In denial: Udhampur attack and Naved arrest buried in most Pakistani newspapers

The arrest of Mohammed Naved after a terrorist attack in Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir has dominated news headlines in India since Wednesday afternoon, particularly after reports emerged that he hailed from Pakistan. But in Pakistan, the news of his arrest was given very little coverage, possibly a fallout of criticism over reportage of the arrest of Ajmal Kasab during the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, as pointed out in an Indian Express report.

Naved’s arrest got coverage on the 16th page in the newspaper Dawn in a report by agencies, titled, “ Two BSF men, militant killed: Indian police .” The mention of the captured terror suspect does not figure till the fourth paragraph of the report, which quotes a senior police official saying that while one ‘militant’ was killed, another was captured and four people taken hostage by him were rescued unharmed. The report states, “Since 1989, several Kashmiri groups have been fighting hundreds of thousands of Indian security personnel deployed in the disputed region, for independence or a merger of the territory with Pakistan.”

The Nation also carried the news as a report by agencies on page 12 with the headline “2 Indian troops killed in IHK (Indian-held Kashmir) gunbattle.”  Here too, there is only one reference in the fourth paragraph to the arrest. Even in this sentence, there is no mention of India’s claim about him being from Pakistan.

Meanwhile, the front page of the newspaper carried a report on Pakistan and India “ mulling new dates for NSAs meeting .” The Nation’s website later put up a report by news agency Reuters with the headline “ ’Pakistani militant’ captured after attack on military convoy: Indian officials ,” with the lead paragraph stating that Indian forces captured a Pakistani militant.

On a more forthcoming note, a column in The Nation on Thursday made extensive references to the arrest, saying that it would “ruffle all kinds of feathers" in South Asia. The column, written by Kunwar Khuldune Shahid, further said, “Even though the claims of the Indian authorities or the media— just like their Pakistani counterparts — shouldn’t be treated as the Holy Gospel, there is little doubt about sections of the Pakistani establishment historically supporting jihad in Kashmir.” It goes on to question Hafiz Saeed’s immunity from prosecution in Pakistan, pointing out that the Lashkar-e-Toiba, which he founded, is formally banned there.

The Express Tribune and The News, which belongs to the Jang Group, neither reported on the attack in Udhampur nor the arrest of the militant.

The Indian Express on Thursday reported that most Pakistani news channels focused on border clashes in Sialkot, where the latter country is said to have alleged “unprovoked” firing, which led to the death of three civilians. It also pointed that after the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, when some Pakistani news outlets had referred to Ajmal Kasab as hailing from that country, they were called “anti-Pakistan.”