Waziristan attacks

Attacks on Pakistani soil continue and on September 17, according to Dawn 8220;missiles were fired from US drones on a house in South Waziristan...

Attacks on Pakistani soil continue and on September 17, according to Dawn 8220;missiles were fired from US drones on a house in South Waziristan, killing six people and injuring three others8221; US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has defended American strikes on Pakistani soil. The Nation September 19 reports him saying that ,8220;The US would take whatever actions necessary in self-defence8230;8221;

John Negroponte however struck a more conciliatory note. Says Dawn September 19 8220;Unilateral actions cannot defeat militancy in Fata, said US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte who also indicated on Thursday that the US and Pakistan were working on a more collaborative approach to deal with this problem8221; Dawn adds that 8220;Mr Negroponte described America8217;s partnership with Pakistan as a very important relationship in a region where the US has very important interests 8230; 8221;

PM Yousuf Raza Gilani meanwhile stated that the US government had been asked to stop incursions in Pakistan8217;s territory. Reports Dawn 8220;Talking to a team for the NWFP headed by Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti at the Prime Minister8217;s House, the PM said the US had been told that Pakistan would not allow violating of its sovereignty and territorial integrity8221;.Pakistan8217;s External Affairs Minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that Pakistan was not kept in the loop with regard to Wednesday8217;s attack on South Waziristan reports Dawn September 19

Ayesha Siddiqa states in Dawn that the statements of the army chief against US attacks should in no way mean that the US will stop its attacks: 8220;8230;US policymakers know that given Islamabad8217;s dependence on Washington there is nothing much it can do other than issue statements8230;8221;

Facing down the army

A report of the International Institute for Strategic Studies says that Zardari8217;s position may be threatened by the army. The Nation September 19 reports 8220;Asif Zardari must make fighting militancy in the border regions8230;But he faces a tough job to gain the trust of the Army, which could ultimately threaten his government, said the IISS in its annual review of global geopolitical security8221;.

Zardari countered allegations of being soft on Kashmir, during his meeting with Sardar Atiq Khan, Prime Minister of POK. The News September 19 reports, 8220; President Asif Ali Zardari has said that the government is committed to find a viable solution to the Kashmir cause and would not backtrack on the issue8221;

America the not-so-beautiful

Anti-Americanism in Pakistan is revealed by graffiti on the walls, reports The News September 19 8220;8230;most Pakistanis have developed hatred for the US and its president, George W. Bush8230;a majority of the walls of public toilets are inscribed with comments that betray anti-US and anti-Bush sentiments such as Yeh Bush Ka Ghar Hai This is Bush8217;s House8230;8221;

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The anti-US feeling is also reflected in the opinion pieces in various papers.

Muzaffar Iqbal in The News September 19 writes 8220; What America is after is not the ragtag groups all lumped together in that catch-all phrase, Taliban8230;but the last resistance against its global hegemonic ambitions8230; 8220; Ayaz Amir writes, 8220; The Yanks may not be triumphant in Afghanistan but8230; they feel triumphant when they have to deal with our officials who have turned prostration into a superior art form.8221;