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--- South Asian News, October 10, 2002 --- (International)

Polling starts peacefully in Pakistan with President General Musharraf assuring peaceful transition of power to civilian government. In the just concluded elections in Indian Kashmir, the ruling party loses majority as the results point to a hung majority. The editorials today focus on the pakistan elections and the role of Army in its politics.

Africa

* India 'victorious' in bloody Kashmir election (Independent Online)
* Osama appears in writing to call for coup (Independent Online)

Americas

* Pakistan goes to polls to replace military rule (The News Mexico) (Globe and Mail) (Canada.com)
* Rights activists, politicians protest Nepal king's dismissal of PM (The News Mexico)
* Clash in Sri Lanka leaves five dead (Globe and Mail)

Asia-Pacific

* 16 militants killed in Kashmir (Xinhuanet) (People Daily) (Australian Broadcasting)
* Shootout kills one at Pakistan polls (Japan Today)
* Polling starts in orderly and peaceful manner in Pakistan (Xinhuanet) (Malaya Star) (Australian Broadcasting) (Channel News Asia) (People Daily)
* Musharraf assures completely fair, free elections for Pakistan (Xinhuanet) (Australian Broadcasting) (Channel News Asia) (People Daily)
* Pakistanis head to the polls Benazir's party seen as an equal favourite (Malaya Star) (Australian Broadcasting)
* Pakistan's political parties accuse government of vote-rigging (Channel News Asia) (Straits Times)
* 2 killed in clash in eastern Sri Lanka (Xinhuanet) (Japan Today)
* Nepal waits for king to announce new government (Malaya Star)
* Nepalis protest sacking of prime minister (Channel News Asia)
* At least 80 injured as train derails in Bangladesh (Channel News Asia)
* Bill Gates to visit India on HIV/AIDS mission (Japan Today)

Europe

* Pakistan heads to the polls (BBC) (Ananova) (Swiss Info) (Reuters) (Times Online) (Independent)
* Musharraf pledges to relinquish power (Swiss Info)
* Blow for Kashmir party chief (BBC) (Swiss Info) (Guardian)
* Kashmir elections 'fair but not free' (BBC)
* Kashmiris question poll 'success' (BBC)
* Four killed in 'Tamil Tiger' attack (BBC) (Swiss Info)
* Indian rebels kill nine (BBC)
* Sri Lanka prisoners end strike (BBC)
* Nepal leaders await talks (BBC)
* Eighty hurt as Bangladesh train jumps tracks (Swiss Info)

Middle East

* Kashmir autonomy dialogue is offered (Gulf Daily News)
* Hung assembly likely in Kashmir (Gulf News)
* Political parties gearing up for forming J&K government (IRNA)
* One killed, six injured in Pakistan election violence (IRNA)
* Close contest as Pakistanis go to polls (Gulf Daily News) (IRNA) (Gulf News)
* Musharraf says power to civilian government on November 1st (IRNA) (Gulf News)
* Vote honest people to power: Musharraf (Arab News) (IRNA) (Gulf News)
* Government rejects pre-poll rigging report (Gulf News)
* Bin Laden 'calls for Musharraf overthrow' (Gulf Daily News)
* Extraordinary security measures taken for Pakistan polls (IRNA)
* Pakistani elections candidate fires at himself (IRNA)
* Pakistan minorities to enjoy joint electorate (IRNA)
* Pakistan's missile test shocks Japan (IRNA)
* India and Libya begin joint commission meet (IRNA)
* India, Oman agree to stage joint military exercises (IRNA)
* Ranil faces fresh crisis (Gulf News)
* Nepal's political crisis deepens (Gulf Daily News)

Editorial

* Polls and Promises (FEER Weekly)
* Men in uniform run the show in Pakistan (Gulf News)
* Counter punch (Asia News Network)

Business/Technology

* Infosys raises revenue forecasts (BBC)

