount Special Forces strikes in Pakistan in 2010."  The same 
paper reported that U.S Senators McCain and Lieberman will arrive in 
Pakistan on Thursday in a bid to "defuse the escalating tension 
between India and Pakistan." End Summary. 
 
TOP STORIES 
 
News Story: Ready For 'Thousand-Year War' Over Kashmir: Zardari - 
"Daily Times" (01/06) 
 
"Endorsing the pledge made by the people of Kashmir of waging a 
thousand-year war, President Asif Ali Zardari said on Tuesday this 
was a war of ideologies that would last for generations, while 
addressing a joint session of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) 
Assembly and the Kashmir Council, the President said." 
 
News Story: Aggression To Prompt Fitting Response - "Dawn" (01/06) 
 
"Noting with concern attempts to undermine strategic balance in 
South Asia, the political and military leadership of the country 
said on Tuesday that no one should underestimate Pakistan's capacity 
to preserve its sovereignty and territorial integrity. "Pakistan 
will never allow its security to be jeopardized in any manner and 
will continue to reinforce its strategic and conventional 
capabilities," the Defence Committee of the Cabinet (DCC) said at a 
meeting presided over by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani." 
 
News Story: Rights Group Assails Racial, Religious Profiling At 
Airports - "Dawn" (01/06) 
 
"The U.S. government's plan to subject citizens of certain countries 
to enhanced screenings was a 'bad policy' and it would not help the 
fight against extremists, the American Civil Liberties Union said on 
Tuesday. The ACLU, which is the largest human rights group in North 
America, reminded the Obama administration that there was 'no way to 
predict the national origin of a terrorist and many terrorists have 
come from countries not on the list.'" 
 
News Story: Americans Operating In Pakistan Sans Visas  - "The 
Nation" (01/06) 
 
"Most of the American government officials working in Pakistan have 
arrived in Peshawar without getting proper visas, a senior security 
official on condition of anonymity told 'The Nation' in Peshawar on 
Tuesday." 
 
News Story: U.S. Senators May Arrive Tomorrow - "The Nation" (01/06) 
 
 
"In a bid to defuse the escalating tension between India and 
Pakistan, two influential U.S. Senators, John McCann and Joseph 
Liberman, will arrive here tomorrow (Thursday), sources informed 
'The Nation' on Tuesday." 
 
TERRORISM/MILITARY ISSUES 
 
News Story: U.S. Spy Effort 'Ignorant' - "The News" (01/06) 
 
"The U.S. military's intelligence chief in Afghanistan sharply 
criticized the work of spy agencies, calling them ignorant and out 
of touch with the Afghan people. In a report issued by the Centre 
for New American Security think tank, Major General Michael Flynn, 
deputy chief of staff for intelligence in Afghanistan for the U.S. 
military and its NATO allies, offered a bleak assessment of the 
intelligence community's role in the eight-year-old war." 
 
News Story: U.S. Might Mount Special Forces Strikes In Pak In 2010: 
Stratfor  - "The Nation" (01/06) 
 
"The United States may mount special operations to strike Taliban 
and Al-Qaeda targets in Pakistan and also step up drone attacks 
against them in the near future, according to an American 
intelligence think-tank, reports Indian Express." 
 
News Story: Pakistanis Fearing New Influx From Afghanistan: WP - 
"Dawn" (01/06) 
 
"Pakistanis fear that a stepped-up war in Afghanistan could bring 
more deaths and destruction to their country, The Washington Post 
reported on Tuesday. The report, sent by the Post correspondent from 
the areas bordering Afghanistan, notes that as 30,000 additional 
U.S. troops start arriving in the war-ravaged country, the 
Pakistanis get more nervous." 
 
News Story: Another 26/11 May Incite Pak-India War: U.S. Think Tank 
- "The News" (01/06) 
 
"A leading U.S. strategic think tank has hinted at the possibility 
of another Mumbai-like attack, saying that there is a strong Jihadi 
strategic intent to launch a major attack against India in order to 
trigger a conflict between India and Pakistan. 'Such an attack would 
redirect Pakistani troops from battling these Jihadis in Pakistan's 
west toward the India border in the east,' the Stratfor, which calls 
itself a global intelligence company, said in its annual forecast 
for 2010." 
 
