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--- South Asian News, October 2, 2002 --- (International)

Reports indicate 41 percent voter turnout in the third phase of elections in Indian Kashmir, even as militants kill 10 people in various attacks across the state; India blames Pakistan for encouraging cross-border terrorism. Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE are preparing for the next round of peace talks.

Africa


* Ten die in Kashmir violence (News 24) (Business Day)

Americas


* Polling day bloody in Kashmir as India hails election turnout (Globe and Mail) (The News Mexico)

Asia-Pacific


* Bus attacked in Kashmir, killing two (Xinhuanet) (Australian News) (Channel News Asia) (Daily Telegraph) (Financial Review)
* 6 Indian security personnel die in Kashmir blast (Japan Today) (Australian Broadcasting) (Channel News Asia)
* Spate of suspected militant attacks again plagues Kashmir polls (Channel News Asia)
* 41.4 percent turnout, 14 killed in Kashmir polling (Xinhuanet) (Australian News) (Daily Telegraph)
* New Delhi slams Pakistan after Kashmir poll violence (Channel News Asia) (Australian Broadcasting)
* UNHCR employs iris technology on refugees (Japan Today)
* Bangladesh, United States hold joint exercise (Xinhuanet)

Europe


* Kashmir rocked by violence (BBC) (Swiss Info) (Sky News) (Independent)
* Militants renew assault in Indian Kashmir (Swiss Info) (Financial Times)
* Pakistan condemns US security measures (BBC)
* India plane crash toll rises (BBC)
* S.Lanka calls for Tigers to give up arms (Swiss Info)
* Colombo meeting on child soldiers begins (BBC)
* Indian rebels 'sheltering in Bangladesh' (BBC)

Middle East


* Poor turnout, violence mar Kashmir poll (Arab News) (Gulf News)
* 12 killed in Kashmir (Gulf Daily News) (Haaretz Daily)
* Third phase of J&K assembly elections ends with 41 percent polling (IRNA)
* BJP backs trifurcation of Kashmir (Gulf News)
* Sectarian violence feared (Gulf News)
* Stage being set for next round of peace talks (Gulf News)
* Plea to free soldier for mercy visit (Gulf Daily News)
* Three actors contest for parliament (Gulf News)
* India, Ukraine to sign extradition treaty (IRNA)

Editorial


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Business/Technology


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Africa


* Ten die in Kashmir violence

Srinagar, India -- Indian Kashmir was rocked by new wave of violence Wednesday as suspected Islamic militants killed at least 10 people in a series of attacks across the troubled state. Five Indian soldiers were killed and one injured when their vehicle hit a landmine, while at least two people were killed and 24 injured in a bus bombing on near Jammu. Militants also shot dead three activists of the ruling National Conference (NC) party in the village of Jaktial in the northern Kupwara district early in the morning, police said. The death toll from Wednesday's assaults was 14, including six soldiers - contrasting with the relatively peaceful first two rounds of the controversial vote.

http://www.news24.com/News24/World/Asia/0,1113,2-10-20_1265870,00.html
http://www.bday.co.za/bday/content/direct/1,3523,,00.html

Americas


* Polling day bloody in Kashmir as India hails election turnout

Srinagar, India -- Nineteen people died yesterday in the bloodiest polling day yet in Indian Kashmir as a third round of elections were held in the troubled state. Another person was killed today and 18 injured as a bomb detonated on a bus carrying Hindus on a pilgrimage near Jammu, officials said. There was no official word on the identity of the attackers but suspicion fell on Islamic militants. Gunmen killed nine people on a bus yesterday, and six soldiers died when their vehicle ran over a land mine, believed to be planted by Islamic militants. Two militants, a political activist and an Indian soldier died in separate incidents. Despite the violence, India's independent election commission said turnout was 41 per cent, slightly lower than the 47 per cent and 42 per cent recorded in the first two rounds.

http://www.globeandmail.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/PEstory/TGAM/20021002/UKASHNSB/International/international/internationalAsiaHeadline_temp/1/1/1/
http://www.thenewsmexico.com/noticia.asp?id=36501

