[Reader-list] Lies, bad lies and "super-terrorism"

[Shivam Vij शिवम् विज्]

Given below are two articles, one that is a PTI report put out this
morning and the other a media analysis. As the days pass, I think the
propaganda machinery of the Indian state is getting the better of the
Delhi media.
best
shivam

o o o o

ISI expands network from J&K to South; talks 'super terrorism'

NEW DELHI, AUG 29 (PTI)

Terror groups backed by Pakistan's ISI could use chemical, biological,
nuclear or radiological weapons against India initiating a form of
"super terrorism", warns a Union Home Ministry report.

With ISI spreading its tentacles in the country from Jammu and Kashmir
to down South, the report spoke of active terror modules mushrooming
in Bihar, Assam and West Bengal where the sleeper cells have been
assigned with specific targets.

In its section on terror groups and weapons of mass destruction, the
report said "super terrorism in this perspective can be defined as
projected future use of chemical, biological, nuclear and radiological
weapons by terrorist groups."

The report said Indo-Nepal border in Bihar is being used for smuggling
of arms, explosives, fake currency into the country, while the agency
was focusing on Uttar Pradesh to fund Madrasas and recruit youngsters
for subversive activities.

South India too is an important part of the overall ISI game-plan
since it is being targeted to recruit unemployed youths.

The report also mentions that ISI is trying to revive Punjab militancy
and form new anti-India groups in the state.

While Maharashtra has been a victim of underworld gangs which have
strong links with ISI, the report mentions that the Pakistan agency
was also trying to liaison with the underworld in Gujarat and are
using the coastal line for transporting arms and drug running
operations.

o o o o

No shrill blame game in the media

Overall, the Indian media did not buy the thesis that the ISI was
behind the chronic unrest in Kashmir, and Pakistan's press was too
preoccupied with the country's internal woes to focus much on Kashmir.
SHUBHA SINGH contributes to the Hoot's Indo-Pak monitoring, with
inputs from SEVANTI NINAN

Posted Wednesday, Aug 20 18:10:15, 2008
http://thehoot.org/web/home/story.php?storyid=3281&mod=1&pg=1&sectionId=8&valid=true

Partly because of the  ongoing peace process and partly on account of
Pakistan's continuing internal turmoil, Indo-Pak accusations over
Kashmir don't register the same shrill pitch in the media that they
used to even a couple of years ago.  Even as Kashmir has been aflame,
the accusations about the ISI's hand surfaced briefly, and were
highlighted only in passing, not even on the front pages of
newspapers.

A qualitative difference in the Indo-Pak media rhetoric on Kashmir,
was discernable over the period of six weeks or more than Jammu and
Kashmir has been burning. Thanks to television, it grabbed headlines
for a few days when bureaucrats and politicians in both countries made
statements.

Given Pakistan's continuing internal turmoil, its media and government
found little time to up the ante on Kashmir. Such reactions as there
were, were voiced only after the firing took lives in the Valley. Dawn
carried a front page news report from Jawed Naqvi with the heading
'Uprising in Kashmir: 12 protestors shot dead'. Its editorial on
August 13 mildly rebuked the Pakistani government for not reacting to
the situation in Kashmir, but added that every gain that eases
tensions should be appreciated. It said: "As India struggles with its
Kashmir woes, the Pakistan government has remained remarkably quiet on
this front. This despite the fact that New Delhi has accused Pakistan
of LoC violations and warned that the composite dialogue is on shaky
ground. In light of this, the statement by a spokesman of the Jammu
and Kashmir government predicting cross-LoC trade by October should be
welcomed. In fraught times, every small gain in CBMs, that help to
ease tensions, should be appreciated."

As the agitation intensified, Pakistani politicians' commented on the
developments across the border, drawing sharp reactions from the
Indian government. On both sides the statements were picked up by the
media and reported, creating headlines on "interference" for a few
days. The impact was much greater on television than in print.

The flurry of words which the Indian Express described as the "spat
between India and Pakistan" generated three statements in quick
succession from the spokesperson of the Indian External Affairs
Ministry. The spokesperson took note of a Pakistan Senate resolution
on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, calling it "gross interference
in India's internal affairs" and suggesting that "the Senate should
attend to issues where it has a locus standi." This was followed by
statements on August 12 and 13 reacting to statements from the
Pakistani Foreign Minister and the Foreign Office spokesperson,
describing Islamabad's call for international involvement in Kashmir
as "gratitutous and illegal".