News Story: U.S. Seeks Harkat Chief For Khost CIA Attack  - "The 
News" (01/06) 
 
"The U.S. authorities have sought from the Pakistani government an 
early arrest and extradition of Commander Ilyas Kashmiri, the 
fugitive chief of the Azad Kashmir chapter of the pro-Kashmir Jihadi 
group, Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HuJI). Kashmiri is being accused 
of coordinating a suicide attack on the CIA Forward Operating Base 
of Chapman in the Khost province of Afghanistan on December 31, 
2009, which killed seven CIA officers and injured six others." 
 
News Story: CIA Base Bomber Was A Triple Agent - "The News" (01/06) 
 
 
"A suicide bomber who killed eight people in an attack on a CIA base 
in Afghanistan was a triple agent who apparently duped his handlers 
that boasts he wanted to die a martyr were just a cover. The 
Jordanian intelligence services had brought the bomber to eastern 
Afghanistan with the specific mission of finding al-Qaeda number 
two, Ayman al-Zawahiri, believing he was their double agent, U.S. 
network NBC News reported late on Monday, citing Western 
intelligence officials." 
 
News Story: Pakistan Wary of U.S. Troops Surge In Afghanistan - "The 
News" (01/06) 
 
"Pakistan's security establishment is increasingly wary of the U.S. 
military buildup in Afghanistan fearing that an additional 30,000 
troops there would push 'a tide of militants' into its territory, 
and further destabilize its large southwestern border. U.S. 
officials, however, disagree with the assessment, reflecting the 
under-currents of mistrust between the United States and Pakistan, 
The Washington Post said on Tuesday." 
 
News Story: No Room For Terrorists, Hitmen, Says Rehman Malik - "The 
News" (01/06) 
 
"Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Tuesday that there was no 
room for terrorists and hitmen in the country and their networks 
would be eliminated soon. Talking to a private TV channel, the 
minister said that earlier, the terrorists were roaming in luxury 
vehicles, but at the moment, they were on the run and the days were 
not far when they would not be seen anywhere." 
 
Pak Policies Not Anti-American: FM - "Pakistan Observer" (01/06) 
"Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that Pakistan's policies 
are not anti American and we are protecting national interests while 
the present democratic government is presenting Pakistan's stance 
over war on terror before world in an amicable manner, while talking 
to media in Karachi on Tuesday." 
 
News Story: Rocket Fits Governor House in Quetta - "The News" 
(01/06) 
 
"The Balochistan Governor House and provincial Civil Hospital were 
targeted on Tuesday night when two rockets landed there, injuring 
one person. Police said one rocket, which landed on the lawn of the 
Governor House, failed to explode." 
 
News Story: Govt. Leaves Villagers At Mercy Of Criminals - "Dawn" 
(01/06) 
 
"Shah Hassankhel is a small dusty village of roughly 6,500 people on 
the outskirts of the southern district of Lakki Marwat.... The 
government promised to give them weapons to defend themselves and 
keep the militants at arms' length. The promise remains unfulfilled. 
Nothing has come through since, neither the much-needed guns nor any 
bullets. In effect people of Shah Hassankhel were left to fend off 
for themselves." 
 
News Story: Militants Blow Up Six Shrines In Orakzai - "Dawn" 
(01/06) 
 
"Militants exhumed the body of a spiritual leader and blew up six 
other shrines in the Stori Khel area of lower Orakzai Agency on 
Tuesday. Locals said heavily armed militants came to the area of the 
Stori Khel tribe, who have raised a Lashkar against them, and dug up 
the grave of spiritual leader Anwarul Haq. They desecrated the 
remains and then took it to an unknown location." 
 