Africa

* India 'victorious' in bloody Kashmir election

October 9 -- India claimed victory on Wednesday after completing a turbulent state election in Indian Kashmir which it long saw as an essential rite of passage before it could consider talks with Pakistan. Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani said the successful conduct of the elections was a "triumph for democracy", the Press Trust of India reported. Another Indian minister said a healthy turnout in the election showed that the people of Kashmir had confidence in the Indian government and promised that New Delhi would hold talks with Kashmiri leaders to seek ways to ease a separatist revolt.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=126&art_id=qwB225&set_id=1

* Osama appears in writing to call for coup

A letter said to have been written by Islamic militant Osama bin Laden called on Wednesday for the overthrow of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, a key US ally in the Afghan military campaign. The letter, distributed in some Afghan refugee camps in the northwestern city of Peshawar, close to the Afghan border, also appealed to Pakistan's Islamic clerics to lead their people into "jihad (holy struggle) against crusaders and their allies". "My Pakistani Muslim brothers... get rid of the shameful Musharraf," said the letter, addressed to the Pakistani nation and quoting heavily from the Qur'an.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=126&art_id=qwB212&set_id=1

Americas

* Pakistan goes to polls to replace military rule

Pakistan goes to polls on Thursday for the fifth time in 14 years in a third attempt at replacing military rule with parliamentary democracy since the Islamic nation gained independence from Britain in 1947. Nearly 10,000 candidates are contesting the elections to the 342-member National Assembly and 728 seats of the four provincial assemblies which will have a five-year term. They are contesting as independents or nominees of 85 parties of all hues - conservative, reformist, nationalists and religious. But they hardly differ in ideology, offer similar agendas for nation building and a common craving for democracy which sounds hollow to many.

http://www.thenewsmexico.com/noticia.asp?id=37176
http://www.globeandmail.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/PEstory/TGAM/20021010/UPAKKN/
Asia/internationalAsia/internationalAsia_temp/1/1/4/
http://www.canada.com/news/story.asp?id={590A74A6-626D-4771-88A4-0CF14D42E0FE}

* Rights activists, politicians protest Nepal king's dismissal of PM

A group of about 150 human rights activists and politicians took to the streets of Kathmandu Wednesday to protest what they said was King Gyanendra's "undemocratic and unconstitutional" move in sacking the prime minister. The demonstration was organized by several Nepalese human rights organizations and supported by some leftwing party leaders. A few activists carried black flags while others sported posters reading, "We oppose the Royal declaration of Oct. 4!", "We don't want autocracy in Nepal!" and "The Royal decree is undemocratic and unconstitutional!"

http://www.thenewsmexico.com/noticia.asp?id=37149

* Clash in Sri Lanka leaves five dead

At least five people were killed in eastern Sri Lanka yesterday in a clash between government forces and a large crowd suspected of consisting of Tamil rebels. It was the bloodiest conflict since a truce was signed eight months ago.

http://www.globeandmail.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/PEstory/TGAM/20021010/UREPON-7/Asia/internationalAsia/internationalAsia_temp/4/4/4/

Asia-Pacific

* 16 militants killed in Kashmir

At least 16 militants, including nine belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), were killed in four separate encounters in Kashmir valley, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported Thursday quoting police sources. Nine JeM militants were killed in an encounter at Mirpora village in Badgam district of central Kashmir Thursday, they said. An army soldier was also injured in the gunfight and the operation was still in progress, according to PTI.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-10/10/content_591718.htm
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200210/10/eng20021010_104832.shtml
http://www.abc.net.au/asiapacific/news/GoAsiaPacificBNA_698465.htm