The Indian and Pakistani newspapers faithfully reported the statements
without much commentary and even the editorials did not have the fiery
passages that used to colour the edits a few years ago. Indian TV
channels gave greater time to the Indian responses to remarks made in
Pakistan while the Indian newspapers carried the Ministry of External
Affairs statement in a few short paragraphs.

One reason for this widely differing level of coverage could be as The
Times of India pointed out because "the MEA's angry outbursts were
made late in the evening against Pakistan's statements made early in
the morning, making the Indian anger look like an afterthought." The
Times News Network added that "Pakistan has kept up the verbal
pressure on India on Jammu and Kashmir. Understandably, India has been
smarting and certainly a lot of smoke and fire has been belching out
of the government, telling off Pakistan exactly where to get off."

While the Indian newspapers did not give much space to the serial
statements, the firing along the Line of Control was an issue of
greater concern. The Times of India wrote on Aug 12: 'Despite India
asking Pakistan to respect the border ceasefire Pakistan continues to
indulge in cross border firing." It further added that there was a
growing feeling that the spurt in cross border firings and
infiltrations indicated that the Pak army was pushing its 'Kashmir
agenda' to regain loss of credibility it had suffered in its
counter-terrorism efforts in the North West Frontier Province. Indian
Express had a story with the headline: "After exchange of sweets, Pak
rockets hit BSF outpost" on August 16. The paper's Jammu
correspondent, Arun Sharma wrote that "within hours of sending sweets
to their Indian counterparts, the Pakistani Rangers allegedly greeted
Border Security Force personnel with rockets fired at BSF outposts."

However, even this coverage got matter-of-fact display. The reports on
firing across the LoC were not played up, and were placed on inside
pages. The TOI had a three column report on n inside page on August 12
which said that Pakistan was pushing Kashmir agenda to regain the
credibility it lost in the North West Frontier Province. The Indian
Express's story on firing across the LoC on August 16, after an
exchange of sweets, was carried on page 3.

The daily protests and demonstrations in Jammu and Kashmir filled the
Indian news pages, while the Pakistan newspapers depended on news
agencies reports on the agitation in the Valley. The hoary ISI hand in
the Jammu and Kashmir developments emerged in an item in the Times of
India of August 14 that quoted unnamed intelligence officials saying
that 'the economic blockade is a myth created by Pakistan's ISI to
project the Hurriyat as true representative of the Kashmiri people.' A
story was topped by a five-column headline with the query: "Blockade
staged to aid ISI cause?' and the strapline "Pak Agency Trying To Help
Hurriyat Mould Public Opinion In Its Favour". But again the display
was not attention getting, the story  was on the top of page 13, its
nation page which carried a slug 'J&K on the boil'.

TOI's editorial said: "Here's Islamabad trying hard to set up its
house in order. A shaky coalition government has little time or energy
to open a Kashmir front as it fends of Islamic radicals within and on
its northwestern border... For the Pakistani army as well for the ISI,
this is an opportunity served on a platter to divert attention –
domestic and global – from the country's internal problems towards the
Kashmir issue once again."  Translation, the Pakistan government is
not trying to play the Kashmir card—the army and the ISI on their own
are.

The same day, Hindustan Times Foreign Editor, Amit Barua wrote in a
news analysis: 'India has scored an own goal in Kashmir'. "It is our
own mess. We can't even blame the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)
Directorate of Pakistan." By firing and killing unarmed protestors on
the Srinagar-Muzzafarabad road on Monday, security forces have added
fat to the fire raging on the Amarnath land issue in both the Valley
and Jammu…. The land issue has again provided separatists in Kashmir
and fundamentalists in Jammu a handle to rekindle their
constituencies, Barua wrote. This was on a page 10, devoted to news on
Kashmir developments, with the headline – 'A Cascade of Errors'. Not
all of the Indian media was buying the ISI line.

