These news clips are sponsored by the Indian American Center for Political Awareness.

--- South Asian News, October 05, 2002 ---

Pakistani authorities send the bodies of two men killed in a police raid on an al-Qaida hideout in Karachi last month to their home countries. Nuclear-armed rivals Pakistan and India stage tit-for-tat missile tests, increasing tensions and raising fears of a renewed arms race.

Top Stories

* Pakistan returns suspects' bodies (Wall Street Journal) (NY Times) (LA Times) (Washington Post) (MSNBC) (Las Vegas Sun) (News Day)
* Pakistan stages missile test, first since war scare in May (NY Times) (LA Times)
* Pakistani leader urged back to barracks after vote (NY Times) (Washington Post)
* Elders in Pakistani tribal region warn women not to vote (Wall Street Journal)
* Security increased in Pakistan ahead of elections Thursday (Wall Street Journal)
* Pakistan President Musharraf defends missile test (Wall Street Journal)
* Pakistan's polls watchdog says it dealt with complaints (Wall Street Journal)
* Angered by Pakistan's test, India fires its own missile (Washington Post) (Washington Times) () () (San Antonio News) (Salon)
* Hindu nationalists resume Indian political march (MSNBC)
* Indian PM fires fresh verbal broadside at Pakistan (LA Times) (Chicago Tribune) (MSNBC)
* India state bans "forced" religious conversions (Wall Street Journal)
* Two killed as bloodied Kashmir wraps up vote (Washington Post) (ABC News)
* Kashmir death toll continues to mount (San Antonio News)
* India calm over missile test (Mercury News)
* India urges Nepal to settle crisis constitutionally (Washington Post) (ABC News)
* Mild quake jolts Bangladesh (Wall Street Journal)
* Bangladesh denies report of aircraft intruding into India (Wall Street Journal)
* Nepal orders house arrest of two dismissed ministers (Wall Street Journal)
* Ousted by King, Nepal Premier asks for support (Wall Street Journal) (NY Times)
* Nepal King to hand over power this week, aide says (Wall Street Journal) (NY Times)
* S.Lankan rebels urged to free government soldiers (MSNBC)
* Nepal parties ponder strategy after PM's dismissal (Wall Street Journal) (NY Times) (MSNBC)

Editorial/Op-Ed

N/A

Business/Technology

* Indian privatisation 'on track and irreversible' (Financial Times)


Top Stories


* Pakistan returns suspects' bodies

Karachi, Pakistan -- Pakistani authorities have sent the bodies of two men killed in a police raid on an al-Qaida hideout in Karachi last month to their home countries, officials said Sunday. The men were killed when Pakistani intelligence and police raided an apartment on Sept. 11 in an operation that netted five other al-Qaida suspects, including Ramzi Binalshibh, one of the suspected planners of the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20021006_000106,00.html
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Pakistan-al-Qaida-Bodies.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-pakistan-al-qaida-bodies1006oct06,0,6017884.story
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/AOct6.html
http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/ap.asp?reg=ASIA
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/w-asia/2002/oct/06/100605734.html
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-pakistan-al-qaida-bodies1006oct06,0,1909606.story


* Pakistan stages missile test, first since war scare in May

October 5, Islamabad -- Pakistan today staged what it called a routine test-firing of a medium-range missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, the first since it conducted a similar test in May at the peak of war tensions with India. The government said it had given advance notice of the test "to neighbors as well as some friendly countries." Indian officials reacted calmly to the firing, but added later that their military, too, had conducted a test-firing today, with a smaller conventional-warhead missile.

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/05/international/asia/05STAN.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-briefs5.4oct05,0,3556481.story


* Pakistani leader urged back to barracks after vote

Islamabad -- Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf was urged Sunday to keep his pledge of handing power to a civilian government after next week's election, amid general disbelief that he really plans to retire to the barracks. The Oct. 10 parliamentary vote officially marks the return to civilian rule in Pakistan, ending three years of military leadership under Musharraf who deposed the last prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, in a bloodless coup.