India tightens security ahead of Kashmir vote-counting

Heavy security mounted at various places in Indian-administered Kashmir, ahead of Thursday's counting of votes. A total of 17 counting centres covering 87 constituencies have been set up in the state where the staggered elections which began in mid-September wound up on Tuesday. Rohit Kansal, Deputy Commissioner of the Hindu-dominated Jammu region, said paramilitary forces were in place at all counting centres. "There is adequate security arrangement for counting. Paramilitary forces have also been deployed. Traffic is also being taken care of. We are hopeful that counting of votes will be fast and we will be able to announce results for the 13 constituencies," he said.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southasia/view/21370/1/.html

* Shootout kills one at Pakistan polls

A shootout at a polling station in southern Pakistan killed one person and injured two others on Thursday, a government official said, as the country held its first election since a 1999 coup ended democratic rule. Loyalists of rival political parties exchanged fire at the polling station in Nawabshah, Sindh province, Home Secretary Brig Mukhtar Ahmed said. Party workers said the combatants were loyalists of the Pakistan People's Party, and a breakaway faction of that party.

http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=7&id=233835

* Polling starts in orderly and peaceful manner in Pakistan

Polling for the general elections-2002 began on Thursday morning in an orderly and peaceful manner across Pakistan as per schedule at 8:OO a.m., according to the Associated Press of Pakistan. Over 72 million voters will elect their representatives to 272 general seats in National and 577 general seats in the four provincial assemblies. The Election Commission has set up 64,475 polling stations through out the country with 164,718 polling booths. There are 91,648 male polling booths and 73,070 female polling booths.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-10/10/content_591217.htm
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2002/10/10/asia/1010pakel&sec=asia
http://abc.net.au/asiapacific/news/GoAsiaPacificBNA_698134.htm
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southasia/view/21417/1/.html
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200210/10/eng20021010_104817.shtml

* Musharraf assures completely fair, free elections for Pakistan

Pakistani President General PervezMusharraf on Wednesday assured his nation that the upcoming elections will be completely fair, free and transparent. In his nation-wide address over Radio and Television in the evening, the president said he would hand over executive powers tothe new Prime Minister and relinquish the office of the Chief Executive. He expressed the hope that the general elections scheduled on Thursday would usher in an era of genuine and sustainable democracy after experiencing eleven years of sham democracy duringthe tenure of governments of the past.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-10/10/content_590553.htm
http://abc.net.au/asiapacific/news/GoAsiaPacificBNA_698004.htm
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southasia/view/21345/1/.html
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200210/10/eng20021010_104790.shtml

* Pakistanis head to the polls Benazir's party seen as an equal favourite

Pakistanis head to the polls today for the first general election since President Pervez Musharraf's 1999 coup, with opinion polls showing a tight race between banned ex-premier Benazir Bhutto's party and a new pro-government party. At least three public opinion polls show Benazir's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and the 18-month-old pro-Musharraf Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) are equal favourites. However, neither is expected to win a clear majority, and pundits tip frantic horse-trading and coalition-building after the vote.

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2002/10/10/asia/tovote&sec=asia
http://abc.net.au/asiapacific/news/GoAsiaPacificBNA_697538.htm

* Pakistan's political parties accuse government of vote-rigging

Political parties in Pakistan have accused the government of vote-rigging, even before the landmark elections that starts on Thursday. The polls are taking place after three years of military rule under President Prevez Musharraf. Whatever the results, General Musharraf would remain President of Pakistan. Executive Powers are transferred to an elected Prime Minister, chosen by a majority party in Parliament.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southasia/view/21392/1/.html
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/asia/story/0,1870,148019,00.html?