Enter Musharraf

On August 14, newspapers reported on President Pervez Musharraf's much
anticipated first appearance after the call to impeach him. The Hindu
newspaper's correspondent in Islamabad, Nirupama Subramanian writing
on President Musharraf's speech in page one, first lead  story
focusing on the embattled leader's call for reconciliation within
Pakistan. She also wrote: "Gen Musharraf's short speech also included
a condemnation of India for 'human rights violations' in Kashmir and a
declaration that 'Kashmir runs in the blood of every Pakistani." But
the story's headline was "Musharraf calls for reconciliation.

Another report in an inside page referred to government resolution
adopted unanimously in the National Assembly that condemned India for
the killing of Hurriyat leader, Sheikh Abdul Aziz and several other
Kashmiris by the Indian security forces. The resolution called upon
the UN and human rights organisations to use their good offices to
urge India to stop atrocities against unarmed civilian Kashmiris. The
Indian Express gave President Musharraf's reference to India in the
speech an across-the-page headline on its foreign page: "Musharraf
brings up Kashmir in I-Day speech" But the report was agency, a Press
Trust of India story which said: "In an apparent bid to divert
attention away from the impending impeachment threat looming over him,
President Musharraf condemned 'human rights violations' in Jammu and
Kashmir."

But on that it played Kashnmir on page one,in a  front page report
headlined 'Midnight protests rock Srinagar'. This story made a passing
reference to Pakistan: 'Meanwhile, the spat between India and Pakistan
over the J&K situation got uglier today after New Delhi issued its
third statement in a week, describing Islamabad's call for
international involvement in Kashmir as "gratuitous and illegal"'.

On August 15, the day after Pakistan's Independence Day, the Hindu
wrote that Pakistani Prime Minister Gilani "sought to bring down the
temperature (between India and Pakistan) with an assurance that his
government was committed to resolving all issues with India in a just
and peaceful manner through negotiations." Mr Gilani made a reference
to Kashmir, which the Hindu characterised as 'mild and steered clear
of the present unrest in the Valley." The Asian Age and the Indian
Express reported External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee response
to a TV news channel that Pakistan's comments on the development in
Jammu and Kashmir did not create the right atmosphere to carry on the
bilateral dialogue. Both newspapers also said that India had rejected
comments made by the secretary general of the OIC (Organisation of
Islamic Conference) condemning police firing in Kashmir. Times of
India's headline said: 'Pranab asks Pak not to meddle in India's
affairs'.

On Aug 16, Indian newspapers carried short reports on Indian Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh's reference to Pakistan in his Independence
Day speech. They also wrote about Pakistan Prime Minister Gilani's
phone call to greet Mr Manmohan Singh on the occasion. The Hindu
referred to Mr Manmohan Singh's comment during the telephone
conversation that both sides should refrain from making harsh
statements. In contrast, the Pakistani papers took Mr Manmohan Singh's
remarks as conveying a more pointed message. The Nation, on Aug 16 had
a headline: "Singh warns Pakistan to control terrorism". It said:
"Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh used his Independence Day speech
on Friday to warn Pakistan to rein in terrorism, as peace talks
between the two countries falter 61 years after they were divided."

Pak coverage

Among Pakistan newspapers The News stuck to agency reports, and The
Nation took a slightly harder line than Dawn, overall. And raised the
issue of Kashmiri freedom "from the Indian yoke." Its  editorial on
August 13 was called: 'Indian Highhandedness' The edit said: "The
situation in the disputed Valley seems once again to be deteriorating,
the responsibility for which very obviously lies with the government's
mismanagement. There has been an upsurge of violence against the
people by the Indian security forces….. Last month, the Kashmiris were
protesting against the illegal transfer of hundreds of acres of land
to a Hindu Shrine Board for building structures for Hindu yatrees. The
subsequent riots that rocked the Valley were among the biggest in
Kashmir's history. What the Indian government needs to understand is
that its approach towards the issue is basically erroneous. Economic
blockade cannot smother the Kashmiris' spirit of freedom from the
Indian yoke."