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-pakistan-election.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/AOct6.html


* Elders in Pakistani tribal region warn women not to vote

Peshawar, Pakistan -- Tribal elders in a deeply conservative district in Pakistan's northwestern frontier warned women not to get involved in upcoming elections, threatening on Sunday to burn down the homes of any family that allows its women to vote. Elders in the tribal region of Khyber Agency, near the border city of Peshawar, said it was un-Islamic and against their traditions for women to vote.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20021006_000044,00.html


* Security increased in Pakistan ahead of elections Thursday

Karachi -- Tens of thousands of police will be deployed in Pakistan's largest cities this week and surveillance helicopters will hover protectively over millions of voters when they go to the polls for the first time in over five years. The Oct. 10 nationwide vote is designed to end three years of army rule and return the country to civilian rule.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20021005_000187,00.html


* Pakistan President Musharraf defends missile test

New York -- President Gen. Pervez Musharraf told the cabinet on Saturday that his government decided to conduct a missile test on Friday after it had received information that India had plans to conduct a missile test of its own, Kyodo news service reported, citing a senior government official said. Musharraf reportedly told the cabinet that Pakistani scientists had been asking for permission to test the missile to check technical aspects of the weapon and were given the go-ahead after receiving information about India's plans.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20021005_000179,00.html


* Pakistan's polls watchdog says it dealt with complaints

Islamabad -- Pakistan's election commission acknowledged Saturday that it had received complaints some local administrators were campaigning illegally for candidates in the upcoming election, but insisted any offenders had been dealt with. The administrators - who take a pledge to remain on the sidelines of politics - are strictly forbidden from campaigning, but Election Commission official Hassan Mohammad said several of them have been accused of crossing the line.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20021005_000075,00.html


* Angered by Pakistan's test, India fires its own missile

Nuclear-armed rivals Pakistan and India staged tit-for-tat missile tests Friday, increasing tensions and raising fears of a renewed arms race. India's government called Pakistan's test a publicity stunt ahead of next week's general elections. Pakistan's information minister said India was trying to ''turn this into an arms race'' by testing a sophisticated surface-to-air missile the same day Pakistan tested a nuclear-capable surface-to-surface missile.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/AOct4.html
http://www.washtimes.com/world/.htm
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/4215890.htm
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-combo05.html
http://news.mysanantonio.com/story.cfm?xla=saen&xlb=190&xlc=830466
http://www.salon.com/news/wire/2002/10/04/test_missiles/index.html


* Hindu nationalists resume Indian political march

October 5, Ahmedabad, India -- Hindu nationalists resumed a controversial march in India's Gujarat state on Saturday, a week after it was deferred because of fears it would re-ignite violence between Hindus and Muslims after a deadly attack on a temple.The ''Gaurav Yatra'' (Pride March), which was launched by state Chief Minister Narendra Modi last month, has rolled peacefully through Gujarat's villages in the past few weeks despite fears it might incite a fresh round of communal violence in the sensitive state.

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


* Indian PM fires fresh verbal broadside at Pakistan

London -- Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee renewed his verbal attack on Pakistan on Monday, accusing the military regime of failing to honour its pledge to end cross-border terrorism. Vajpayee also said Pakistan had backed attempts to sabotage elections in the disputed Kashmir region.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-briefs7.1oct07,0,3622018.story
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-oct07,0,3945854.story
http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters.asp?reg=ASIA


* India state bans "forced" religious conversions

Singapore -- The government in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu has introduced legislation banning "forced" religious conversions in a move that will challenge India's secular tradition, the BBC reports. Anyone found guilty will be punished with imprisonment and a hefty fine.An ordinance says all conversions from one religion to another, from now on, will have to be reported to the district magistrate.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20021006_000576-search,00.html


* Two killed as bloodied Kashmir wraps up vote

New Delhi -- India holds a final round of balloting in Jammu and Kashmir Tuesday amid fresh bloodshed as the turbulent rolling election moves into one of the state's most volatile districts. Most of the voting in the fourth round will be held in Doda, a remote region to the south of the disputed Himalayan state, whose inaccessibility makes it an ideal base for Muslim militants fighting Indian rule.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/AOct6.html
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/reuters20021006_95.html


* Kashmir death toll continues to mount

Srinagar, India - An Indian army truck fell into a gorge, leaving 10 soldiers dead, and two other paramilitary soldiers were killed as suspected Islamic militants triggered an explosion at a polling booth in Kashmir, officials said Friday. At least 10 soldiers were killed and eight others injured when a truck carrying about two dozen soldiers to an army base near the border town of Kupwara fell into a gorge, an Indian army spokesman said.

http://news.mysanantonio.com/story.cfm?xla=saen&xlb=190&xlc=830467


* India calm over missile test

Islamabad -- Pakistan on Friday staged what it called a routine test-firing of a medium-range missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, the first since it conducted a similar test at the peak of war tensions with India in May. The government said it had given advance notice of the test "to neighbors as well as some friendly countries.''

