clips are sponsored by the Indian American Center for Political Awareness and are archived at www..

--- South Asian News, October 01, 2002 ---

Breaking News/ Newswires

* Christina Rocca calls for Pakistan-India dialogue (reuters): U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Christina Rocca met Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday and called for dialogue with India over the disputed Kashmir region. India has refused Pakistan's offer of talks over Kashmir, saying Islamabad must first end its sponsorship of cross-border infiltration by Islamic militants into Indian Kashmir, where a third round of state elections was taking place on Tuesday. Pakistan denies the accusation, saying it has clamped down on extremist groups in Pakistan since backing the U.S.-led war on terror last September. http://in.news.yahoo.com/021001/137/1vv3r.html

* Worst schools for terrorism exist in Pakistan: US (PTI): Observing that some of the "worst schools for terrorism and religious extremism" exist in Pakistan, Washington has assured Islamabad of economic assistance required to defeat terrorists. Pakistan needs economic assistance to defeat terrorists who use the country as a hub, Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz told the inaugural session of the US-PAK istan Business Council here yesterday. Stating that the Bush administration valued the help provided by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to fight terrorism, he, however, said that "unfortunately, today some of the worst schools for terrorism and religious extremism are in Pakistan." http://in.news.yahoo.com/021001/20/1vv21.html

* Gandhi statue to be unveiled in US (PTI): An 8.8 feet highbronze statue of Mahatma GANDHI would be unveiled in US during this year's Gandhi Jayanti celebrations. The statue would be uncovered on Saturday in Milwaukee by US Health Secretary Tommy Thompson with Indian Ambassador Lalit Mansingh as Guest of Honour. Sculpted by Gautam Pal of Kolkata, it is identical to the one that was unveiled by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and former US President Bill Clinton in Washington in September 2000, and reminds the famous Salt Satyagraha in 1930. http://in.news.yahoo.com/021001/20/1vup0.html

* Russia, China, India Face HIV Crisis (AP): The spread of HIV is expected to accelerate in Asia and Africa over the next decade with 75 million cases likely in five of the world's most populous countries by 2010, a U.S. intelligence report predicts. The rapid growth of HIV as well as AIDS cases will heavily tax the economies and public health systems of such countries as China, India, Russia, Ethiopia and Nigeria, according to the report, prepared by the National Intelligence Council, a group of senior analysts who report to CIA Director George J. Tenet. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/AOct1.html


Police in Pakistan arrest a suspect accused of being an Indian intelligence agent involved in a deadly bomb attack two years ago in Lahore. In India, two navy planes flying in formation collide and crash in a coastal resort area killing all 12 crewmen aboard the planes and two people on the ground. Suspected Islamic militants unleash a series of attacks killing at least nine people as pollsd for the third round of legislative elections in India's troubled Jammu-Kashmir state.

Top Stories

* Pakistani police arrest suspect in deadly Lahore bomb attack two years ago (Wall Street Journal) (NY Times) (Washington Post) (MSNBC) (ABC News)
* Pakistan says arrests two Indian agents (MSNBC) (ABC News)
* Pakistan warns election monitors against criticism (MSNBC)
* Bhutto's party vows to undo constitutional changes ordered by Pakistani president (LA Times) (Washington Post) (MSNBC) (Salon.com) (ABC News)
* Pakistan steps up security violence against Westerners and Christians escalates (SF Gate)
* Pakistan party vows to teach democracy to army (MSNBC)
* Pakistani election candidate arrested for allegedly chopping off man's hands in fight (LA Times) (Washington Post) (MSNBC)
* Official wants democracy in Pakistan (NY Times) (Washington Post) (Washington Times)
* Pakistan minister sees easing of tension on India border-Kyodo (Wall Street Journal)
* Pakistan court allows jailed militant to stand for election (Wall Street Journal)
* Two Indian navy planes collide, 14 reported killed (Wall Street Journal) (Houston Chronicle) (NY Times) (LA Times) (Washington Post) (USA Today) (MSNBC) (ABC News) (CNN.com) (SF Gate) (Dallas News) (Anchorage Daily News) (News Tribune) (Burlington County Times)
* Nine die as Kashmir voting resumes (Wall Street Journal) (NY Times) (LA Times) (Washington Post) (ABC News) (Philadelphia Inquirer) (SF Gate) (Morning Call) (Fresnobee.com) (Burlington County Times) (Anchorage Daily News)
* Voters shun Indian Kashmir vote, rebels kill five (Houston Chronicle) (NY Times) (Washington Post) (Chicago Tribune) (ABC News) (Sun Herald) (Sanluisobispo.com) (FortWayne.com) (TheState.com) (Centre Daily) (Herald Sun) (Burlington County Times)
* Kashmir vote in militant heartland (Wall Street Journal) (LA Times) (Washington Post)
* Indian Kashmir minister: Pakistan meddled in poll (NY Times) (ABC News)
* Sri Lanka truce monitors try to get soldiers released (MSNBC)
* Strike call shuts down schools in Nepali capital (Wall Street Journal) (MSNBC)