* 2 killed in clash in eastern Sri Lanka

Two people were killed Wednesday ineastern Sri Lanka following a shoot out between the police SpecialTask Force (STF) and Tamil Tiger rebels, defense officials said. The shooting took place in the evening near the STF police station at the eastern town of Kalmunai when the rebels of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) attacked the police stationwith stones. The incident followed police interrupting a tractor carrying LTTE rebels. The rebels charged the STF with assault while the STFsaid that the rebels instigated civilians to protest and alleged that the rebelsd fire on the camp.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-10/10/content_590554.htm
http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=7&id=233837

* Nepal waits for king to announce new government

Nepal's political stalemate continued Thursday as top politicians waited for a fourth day for a meeting with King Gyanendra to discuss formation of an interim government to replace the Cabinet dismissed by the king last week. The monarch, who has yet to agree to a meeting, was scheduled to fly back to Katmandu later Thursday from his ancestral home in Gorkha, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) west of the capital. Politicians from Nepal's six largest parties have been waiting since Monday to meet with Gyanendra to discuss the country's political future after the king fired the prime minister and disbanded the Cabinet last Friday.

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2002/10/10/asia/1010nepal&sec=asia

* Nepalis protest sacking of prime minister

Nepalis on Wednesday marched through the streets of capital Kathmandu criticising King Gyanendra's decision to sack Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba's government. Nepal, racked by a deadly Maoist revolt, was plunged into fresh turmoil last Friday after King Gyanendra fired the prime minister, postponed elections and assumed executive power. Hundreds of activists belonging to various political parties denounced King Gyanendra's move of assuming executive powers in what they said was an unconstitutional and undemocratic way.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southasia/view/21399/1/.html

* At least 80 injured as train derails in Bangladesh

At least 80 people were injured when a crowded Bangladesh passenger train jumped the tracks near the capital Dhaka on Thursday, police and railway officials said. Bangladesh Railways spokesman Mostafa-e-Zamil was quoted as saying that nine carriages had derailed and "several passengers" were injured. The private UNB news agency had earlier reported that 50 passengers were injured. "There is no report of any death so far," Mostafa-e-Zamil said, adding an investigation was under way into the incident. He said the accident occurred in the Gazipur district, 30 kilometers north of Dhaka.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southasia/view/21411/1/.html

* Bill Gates to visit India on HIV/AIDS mission

Microsoft Chief Bill Gates will visit India from Nov 11, leading a high-level delegation of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to see on-going projects on AIDS, funded by the foundation. Gates will be in India Nov 11-14 to see first-hand some of the challenges and exemplary initiatives underway to prevent HIV transmission. He is expected to announce a long-term strategic commitment to support the country's efforts to check the spread of HIV/AIDS during his four-day visit. Gates will visit sites of the foundation's $25 million grant to the partnership project in Andhra Pradesh, a venture between the children's vaccine program at PATH (Program for Appropriate Technologies in Health) and the state government.

http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=7&id=233858

Europe

* Pakistan heads to the polls

Polls haved in Pakistan in the first parliamentary elections since President Pervez Musharraf seized power in a coup three years ago. Voting got off to a slow start in the capital, Islamabad, and elsewhere, with little activity reported at many of the 65,000 polling stations across the country. But rival party supporters clashed at a polling station in the southern province of Sindh, where one man was killed and two others were injured. On Wednesday, General Musharraf promised that the elections would be free and fair. Opinion polls have indicated a close race between former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and the newly-formed pro-Musharraf Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), probably resulting in a hung parliament.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2315139.stm
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_687403.html?menu=news.latestheadlines.worldnews
http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/Swissinfo.html?siteSect=143&sid=1387724
http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=worldnews&StoryID=1558877
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/section/0,,3,00.html
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia_china/story.jsp?story=341134

* Musharraf pledges to relinquish power

Pakistan's military President Pervez Musharraf says he will hand over executive power by around November 1 to a
prime minister elected in today's general election. "We have worked out everything," he told state-run Pakistan Television on Thursday. "It is a legal process. We will go by this process...and finally roughly by November 1, I will hand over chief executive authority to a new prime minister."

http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/Swissinfo.html?siteSect=143&sid=1388063