Asia-Pacific


* Bus attacked in Kashmir, killing two

Two people were killed and 13 others injured when a powerful explosion rocked a bus near a highway in India-ruled Kashmir on Wednesday morning. The bus carrying about 15 to 20 passengers caught fire soon after the explosion around 06:24 a.m. (00:06 GMT), the Press Trustof India (PTI) reported. The agency quoted a top police official as indicating that the terror attack on the bus, which was running from Jammu to Srinagar,might be a handwork of Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Muhammad, two militant Islamic group active in the Kashmir valley.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-10/02/content_583133.htm
http://theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,5211509%255E401,00.html
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southasia/view/20618/1/.html
http://www.dailytelegraph.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,5211507%255E401,00.html
http://afr.com/asia/2002/10/02/FFX4M6T4S6D.html

* 6 Indian security personnel die in Kashmir blast

Suspected Islamic militants blew up a vehicle carrying Indian paramilitary personnel that left six dead and two wounded Tuesday in the Awantipora area in India's strife-torn Jammu and Kashmir region, according to a Press Trust of India (PTI) report. Personnel from the Border Security Force (BSF) were returning from the conclusion of third-stage assembly polls in the northern state when explosives blew up their van around 5 p.m. Tuesday, the PTI report said, quoting a BSF spokesman. Six BSF men died on the spot and two were seriously wounded.

http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=7
http://abc.net.au/asiapacific/news/GoAsiaPacificBNA_690718.htm
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southasia/view/20576/1/.html

* Spate of suspected militant attacks again plagues Kashmir polls

A spate of militant attacks has again plagued Indian-administered Kashmir, a day after the bloodiest phase yet in the state elections. In a fresh spurt of bloodletting, suspected militants have slayed three ruling party workers at gun-point. The victims were killed in the Kupwara district, which voted in the first of the ongoing four-round state elections.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southasia/view/20623/1/.html

* 41.4 percent turnout, 14 killed in Kashmir polling

October 1 -- An estimated 41.4 percent of voters exercised their voting rights on Tuesday for the third of the four-phase elections in India-controlled Kashmir amid a series of violence which killed 14 people. Voters in 27 constituencies, with an estimated 1.8 million voters spread over four districts of Udhampur, Kathua, Pulwama andAnantnag, went to polls to decide the fate of 223 candidates in the third phase, which was described as the "most difficult" by Election Commission in New Delhi. According to the Press Trust of India (PTI), the highest turnout of 59 percent was recorded in Kathua district, followed by Udhampur, 56 percent, militancy-infested Pulwama, 28 percent, and Anantnag, 25 percent.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-10/01/content_582665.htm
http://theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,5212810%255E401,00.html
http://www.dailytelegraph.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,5212810%255E401,00.html

* New Delhi slams Pakistan after Kashmir poll violence

India has slammed Pakistan after a day of violence unleashed by rebels in Indian administered Kashmir. India's Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani led the blistering attack on Tuesday insisting the country was a cradle of 'global terrorism'. Mr Advani added that Islamabad's policies had resulted in a growth of militancy. He said his government plans to intensify its crackdown on militancy. At least 21 people were killed in Indian Kashmir in the bloodiest polling day yet.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southasia/view/20600/1/.html
http://abc.net.au/asiapacific/news/GoAsiaPacificBNA_690973.htm

* UNHCR employs iris technology on refugees

Islamabad -- The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is introducing iris-recognition technology at voluntary repatriation centers in Pakistan to detect refugees trying more than once to get travel assistance to return to Afghanistan, a press release issued by the UNHCR said Tuesday. It said more than 2,000 people were processed Monday and Tuesday at the Takhat Baig repatriation center with the new technology and 13 were rejected because they had already received assistance for return to Afghanistan.

http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=7&id=232667

* Bangladesh, United States hold joint exercise

The six-day joint exercise coded "Exercise Cope South-2002" between Bangladesh Armed Forces and United States Marine Corps was concluded at BAF (Bangladesh Air Force) Base Zahur in Chittagong and BAF Base Bashar in Dhaka on Sunday, an official press release announced here Tuesday. This exercise was planned to enhance the capabilities of BAF inairlift operation and also to strengthen interoperability between the Bangladesh Armed forces and the United States Marine Corps. The exercise was further designed to improve interoperability between US and BAF fighter elements. The "Exercise-Cope South-2002" was conducted as part of the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief operation.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-10/02/content_582668.htm