Editorial/Op-Ed

N/A

Business/Technology

* Mobile phone service to 57,000 users in India cut off (Wall Street Journal)

Other Stories

* Celebs join Dalai Lama at conference (USA Today)
* U.N. conference on global warming to be held in New Delhi (US Info)


Top Stories

* Pakistani police arrest suspect in deadly Lahore bomb attack two years ago

Karachi, Pakistan -- Police have arrested a Pakistani man they accuse of being an Indian intelligence agent involved in a deadly bomb attack two years ago in the western city of Lahore, officials said Monday. The announcement came on the same day a high-ranking Pakistani official signaled tensions between the two South Asian nuclear rivals may be building again.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20020930_004918,00.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-pakistan-india0930sep30,0,6444635.story
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Pakistan-India.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/ASep30.html
http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/ap.asp?reg=ASIA
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20020930_1175.html

* Pakistan says arrests two Indian agents

Karachi, Pakistan -- Pakistani police paraded a man on Monday who confessed to having been trained by Indian intelligence and carrying out bomb attacks in the country. State media later quoted police as saying they had arrested another man they described as an Indian terrorist and who had planned to sabotage next week's national elections in Pakistan.

http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters.asp?reg=ASIA
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/reuters20020930_207.html

* Pakistan warns election monitors against criticism

Islamabad -- Pakistan's military ruler General Pervez Musharraf warned foreign election observers on Monday against making comments ahead of polls designed to restore civilian rule, the official APP news agency reported. The warning came a day after a newspaper reported that European Union observers had criticised the political manoeuvring that has kept former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif out of the October 10 polls.

http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters.asp?reg=ASIA

* Bhutto's party vows to undo constitutional changes ordered by Pakistani president

Islamabad -- The party of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto unveiled its platform Monday, pledging to overturn constitutional changes imposed by Pakistan's military ruler and improve relations with neighboring India. Raza Rabbani, general secretary of the Pakistan Peoples Party, harshly criticized President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, whose decision last month to extend his tenure and grant himself sweeping powers has proved a rallying point for Pakistani opposition parties ahead of the Oct. 10 vote.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-pakistan-bhutto0930sep30,0,4688998.story
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/ASep30.html
http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/ap.asp?reg=ASIA
http://www.salon.com/news/wire/2002/09/30/pakistan_bhutto/index.html
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20020930_588.html

* Pakistan steps up security violence against Westerners and Christians escalates

Peshawar, Pakistan -- Hundreds of parishioners at St. Michael's Catholic Church filed slowly and quietly past sandbagged police positions on their way to Sunday services. One by one, in a hushed atmosphere, they underwent extensive body and bag searches under the watchful eyes of four submachine-gun-toting officers in the church's courtyard -- part of a stepped-up security campaign at Christian institutions throughout Pakistan after Wednesday's massacre of seven charity workers in the port city of Karachi.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2002/09/30/MN41055.DTL

* Pakistan party vows to teach democracy to army

Islamabad -- The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto vowed on Monday to teach the country's army about democracy if elected to power in October's parliamentary elections. Unveiling its manifesto for the October 10 polls, which are aimed at returning the country to civilian rule, PPP acting Secretary General Raza Rabbani said the military had to learn to respect the ballot box.