* Blow for Kashmir party chief

First results are starting to emerge in elections in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, which have been dominated by militant violence. Omar Abdullah, the leader of the National Conference Party which was previously in power, has lost the seat he was standing for. The counting is still going on and it is still too early to get an accurate idea of which party or coalition of parties will run the next state assembly. Early trends suggest that the National Conference Party, which previously had a two-thirds majority, now faces a tough challenge from opposition parties.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2315723.stm
http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/Swissinfo.html?siteSect=143&sid=1387937
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-2078637,00.html

* Kashmir elections 'fair but not free'

The elections in Indian-administered Kashmir, which concluded Tuesday, were conducted fairly, but not freely according to an independent team of observers. The team was sent to the disputed territory by a think tank, the Institute of Social Sciences. They said the fear of attacks by separatist militants did not prevent large numbers of people from turning out to vote in some areas. The Delhi-based Institute of Social Sciences concluded that it was a fair election, but, because of the all-pervading sense of fear, it could not be called free.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2313347.stm

* Kashmiris question poll 'success'

October 9 -- Delhi may already be declaring the voting in Indian-controlled Kashmir's state elections an unqualified success, but the view from the streets is not so clear cut. The Indian Government says turnout has been better than expected, indicating that Kashmiris are fed up of violence and want to give peace a chance. However, in the state's summer capital, Srinagar, many disputed this version of events, suggesting apathy was widespread.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2313777.stm

* Four killed in 'Tamil Tiger' attack

Paramilitary police in eastern Sri Lanka have shot dead at least four people and injured 15 in what they say was a Tamil Tiger attack on one of their camps. Reports say the incident, in Ampara District, took place while hundreds of civilians were protesting outside the police camp after an alleged attack on a local rebel leader earlier in the day. The incident represents one of the most serious outbreaks of violence since the government and the Tamil Tigers signed a ceasefire in February. The head of Sri Lanka's special task force, the paramilitary wing of the police, said he was positive the Tigers were behind the attack.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2314239.stm
http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/Swissinfo.html?siteSect=143&sid=1387365

* Indian rebels kill nine

October 9 -- Police in the north-eastern Indian state of Tripura say that nine people, including four government engineers, have been killed by separatist rebels. They say rebels belonging to the outlawed National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) attacked a government camp near Tripura's eastern border with Bangladesh, as a team of construction workers was preparing to leave for work. The rebelsd fire, killing four engineers and five construction workers on the spot. Five others were seriously injured.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2314365.stm

* Sri Lanka prisoners end strike

October 9 -- More than 130 Tamil prisoners in southern Sri Lanka have called off their nine-day-old hunger strike after receiving assurances that conditions will improve within the next month. Prisoners in Kalutara Jail were visited by government ministers, Tamil parliamentarians and a Catholic Bishop - but journalists were not allowed access. The health of the prisoners was beginning to deteriorate seriously with some being admitted to hospital.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2313289.stm

* Nepal leaders await talks

October 9 -- The leaders of Nepal's main political parties say they are still awaiting talks with King Gyanendra over forming an interim government. A meeting with the monarch failed to materialise on Tuesday, raising fresh doubts as to whether the crisis sparked by the sacking of the prime minister last week will be resolved. The king left the capital on Wednesday to take part in a Hindu festival in Gorkha, 150 kilometres (95 miles) away. Political leaders say it is now up to the king to either meet them collectively or unilaterally name a temporary administration. Politicians have warned that choosing the latter could put the throne on a collision course with the government.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2312235.stm

* Eighty hurt as Bangladesh train jumps tracks

At least 80 people have been injured, several seriously, after a Bangladesh rush-hour passenger train jumped the tracks near the capital Dhaka, police say. Nine of 12 coaches of the Jamuna Express were derailed in the morning accident on Thursday between Dhaka and Jamalpur, 125 miles north of the capital. We have no report of any deaths yet from the accident," one police officer said by telephone.

http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/Swissinfo.html?siteSect=143&sid=1387952