News Story: Aafia, Kids Picked Up In Karachi, Court Told - "Dawn" 
(01/06) 
 
"Fauzia Siddiqui, the sister of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, who is being 
tried in the United States, has said her sibling was not arrested 
from Afghanistan but the previous government had handed her over to 
the United States after arresting her from Karachi. Fauzia Siddiqui 
said this on Tuesday while giving a statement before Justice Ijaz 
Ahmad Chaudhry of the Lahore High Court with regard to a contempt 
petition, seeking action against the government for not approaching 
the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to get Dr. Aafia recovered 
and released." 
 
News Story: Another School Blown Up In Bajaur Agency; 12 Insurgents 
Nabbed In Bajaur Operation - The News" (01/06) 
 
"Militants blew up yet another school while security forces arrested 
12 insurgents and seized weapons during search operations in various 
areas of Bajaur Agency, tribal and official sources said on 
Tuesday." 
 
News Story: Security Forces Arrest 110 Suspects In Swat - The News" 
(01/06) 
 
"The security forces arrested more than 110 suspects during search 
and clearance operation against militants in Swat district on 
Tuesday, sources said." 
 
POLITICAL ISSUES 
 
News Story: President Links Regional Peace To Kashmir Solution - 
"The News" (01/06) 
 
"President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday said peace can only come to 
the region if the lingering Kashmir dispute was resolved. "The whole 
focus of world is on Pakistan. He was addressing a joint session of 
AJK Assembly and Kashmir Council in the Assembly Hall marking the 
'Self-Determination Day' observed across the world, to renew pledge 
to take the liberation struggle to its logical end." 
 
News Story: Committee Agrees To Clip Powers Of President  - "Dawn" 
(01/06) 
 
"The Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Reforms has agreed to 
abolish presidential powers to appoint the Chief Election 
Commissioner. Sources told 'Dawn' that the committee, which has been 
reviewing the Constitution article-by-article for almost the past 
five months, in its meeting in Islamabad on Tuesday discussed 
articles relating to the appointment of the CEC (Article 214 to 
218)." 
 
News Story: No Plot Against Zardari: Nawaz  - "The News" (01/06) 
 
"Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Quaid Nawaz Sharif said on Tuesday 
that he did not see any conspiracy against President Asif Ali 
Zardari or the government. However, he added that he would be the 
first to come to Zardari's rescue if any conspiracy was hatched 
against him. He was talking to reporters  in Karachi at the 
residence of PML-N Sindh Chief Syed Ghous Ali Shah." 
 
News Story: Agencies Failed To Recover Missing Persons: SC  - "The 
News" (01/06) 
 
"The Supreme Court on Tuesday observed that the intelligence 
agencies failed to fulfill their responsibilities and could not 
trace the missing persons.... The court observed that keeping in 
view the importance of the case, it would conduct the hearing on 
day-to-day basis and directed the government to submit a report 
within two weeks regarding the missing persons." 
 
ECONOMY/ENVIRONMENT 
 
News Story: Centre Reluctant To Transfer GST On Services To 
Provinces - "Business Recorder" (01/06) 
 
"The Federal government is reluctant to transfer over Rs 200 billion 
general sales tax (GST) collected on services and entire authority 
to provinces to collect the same as the drafted Value-Added Tax 
(VAT) Act 2010 remained unchanged in this regard, sources in the 
Provincial Excise and Taxation (E&T) Department told 'Business 
Recorder' on Tuesday." 
 
News Story: Pakistan Not To Give Guarantee For Iranian Gas Flows To 
India - "Dawn" (01/06) 
 
"Pakistan has decided not to give any guarantee for gas flows to 
India through the multi-billion-dollar Iran gas pipeline, it is 
learned. Informed sources told 'Dawn' on Tuesday that Pakistan and 
Iran had resolved almost all other issues pertaining to the pipeline 
project, including pricing, project details and quantity of gas to 
be purchased." 
 