Europe


* Kashmir rocked by violence

At least 10 people have been killed in a series of attacks in Indian-administered Kashmir just a day after violence marred elections in the state. Five Indian border guards were killed in a landmine explosion at Tral, some 40 kilometres south of the summer capital, Srinagar. In another attack in the frontier district of Kupwara, three ruling party were killed by suspected militants. Earlier at least two civilians were killed when a bomb exploded on a bus headed for a Hindu pilgrimage site further south. Two militant groups, the Hizbul Mujahideen and the Al Medina are believed to have carried out the attack on the border guards. Twenty-two other passengers were injured - many badly burned - on the bus which was leaving Jammu, the winter capital of the Indian-ruled part of Kashmir.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2291093.stm
http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/Swissinfo.html?siteSect=143&sid=1371556
http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,,00.html
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia_china/story.jsp?story=338696

* Militants renew assault in Indian Kashmir

Suspected Islamic militants have renewed a bloody assault in Indian Kashmir as India presses ahead with controversial state elections which have triggered a bout of anti-poll violence. After a third phase of voting on Tuesday -- in which 18 people died in the bloodiest polling day since elections started -- another 10 died on Wednesday in separate attacks by suspected militant separatists. India sees the vote as a means of enhancing the legitimacy of its rule in its only-Muslim majority state and a test of Pakistan's willingness to stop Islamic militants crossing into Indian Kashmir to join the separatist revolt.

http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/Swissinfo.html?siteSect=143&sid=1372038
http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=&p=

* Pakistan condemns US security measures

October 1 -- The Pakistani Government has criticised the decision by the United States to start registering Pakistani men, entering the country, as a security measure. Pakistan's foreign ministry spokesman said it was unfair given his country's support for the American 'war on terror'. The foreign ministry spokesman said the decision to register all Pakistani men between 16 and 45 entering the United States, was unfair and wrong. The spokesman, Aziz Ahmed Khan, said the Pakistani Government had expressed its concern to the American authorities and would continue to take it up.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2290378.stm

* India plane crash toll rises

The bodies of two more people have been recovered from the debris of a building destroyed in a plane crash in the western state of Goa. The death toll in the accident is now 17 while four more people are in critical condition in a Goa hospital, with severe burns. The mid-air collision of the two IL-38 naval aircraft on Tuesday morning killed all 12 naval personnel on board both planes. Five construction workers were also killed as one of the planes crashed into a building under construction.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2291803.stm

* S.Lanka calls for Tigers to give up arms

Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga wants the Tamil Tigers to lay down their guns quickly and for talks with the rebels to move to core issues, proposals that could slow a growing peace process. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said after a first round of peace talks in neutral Thailand last month that it was too early to talk about disarming, and that the talks should focus on non-controversial items first. "We want to move quickly down to decommissioning by the LTTE," presidential spokesman Harim Peiris told a news conference.

http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/Swissinfo.html?siteSect=143&sid=1372347

* Colombo meeting on child soldiers begins

October 1 -- An international conference has started in Sri Lanka looking at children in armed conflict. In the last decade alone the United Nations says, two million children have been killed in wars and more than a million orphaned. One of the most controversial issues being discussed is the use of child soldiers, who are thought to number 300,000 globally. In Sri Lanka there has been huge controversy surrounding child recruitment by the Tamil Tiger rebel group, who are now involved in peace negotiations.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2289722.stm

* Indian rebels 'sheltering in Bangladesh'

October 1 -- The Chief Minister of India's north-eastern state of Tripura says separatist groups active in his state are continuing to find shelter in neighbouring Bangladesh. In an interview with the BBC, Chief Minister, Manik Sarkar said he had handed over a list of 51 rebel camps which he says are in Bangladesh's Sylhet and Chittagong Hill Tracts region.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2289916.stm

Middle East


* Poor turnout, violence mar Kashmir poll

Poor turnout with large-scale violence marked the third and the most decisive round of polling in yesterday's Kashmir Assembly elections. Yesterday's polling was for 27 seats in four districts: Anantnag and Pulwama in south Kashmir plus Udhampur and Kathua in the Jammu region. Chief Electoral Officer Pramod Jain said that the overall poll percentage in the four districts was 41.1 percent. Meanwhile, militants blasted a vehicle carrying BSF personnel in Awantipore area of Pulwama district yesterday. Seven soldiers were killed and two injured. Militants detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) planted on the main road as the minibus carried personnel back to their camp after poll duty. In another violent incident at Hiranagar, militants stopped a van, threw a bomb into it andd fire, killing seven people.