Middle East

* Kashmir autonomy dialogue is offered

India offered yesterday to hold talks with Kashmiri leaders, including separatists who stayed away from state elections, on granting greater autonomy to the disputed region. "We will have a dialogue with the representative government in Jammu and Kashmir, and even those who missed the bus - the separatists who did not take part in the elections," said junior home (interior) minister I D Swami. "We have anmind on autonomy, devolution of powers. We are ready to consider proposals as long as they are in the interests of the people," he said.

http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Articles.asp?Article=34455&Sn=WORL

* Hung assembly likely in Kashmir

The sensitive northern state of Jammu and Kashmir could well be set to elect a hung assembly as counting of votes begins today amidst tight security. Results for all 85 seats that went to polls in four phases between September 18 and October 8 are expected to be declared today itself. According to intelligence sources, the ruling National Conference (NC), which had 57 members in the outgoing 87-member state legislative assembly, will emerge as the single largest party despite losing heavily, while the Congress party and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are expected to emerge second and third respectively.

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=65213

* Political parties gearing up for forming J&K government

October 9 -- While all is set for the counting of votes which will commence tomorrow morning, State Congress president Ghulam Nabi Azad airdashed to Srinagar after consultations with Ms. Sonia Gandhi and quickly got engaged in moves to cobble together prospective winner groups and individuals other than National Conference and Bhartiya Janata Party for forming the next government in the event of the present dispensation was voted out of power.

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

* One killed, six injured in Pakistan election violence

One person was killed and six others were injured in a clash between supporters of two political rival groups in southern Sindh province, witnesses and officials said. Armed clash erupted between the supporters of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPP) and National Alliance (NA) of former caretaker prime minister Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi as the polling began.

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

* Close contest as Pakistanis go to polls

A leading opposition party was running neck-and-neck with a party allied to President General Pervez Musharraf, according to a survey released yesterday, the day before the first nationwide election since the military ruler seized power three years ago. The Pakistan People's Party (PPP), contesting through its new electoral wing PPP Parliamentarians (PPPP), of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was projected to win 80 seats in today's vote for the national assembly, one more than the pro-Musharraf Pakistan Muslim League Quaid-e-Azam (PML-Q), according to a survey of 520,000 people throughout Pakistan.

http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Articles.asp?Article=34454&Sn=WORL
http://www.irna.com/en/world/.ewo.shtml
http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=65223

* Musharraf says power to civilian government on November 1st

Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf has said that handing over of Executive Powers to the new Prime Minister would take place roughly by the first of November. He said this in a brief chat with newsmen after casting his vote at a polling station in Rawalpindi on Thursday. "The government has worked out everything for the transfer of power. They will go through the normal legal process after the elections," General Pervez Musharraf said. In reply to a question, the President said he would accept the verdict of the people in the elections, as they are the final authority. He said which party gets majority in the assembly would form the government.

http://www.irna.com/en/world/.ewo.shtml
http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=65206

* Vote honest people to power: Musharraf

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf yesterday urged his nation to pave the way for real democracy by voting for "competent and honest" candidates in today's elections. "Pakistan is on the verge of a historic era. It is the responsibility of people, not of the government, to elect efficient representatives," he said in a nationally televised address to the nation. Musharraf reiterated his promise of a "free, fair and transparent" election and said more than 300 international observers were free to visit any place they wanted to see the conduct of polling.

http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=19325
http://www.irna.com/en/world/.ewo.shtml
http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=65206

* Government rejects pre-poll rigging report

The government has reacted furiously to a detailed report on pre-poll rigging released in Islamabad on Tuesday by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP). The report states that HRCP is extremely concerned at the "blatant" attempts to rig the elections. A government spokesman, reacting late on Tuesday night to the report, termed the allegations as "totally untrue and concocted". He insisted that the "HRCP has repeatedly shown its bias" and that there was "no evidence to back these wild claims".