EDITORIALS/OPINIONS 
 
Editorial: Anti-Muslim Bias, an editorial in the center-right 
national English daily "The Nation" (cir. 20,000) (01/06) 
 
"The U.S. has promulgated new security regulations for international 
arrivals at U.S. airports, after the Christmas Day attempt in 
Amsterdam allegedly to bomb an airliner scheduled to arrive in 
Detroit, calling for body searches of arrivals from a number of 
Muslim countries, and Cuba.... This step exposes the anti-Muslim 
Christian Zionist mentality that is behind the War, and the Crusader 
spirit in which it is being pursued, and how it is being twisted to 
work against Muslims, no matter what side they are on in the War on 
Terror." 
 
Editorial: More Security Or More Paranoia?, an editorial in the 
Lahore-based liberal English language daily "Daily Times" (cir. 
10,000) (01/06) 
 
"It's as bad as it gets. As feared, the United States has decided to 
step up security screening at its airports. It's obviously in 
response to the recent incident involving a Nigerian man's alleged 
attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound plane over the Atlantic.... 
Predictably, the latest U.S. move has evoked strong protests from 
human rights groups and Muslim Americans. Nawar Shora of Arab 
American Anti-Discrimination Committee has condemned the new 
screening as "very dangerous," terming the policy of classifying 
people as suspects because of where they come from as 'extreme'. 
This is indeed unfortunate." 
 
Editorial: Muslims' Humiliation On The Pretext Of Security Search, 
an editorial in the second-largest, nationalist Urdu daily 
"Nawa-i-Waqt" (cir. 150,000) (01/06) 
 
"American authorities have begun strict body search of the Muslims 
coming to America from 14 Islamic countries including Pakistan and 
Saudi Arabia....  Muslims' humiliation on the pretext of security 
will increase existing hatred against America....  The Organization 
of Islamic Conference should come up with a joint strategy and 
Americans should be made to go through the same security regime as 
followed inside America.  At least Pakistan should do that." 
(English version not available online) 
 
Editorial: Extraordinary Screening Of Travelers From Muslim 
Countries: A Step Based On Prejudice, an editorial in the liberal 
Urdu daily "Express" (cir.25,000) (01/06) 
 
"The U.S. has announced extraordinary screening at airports for 
citizens travelling to the U.S. from 14 countries including 
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria. Civil rights activists have 
strongly protested this measure which discriminates against people 
on the basis of nationality. This step by the U.S. is not right as 
it is not fair to penalize all Pakistanis or other nationalities for 
the provocative actions of one group or some individuals." 
 
Opinion: Patting Down Pakistanis, an op-ed by Rafia Zakaria in the 
Karachi-based center-left independent national English daily "Dawn" 
(cir. 55,000) (01/06) 
 
"By subjecting any and every Pakistani (even those who may have 
lived abroad for decades) to heightened scrutiny the U.S. is 
demonstrating that while it can trust the Pakistani military to 
fight a war for it, it cannot trust a Pakistani entering the 
country. In presuming that they may be terrorists, the U.S. is 
backing the political statement that there is no need to develop 
profiles based on actual threat. Instead, it prefers to rely on 
profiling shortcuts that discriminate rather than yield 
law-enforcement results." 
 
Opinion: Purposeless Knee-Jerk Reactions, an op-ed by Shireen M. 
Mazari in the center-right national English daily "The Nation" (cir. 
20,000) (01/06) 
 
"So the U.S. has decided to increase the torture for travelers from 
Pakistan and other "suspect" countries.... But there is a more 
serious issue involved here in terms of the U.S. and its targeting 
by non-state actors. The U.S. can do all sorts of tactical measures 
to secure its homeland from terrorism, but unless it makes a 
strategic shift in its global policies, it will never rid itself of 
the threat from extremist militants. For some strange reason there 
seems to be a total lack of acceptance by the U.S. policy makers, 
especially Congress, of the impact of their policies including their 
tactical knee-jerk measures relating to security, that it is at the 
strategic level where the problem lies. There has to be a policy 
shift if they want to end the increasing hostility between 
themselves and the Muslim Ummah.... Knee-jerk reactions only add to 
the global polarizations and create more fertile breeding grounds 
for future militants - something no people can afford." 
 