http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters.asp?reg=ASIA

* Pakistani election candidate arrested for allegedly chopping off man's hands in fight

Islamabad -- Police arrested a parliamentary candidate and four other men for allegedly chopping off a man's hands during a fight after a political meeting in central Pakistan, authorities said Monday. Ashfaq Kamboh, who is a candidate for the Punjab provincial assembly in the Oct. 10 vote, was taken into custody after the incident Sunday in Kasur, about 150 miles southeast of the capital, Islamabad, said police official Qadir Sarwar.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-pakistan-election-violence0930sep30,0,5589072.story
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/ASep30.html
http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/ap.asp?reg=ASIA

* Official wants democracy in Pakistan

Washington -- The United States wants President Pervez Musharraf to make more progress returning Pakistan to democracy, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said Monday. He also thanked Pakistan for arresting Ramzi Binalshibh, one of the alleged planners of the Sept. 11 attacks "who is now off the streets and providing us with valuable information."

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-US-Pakistan.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/ASep30.html
http://www.washtimes.com/upi-breaking/r.htm

* Pakistan minister sees easing of tension on India border-Kyodo

New York -- A senior Pakistan official said Monday he has seen a lessening of tension with India during last few months citing reports that Indian soldiers have been allowed leave and the scaling down of "level of alert" of forces on border, Kyodo News agency reported. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Inam-ul-haq said at a briefing that although Indian forces remain deployed on the border there have been reports that some of the forces were being pulled back.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20020930_001834,00.html

* Pakistan court allows jailed militant to stand for election

Lahore, Pakistan -- A Pakistani court Tuesday approved the application of a jailed leader of an outlawed Sunni militant group to run in the country's upcoming legislative elections, dismissing a government challenge to prevent his candidacy. Maulana Azam Tariq, a leader of the Sipaha-e-Sahaba, was cleared to run for a Parliament seat from the Punjab provincial city of Jhang, a three-judge panel ruled.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20021001_001100-search,00.html

* Two Indian navy planes collide, 14 reported killed

Goa, India -- Two Indian navy planes flying in formation collided and crashed in a coastal resort area Tuesday, killing all 12 crewmen aboard the planes and two people on the ground, police said. One plane fell onto a house under construction in a residential area, and the other crashed into a field near a road, said Karnal Singh, the general inspector of police for the state of Goa, a tourist resort on the Arabian Sea.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB-search,00.html
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/world/1598085
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-India-Jet-Collision.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-india-plane-collision1001oct01,0,1056769.story
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/AOct1.html
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/-india-jets_x.htm
http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/ap.asp?reg=ASIA
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20021001_400.html
http://asia.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/south/10/01/india.crash/index.html
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2002/10/01/international0312EDT0456.DTL
http://www.dallasnews.com/latestnews/stories/100102dnintindia.758277eb.html
http://www.adn.com/24hour/world/story/557549p-4392827c.html
http://www.tribnet.com/24hour/world/story/557549p-4392827c.html
http://www.phillyburbs.com/%2E%2E/apNews/apstory.asp%3FArticleNo%3D70560

* Nine die as Kashmir voting resumes

Pahalgam, India -- Suspected Islamic militants unleashed a series of attacks Tuesday, killing at least nine people as pollsd for the third round of legislative elections in India's troubled Jammu-Kashmir state. Nine people were killed in an attack on a passenger bus near the Pakistan border in Kashmir's Kathua district, while thousands of Indian soldiers patrolled the Himalayan region's militant heartland to try to secure polling stations.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB-search,00.html
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Kashmir-Elections.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-kashmir-elections1001oct01,0,6003153.story
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/AOct1.html
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20021001_215.html
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/breaking_news/4185095.htm
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2002/10/01/international0304EDT0454.DTL
http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/ats-ap_top14oct01%2C0%2C6149094.story
http://www.fresnobee.com/24hour/world/story/557423p-4391027c.html
http://www.phillyburbs.com/%2E%2E/apNews/apstory.asp%3FArticleNo%3D70540
http://www.adn.com/24hour/world/story/557423p-4391027c.html