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=65230

* Bin Laden 'calls for Musharraf overthrow'

A letter said to have been written by Islamic militant Osama bin Laden called yesterday for the overthrow of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, a key US ally in the Afghan military campaign. The letter, distributed in some Afghan refugee camps in the northwestern city of Peshawar, close to the Afghan border, also appealed to Pakistan's Islamic clerics to lead their people into jihad (holy struggle) against crusaders and their allies". "My Pakistani Muslim brothers...get rid of the shameful Musharraf and my call is especially to the Pakistani clerics," said the letter, addressed to the Pakistani nation and quoting heavily from the Quran.

http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Articles.asp?Article=34438&Sn=WORL b

* Extraordinary security measures taken for Pakistan polls

October 9 -- Pakistan Interior Minister Moinuddin Haider has said that extraordinary security measures have been taken to ensure law and order on general elections day on Thursday. "Stern action would be taken against those creating chaos harassing voters and display and use of weapons," Haider told newsmen in Islamabad on Wednesday. Special arrangements have been made in an around polling stations to facilitate voters to cast vote without any hindrance. He said thirty-seven thousand civil armed forces have been specially raised to assistant law enforcement agencies and Police to ensure polling in a peaceful, free and transparent manner.

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

* Pakistani elections candidate fires at himself

October 9 -- A leader of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) who is contesting National Assembly election as an independent candidate, Wednesday shot and injured himself to protest against electoral policies of the PPPP. Mohammad Khurshid advocate shot and injured himself after addressing a news conference in Peshawar Press Club against his party policies. According to reports, the former activist of PPPP was deeply annoyed at the seat-to-seat adjustment between the PPPP and nationalist Awami National Party in Peshawar.

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

* Pakistan minorities to enjoy joint electorate

October 9 -- Millions of Pakistan's religious minorities including Christians, Hindus, Sikhs and Zoroastrians are preparing to cast their votes in a new inclusive electorate system on Thursday -- perhaps ending more than two decades of political isolation for minorities in the country. In January, Pakistan's government ended an electoral system that discriminated against religious minorities by compelling them to vote for just 10 non-Muslim seats in the overwhelmingly Muslim Parliament. Experts believe that the decision to scrap the old system could pave the way for minorities to enjoy more freedom of expression.

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

* Pakistan's missile test shocks Japan

October 9 -- Japan has deeply regretted Pakistan's second ballistic missile test, fearing that the move could further aggravate the tension between arch rivals Pakistan and India in the already volatile region of South Asia. "The Government of Japan expresses its regret that Pakistan's ballistic missile launch test on October 8, following the recent test conducted on October 4, could worsen the ongoing tension between the nuclear armed neighbors," a statement of the Embassy of Japan in Islamabad said.

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

* Another 'Indian agent' arrested

A day after the arrest of five alleged Indian agents in the eastern Punjab province, Pakistani authorities yesterday announced the arrest of one more man in the port city of Karachi, accusing him of planning terrorist strikes at the behest of the Indian spy agency on election day - the ninth such arrest in 10 days. Sa'alim Muqeem, 29, was arrested on Tuesday near Nishtar Part, Syed Kamal Shah, Sindh police chief told a press conference yesterday. "Police have seized a map of the Nishtar Park (neighbourhood) and a camera from his possession," Shah said, while presenting him in front of the journalists.

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=65226

* India and Libya begin joint commission meet

India and Libya began a two-day joint commission meeting for a comprehensive review of bilateral relations with major focus on exploitation of commercial and economic potential. India's Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Nirupama Rao told reporters Wednesday evening that the 18-member Libyan delegation is being led by Libyan Minister of State for International Cooperation Saad Mustafa Mujber while the Indian side is headed by Indian Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Raman Singh, reported Press Trust of India (PTI).