Editorial: Shrinking Trust Deficit, an editorial in the Lahore-based 
liberal English language daily "Daily Times" (cir. 10,000) (01/06) 
 
"Afghan Coalition Commander General Stanley McChrystal has said that 
the trust deficit between the U.S. and Pakistan is shrinking, but 
things could get better. He said that enhanced cooperation in the 
war on terror between the two countries as well as Pakistan and 
Afghanistan could help bridge the trust deficit.... The military 
operations have undoubtedly put pressure on the border, which is why 
some of the key al Qaeda operatives have been forced to flee the 
area and take refuge in Yemen and elsewhere. This poses a threat to 
worldwide peace." 
 
Editorial: Spread of Islam in West, an editorial in the popular 
rightist Urdu-language daily "Ausaf" (cir. 10,000) (01/06) 
 
"After the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. and its European allies opened a 
front against the Muslim world, while the western media made Muslims 
a scapegoat of its vitriolic hatred. Paradoxically, this policy not 
only spurred the Muslims to get even closer to their religion, but 
also augmented Islam's popularity among the non-Muslims." 
 
Editorial: Karzai Suffers A Humiliating Setback, an editorial in the 
country's premier business newspaper, "Business Recorder" (cir. 
25,000) (01/06) 
 
"After winning another term, mired by serious accusations of fraud, 
Karzai has suffered another setback. As many as 17 out of 24 of his 
nominees for the proposed Afghan cabinet were rejected by country's 
Parliament, signaling difficulties ahead between the President and 
the majority of the elected deputies.... There was a widespread 
perception that the criteria for the selection of ministers were 
ethnicity, bribery or political and financial support rendered 
during Karzai's election.... So far Karzai administration's 
corruption and inefficiency bedeviled Karzai's foreign sponsors. The 
man they have been betting on was widely seen to be leading a 
corrupt administration.... Now the U.S. and its allies face another 
problem in Afghanistan: a government that they hoped would help them 
achieve victory, has an uncertain hold on parliament, which might 
not blindly endorse the policies, dictated by Karzai's foreign 
patrons." 
 
Opinion: Obama Needs A 'Plan B', an op-ed by Maleeha Lodhi and 
Anatole Lieven in the populist, often sensational national English 
daily "The News" (cir. 55,000) (01/06) 
 
"The key question to ask about President Obama's military surge in 
Afghanistan is, "Where is Plan B?" In other words, if the extra 
troops do not reverse the Taliban momentum and the Afghan governance 
structure and army cannot take over from the United States in the 
next few years, what then?  Equally importantly, how does Obama hope 
to prevent increased U.S. pressure on Pakistan from further 
destabilizing that country and risking a much greater disaster for 
the region and the world?... Instead of considering this political 
approach to underpin the military effort, the U.S. is stepping up 
pressure on Pakistan, which is already struggling with the bloody 
militant fallout of previously flawed U.S. policies in Afghanistan. 
The U.S. should recognize that only Pakistan can bring the Taliban 
to the table once Washington decides to negotiate. Pressure on 
Pakistan to act against the Afghan Taliban will not just overstretch 
the Pakistan Army, undercut its own operations against militants and 
open a new front for a beleaguered state, but will permanently close 
the door on a negotiated end to the Afghan conflict." 
 
Opinion: End Of The Military-Jihadi Nexus, an op-ed by Dr. Manzur 
Ejaz in the Lahore-based liberal English language daily "Daily 
Times" (cir. 10,000) (01/06) 
 
"My view has been that it is one thing what the military wants and 
it is another what it is forced to do in the historical process. The 
military may have wanted to continue striving for its desired 
strategic depth in Afghanistan and keep India on its toes through 
proxy wars, but it was compelled to do just the opposite. 
Furthermore, the military has not acted against the Taliban and 
other extremist outfits due to U.S. pressure only, it has also moved 
to safeguard the state where they enjoy immense privileges." 
 
(All circulation figures are based on estimation) 
Patterson