The next day an editorial in the Nation castigated the Indian security
forces. It said: "In an act of ruthless repression, the Indian
security forces indiscriminately fired at one of the biggest protest
rallies in Held Kashmir's history, with participants variously
computed between 100,000 and 250,000, and shot down prominent Hurriyat
leader Sheikh Abdul Aziz and several others near Uri on Monday…. The
blockade has put an end to all trade with the outside world, including
that of fruit with which the Valley virtually overflows. That the
authorities have not bothered to break it, but let all economic
activity in the Valley stifle, suggests their callous attitude towards
the people for their 'sin' of agitating for the right to
self-determination….The blockade has put an end to all trade with the
outside world, including that of fruit with which the Valley virtually
overflows. That the authorities have not bothered to break it, but let
all economic activity in the Valley stifle, suggests their callous
attitude towards the people for their 'sin' of agitating for the right
to self-determination."

The paper carried a statement by a former Pakistani ambassador and
senior aide to the UN Secretary General, that Pakistan should raise
its concern on the situation in the Indian Occupied Kashmir at the
United Nations. Mr Yusuf Buch, described as an expert on Kashmir,
said, "The Prime Minister of Pakistan should immediately contact the
Secretary General of the United Nations and, both in conversation on
the telephone and in letter which he should ask to be circulated as a
document of the Security Council, emphasize that the current situation
deserves to be viewed in its human reality and not through the prism
of calcified attitudes of inaction stemming from considerations of
power politics."

Dawn's headline on August 15 stated: 'Widespread protests test India's
hold on Kashmir'. It report said: Police shot dead a Muslim protester
as huge crowds shouting "we want freedom" took to the streets of
occupied Kashmir on Thursday over a land row that is testing New
Delhi's hold on the troubled Himalayan region.

An editorial in  the Dawn newspaper criticized the Pakistani
government for backing off from its plans to oppose the nuclear
safeguards agreement at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
It said: "The Bush administration launched its own campaign to
dissuade Pakistan from any effort to thwart the Indo-US game plan… Our
ambassador in Washington, too, according to well-informed sources,
pitched in, recommending that we do nothing to upset the Bush
administration's advice and, instead, terminate all efforts to counter
the Indo-US move, at both the IAEA and the NSG, which is to meet to
consider the US draft to allow nuclear trade with India. To the
Foreign Office's disappointment, the entire campaign was called off,
causing deep dismay at this abject surrender of national interests."

Pakistani newspapers had a large number of developments with Pakistan
to report in the last week. On August 14, Dawn had six items on page
one detailing militant strikes in Lahore (8 killed), villagers kill
six militants, clashes between rival tribes in Kurram agency, 24
killed – militants stop people from leaving Bajaur, six killed 19
injured in Balouchistan attacks. Other stories were Sindh assembly
seeks impeachment and 'Dozens injured in Kashmir protests'.  The
Kashmir story therefore, was an also ran.

Television

Indian television channels, Times Now in particular, gave more
prominence than Indian newspapers did to accusations from across the
border. All major channels showed the Ministery of external affairs
spokesman reading out his statements referring to Pakistan's
interference on consecutive days. Given the fact of constant repeat
telecasts, the message registered with anyone who tuned in to any of
the major satellite and cable news channels.

President Musharraf's references to India in his speech on the eve of
Pakistan's independence day played far more effectively across TV
channels in India than in the newspapers. Heard and seen they had
greater impact than reporting in cold print. His sentences help
television news channels flog the "interference" angle for all it was
worth. He made an emotional pitch, stating that Kahmir was every in
Pakistani's "dil ka dhadkan." (heartbeat) and that the killings there
were most regrettable.

Times Now in particular chose to flog this:" Musharraf is trying to be
a Pakistani hero for one last time." Later anchor Arnab Goswami talked
of "Open, obvious meddling from across the border" and repeated that
description. He dredged up the ISI bogey: "Is the ISI behind the
blockade myth?" he asked.

In a discussion on NDTV 24x7 however, when asked about the role of
Pakistan by anchor Barkha Dutt,  journalist Prem Shankar Jha, a guest
on the show, said "Pakistan had nothing to do with what happened  from
July onward."

Overall both Hindi and English channels ran President Musharraf's
statements over several times, not just the first day, but also till
the 11 pm bulletin the following night.  Channels kept telling their
viewers, "Musharraf raises Kashmir issue."

But shortly after came the President's resignation, and  the focus
turned and stayed, on Pakistan's internal problems.