http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=19106
http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=64578

* 12 killed in Kashmir

Six Indian troops were killed by a landmine yesterday as they escorted polling staff from voting stations in Kashmir, as at least 16 others including soldiers and rebels died elsewhere in the region. In southern Kashmiri district of Udhampur, another BSF trooper was killed overnight when Muslim rebels fired at an Indian security patrol. In the adjoining district of Doda, Muslim militants exploded another landmine, killing an Indian soldier and injuring two more.

http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Articles.asp?Article=33903&Sn=WORL
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=215357&contrassID=1&subContrassID=8&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y

* Third phase of J&K assembly elections ends with 41 percent polling

October 1 -- The voting in the third phase for Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections came to a close amid allegations of coercion and intimidation. Unlike first phase of voting, this phase was marred by increased incidents of violence from militants. Over seventeen attacks in different places in the twin districts of Anantnag and Pulwama left five security men killed, and many others including a polling officer, two security men and two political workers injured. Chief Electoral Officer Parmod Jain described today's polling as moderate with overall turn out of 41.4 percent.

http://www.irna.com/en/world/.ewo.shtml

* BJP backs trifurcation of Kashmir

An aggressive Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has put its regional ally, the National Conference (NC) party of Jammu and Kashmir, on notice that it will not remain a silent spectator if the NC pulls out of the federal coalition. Within a day of the National Conference chief and Junior Foreign Minister Omar Abdullah announcing his intention to resign as a federal minister and withdraw his party from the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) after elections conclude in the state, the BJP has thrown its weight behind the trifurcation of the state.

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=64587

* Sectarian violence feared

Security agencies are reported to be "extremely concerned" at the possibility of sectarian violence during upcoming polls. This risk is said to have grown following the recent police encounter in Jhang in which two members of the banned extremist organisation, the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LJ) apparently killed themselves to avoid capture. Police, who had tracked down key LJ man Zafar Iqbal Bala, and his associate known as Irfan, believe that Zafar Iqbal may have been planning 'operations' during the elections.

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=64579

* Stage being set for next round of peace talks

Norway, Sri Lanka and the Tamil guerrillas are setting the stage for the next round of peace talks with a host of high level meetings within the next week as the government tries to drum up more support for the process. Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister, Vidar Helgesen, will arrive in Sri Lanka this week as part of the preparations for the next round of peace talks. Helgesen will be proceeding to the northern Wanni region for talks with representatives of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), including the chief negotiator Anton Balasingham who is also due to arrive from London. The Norwegian envoy will first meet government officials in Colombo and also political representatives before heading for Wanni.

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=64575

* Plea to free soldier for mercy visit

Colombo -- Scandinavian truce monitors yesterday ordered Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels to immediately free a government soldier they abducted last week and allow humanitarian agencies access to six others. Head of the truce monitors, Norwegian Major General Trond Furuhovde, asked the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to release the hostage immediately, his spokesman Teitur Torkelsson said. The LTTE abducted seven government soldiers in the northeastern district of Trincomalee six days ago and demanded the release of two of their cadres in exchange.

http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Articles.asp?Article=33904&Sn=WORL

* Three actors contest for parliament

Encouraged by the success of movie stars in electoral politics in neighbouring India, three Pakistani actors have jumped into the fray and are running for National Assembly seats from the port city of Karachi. Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf, the party of cricket-hero-turned politician Imran Khan, has awarded a ticket to a leading film hero of yesteryears, Syed Kamal for the National Assembly seat NA 250 comprising Defence Housing Authority and its adjacent neighbourhoods. The Pakistan Peoples' Party Parliamentarians has given National Assembly tickets to two popular television actors Mohammed Shafi and Qaiser Nizamani.

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=64576

* India, Ukraine to sign extradition treaty

October 1 -- India and Ukraine will sign an extradition treaty and another treaty on mutual legal assistance on criminal matters during the four-day state visit of Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma beginning Wednesday. India's Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Nirupama Rao told reporters on Tuesday evening that the two sides will also sign an agreement on merchant shipping during his stay here.

http://www.irna.com/en/world/.ewo.shtml

Editorial


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Business/Technology


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