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

* India, Oman agree to stage joint military exercises

Agreeing to step up military-to-military level contacts, India and the Persian Gulf sultanate of Oman have agreed to go in for joint military exercises specially in the field of training. An agreement to this effect was reached on Wednesday during the just concluded visit of Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes to Oman, according to India's defense ministry press release. The release also said that the two countries had agreed to create a joint formal structure, reported Press Trust of India.

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

* Ranil faces fresh crisis

Prime Minister Ranil Wickreme-singhe faced a fresh crisis yesterday with a section of Muslim Parliamentarians belonging to a coalition party in his government boycotting parliament on the grounds that members of their community have not been guaranteed a fair settlement in the current peace process. At least nine Parliamentarians of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), an important partner in the United National Front (UNF) government coalition, yesterday refrained from attending sittings and said they would continue their boycott.

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=65216

* Nepal's political crisis deepens

Nepal's King Gyanendra left the capital yesterday, making it likely he would miss a self-set deadline to form an interim government and ease a deep political crisis, a spokesman for Nepal's largest party said. Gyanendra, who stunned the revolt-racked nation last Friday when he fired the prime minister and took executive power in a row over the timing of elections, left for his ancestral home in Gorkha, 150km west of Kathmandu, to celebrate a Hindu festival. A spokesman for the Nepali Congress, Nepal's largest political party, said the king was expected to return to the capital today. "A meeting with the king is not possible," he said.

http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Articles.asp?Article=34441&Sn=WORL

Editorial


* Polls and Promises

Pakistan was going to the polls on October 10, but it's been hard to find much enthusiasm for an exercise that most people believe will legitimize a permanent dominant role for the military in government rather than honour a promise to restore democracy. The country will get a civilian government once more, but analysts reckon the election will be a farce because of what they see as pre-polls manipulation by the military. Musharraf, trying to counter such perceptions, insists he is moving forward but argues that the armed forces must have a continuing share in power to prevent military intervention against a civilian government. He says, without irony, that the election "will be a transition from a democratic dictatorship to an elected essence of democracy."

http://www.feer.com/articles/2002/0210_17/p016region.html

* Men in uniform run the show in Pakistan

As Pakistanis vote in their sixth general election in 17 years, it is pertinent to ask the reasons for democracy's failure in the country. Since Field Marshal Ayub Khan's coup d'état in 1958, the Pakistani establishment has perpetuated certain myths about why its steadying hand is essential to Pakistan's survival. The conduct of politicians and the illiteracy of the poor peasants, rather than the establishment's desire to control the political sphere are widely considered the reason for the weakness of Pakistani democracy. In Pakistan, the judiciary and the civil service have been consistently subject to military directives while the legislature has never been taken seriously since the ascendancy of the executive was established under Ayub Khan.

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/opinion.asp?ArticleID=65196

* Counter punch

After the polls in Kashmir and Pakistan, there will be pressure on both India and Pakistan to lower tensions on the border by demobilising troops and by talking to each other. Indian troops have been poised on the border for close to a year now which has led to hundreds of casualties and is telling on morale. General Musharraf has been using every international forum possible to launch strident attacks on India, and it is imperative that New Delhi position itself early to let its core concern - the cessation of Pakistani-sponsored terrorism in Kashmir - be known. While Musharraf is pleased to hog the microphone, Indian leaders are notoriously press and camera-shy when it comes to articulating the Indian view.

http://www.asianewsnet.net/template.php?No=6744&logo_name=Asian

Business/Technology


* Infosys raises revenue forecasts

India's second largest software exporter Infosys Technologies has reported a 12% rise in net profit for the July to September period. The Nasdaq-listed company, which last quarter forecast full-year revenues of between 31bn and 32bn rupees for the year to March, raised its prediction to around 34bn rupees ($703m). Infosys said it had added 18 new clients and 1,800 staff in the last quarter, bringing its workforce to 13,100. Infosys, a key member of the Indian stock market, saw its shares rise 2.13% to 3,549 rupees before coming off its gains to stand 1.15% higher in afternoon trade.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2315747.stm

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