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/world/4218312.htm


* India urges Nepal to settle crisis constitutionally

New Delhi -- India urged neighboring Nepal Saturday to resolve a crisis triggered by the firing of the prime minister within the framework of its constitution and said it supported the kingdom's multi-party democracy. Nepal, racked by a deadly Maoist revolt, was plunged into fresh turmoil late Friday after King Gyanendra fired Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, postponed elections and assumed executive power.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/AOct5.html
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/reuters20021005_29.html


* Mild quake jolts Bangladesh

Dhaka -- A mild earthquake rocked southeastern Bangladesh on Saturday, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. The tremor lasted 22 seconds and rattled windows in Chittagong, a port city 215 kilometers (135 miles) southeast of the national capital, Dhaka, the weather office said. It was the 31st such tremor this year to hit Bangladesh, which lies in an earthquake-prone zone in South Asia.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20021005_000092,00.html


* Bangladesh denies report of aircraft intruding into India

Dhaka -- The Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday refuted media reports claiming that an unidentified aircraft from Bangladesh had intruded into Indian territory and dropped packets into a village pond. "After thorough verification from all relevant sources, we would like to assert that the reports are totally false and baseless and that no aircraft emanating from Bangladesh intruded into Indian territory," Anwarul Alam, a senior Bangladesh Foreign Ministry official, told reporters on Saturday.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20021005_000084,00.html


* Nepal orders house arrest of two dismissed ministers

Kathmandu -- Nepal's anti-corruption body has ordered the house arrest of two former Cabinet ministers suspected of taking kickbacks and making illegal deals, police said Sunday. The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority issued the order Saturday against Chiranjivi Wagle, minister for physical planning in Nepal's recently dismissed Cabinet, and Jaya Prakash Gupta, the former information and communication minister, police said.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20021006_000046,00.html


* Ousted by King, Nepal Premier asks for support

October 5, Kathmandu -- Twenty-four hours after being summarily dismissed as prime minister, Sher Bahadur Deuba appeared visibly shaken tonight, nervously playing with his wedding ring and lighting up a cigarette to calm his nerves. "You'll have to excuse me," Mr. Deuba said about his smoking. "We all have our bad habits. Mr. Deuba spoke at the close of a day that produced no great public outcry against his unexpected dismissal from office by King Gyanendra on Friday.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20021006_000616-search,00.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/06/international/asia/06NEPA.html


* Nepal King to hand over power this week, aide says

Kathmandu -- Nepal's King Gyanendra, fresh from firing the prime minister and government, will hand power to an interim administration this week and has no plans to rule the world's only Hindu kingdom himself, a palace official said Sunday. Friday's shock dismissal of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba triggered political turmoil in the impoverished Himalayan nation which is already battling a Maoist insurgency and trying to heal the scars of last year's palace massacre which brought Gyanendra to the throne..

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20021005_000058,00.html
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-nepal.html


* S.Lankan rebels urged to free government soldiers

Colombo -- Monitors overseeing Sri Lanka's truce urged Tamil Tiger rebels on Sunday to release six soldiers but said it may take several days to end the stand-off that has raised worries about the island's peace process. The soldiers were grabbed nearly two weeks ago by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who want the release of two cadres arrested for carrying weapons in government territory.

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


* Nepal parties ponder strategy after PM's dismissal

Kathmandu -- Nepal's main political parties began talks on Monday to map out a common strategy after King Gyanendra dismissed the prime minister and assumed power last week, party officials said. Party leaders appeared sombre as they arrived for the talks at the residence of former prime minister and Nepali Congress party president Girija Prasad Koirala, in an upmarket Kathmandu neighbourhood.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20021005_000058,00.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/05/international/asia/05NEPA.html
http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters.asp?reg=ASIA


Editorial/Op-Ed

N/A


Business/Technology


* Indian privatisation 'on track and irreversible'

India's privatisation process is "on track and irreversible", Atal Behari Vajpayee, India's prime minister, told the Financial Times. Mr Vajpayee's comments are likely to reassure those who feared that India's decade-old economic reforms had been put on hold last month when he imposed a three-month freeze on further pr ivatisation.

http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=&p=

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