* Voters shun Indian Kashmir vote, rebels kill five

Anantnag, Srinagar, India -- Gunmen shot dead five people on a bus in Indian Kashmir Tuesday as voters shunned the third round of elections in the separatist heartland of the troubled state. India has billed the vote, which ends on October 8, as a test of Pakistan's commitment to curbing the flow of separatist militants across the border into the Muslim-majority state, but over 600 people have died in poll-related violence.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/world/1598053
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-kashmir-elections1001sep30,0,7641557.story
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-kashmir.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/AOct1.html
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-oct01.story
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/reuters20021001_72.html
http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/4187254.htm
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/4187254.htm
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/4187254.htm
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/4187254.htm
http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/4187254.htm
http://www.herald-sun.com/firstnews/37-272147.html
http://www.phillyburbs.com/%2E%2E/apNews/apstory.asp%3FArticleNo%3D70476

* Kashmir vote in militant heartland

Anantnag, India -- Thousands of soldiers patrolled the militant heartland of disputed Kashmir on Monday, a day before the third round of state elections that rebel forces have vowed to derail. Polling areas include strongholds of Pakistan-based militant groups who have fought Indian security forces since 1989 in a bid to carve out a separate homeland in Kashmir or merge with Pakistan.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20020930_005410,00.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-kashmir-elections0930sep30,0,5408742.story
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/ASep30.html

* Indian Kashmir minister: Pakistan meddled in poll

Srinagar, India -- The head of Kashmir's ruling party has accused Pakistan of meddling in assembly elections in the Indian-ruled state, saying it is missing an opportunity to demonstrate its good faith. Omar Abdullah, who is also a junior minister in India's foreign ministry, predicted ahead of Tuesday's third phase of voting that the federal government would be disappointed with Pakistan's attitude to the election so far.

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-kashmir-abdullah.html
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/reuters20020930_88.html

* Sri Lanka truce monitors try to get soldiers released

Colombo -- Sri Lanka's Nordic truce monitors will travel to the war-torn northeast on Tuesday to try to secure the release of seven soldiers detained by Tamil Tiger rebels, the monitors said on Monday. The soldiers were taken last week by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who are demanding the release of two of their cadres arrested for carrying weapons in government territory.

http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters.asp?reg=ASIA

* Strike call shuts down schools in Nepali capital

Kathmandu -- Thousands of Nepali students stayed home on Tuesday at the start of a two-day strike in schools called by a radical student group seeking an end to the growing number of private schools. The All Nepal Independent Students' Union (Revolutionary) is also demanding an end to higher tuition fees and compulsory teaching of Sanskrit, a language used in Hindu religious texts.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20021001_000102-search,00.html
http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters.asp?reg=ASIA

Editorial/Op-Ed

N/A

Business/Technology

* Mobile phone service to 57,000 users in India cut off

Lucknow, India --India's main telephone service provider cut off 57,000 mobile phone users in the eastern part of Uttar Pradesh state because their cell phone company, Ushafone, hasn't paid license fees. "My phone stopped working all of a sudden on Monday evening and I want my money back," Amita Singh, owner of a private school in Lucknow, the state capital, said Tuesday.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20021001_001223-search,00.html

Other Stories

* Celebs join Dalai Lama at conference

Dharmsala, India -- Richard Gere and Goldie Hawn joined Buddhist philosophers and Nobel laureates in northern India on Monday at the exile headquarters of the Dalai Lama for a meeting of minds on science and modern ethics. Hawn and Gere will be observers at the five-day conference. Both are prominent supporters of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader who fled his homeland after a failed uprising against Chinese communist troops who occupied the Himalayan territory in 1951.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/-lama_x.htm

* U.N. conference on global warming to be held in New Delhi

Environment ministers and delegates from 186 countries are expected to attend the next high-level conference on global warming from Oct. 23 to Nov. 1 in New Delhi, India. According to a September 30 United Nations press release, delegates will use the meeting -- known officially as the Eighth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the Climate Change Convention -- to prepare for the entry into force of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.

http://usinfo.state.gov/cgi-bin/washfile/display.pl?p=/products/washfile/latest&f=02093003.glt&t=/products/washfile/newsitem.shtml

================================================================================================