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--- South Asian News, October 16, 2002 --- (International)

Parcel bombs rock Pakistan police's al-Quaida unit in Karachi injuring eight people. India's high level security committee favors phased withdrawal of Indian troops from the borders, easing the tension in the area. Coalition talks are on full swing in both Pakistan and Kashmir to form the next government. An editorial in the Gulf News discusses the unexpected results from Pakistan's elections and its ramifications for President Musharaff and the war on terror.

Africa

* Parcel bombs rock Karachi (News 24)

Americas

N/A

Asia-Pacific

* India for phased withdrawal of troops from border (Xinhuanet)
* Indian government re-considers troops deployment (Australian Broadcasting)(Channel News Asia)
* Bomb explodes in office of Pakistani police's al-Qaeda unit (Australian Broadcasting)
* Talks drag on for Indian Kashmir's new coalition government (Channel News Asia)
* Pakistani, FBI agents arrest 4 Afghans at refugee camp (Japan Today)
* Indian minister blasts Pakistan for backing militants (Japan Today)
* Hindu fundamentalist calls for suicide squads in India (Australian Broadcasting)
* US troops in Pakistan for exercises (Malaya Star)
* Sri Lankan Muslim leader assures return of dissident MPs (Xinhuanet)
* LTTE negotiator in Sri Lanka (Japan Today)
* 50 injured as stage collapses in India (Xinhuanet)
* Food poisoning in Bangladesh kills one, injures over hundred (Xinhuanet)

Europe

* India considers troop withdrawal (BBC) (Swiss Info) (Reuters) (Times Online) (Financial Times)
* Indian Security Body Urges Phased Troop Withdrawal (Reuters)
* Three parcel bombs go off in southern city of Karachi (Ananova) (Times Online) (Guardian)(BBC)
* Kashmir party hardens stand (BBC)
* Dhaka protests 'al-Qaeda claims' (BBC)
* India boat bodies found (BBC)

Middle East

* India's security meet to review troop deployment along Pak border (IRNA)
* 'PDP must lead coalition govt in Kashmir' (Arab News) (Gulf News)
* US likely to free 5 Pak detainees in Cuba: Pak daily (IRNA)
* US forces presence in Pakistan against independence, sovereignty: (IRNA)
* PML(Q) to form gov't, continue Musharraf's policies: spokesman (IRNA)
* Religious forces to safeguard Pak ideology: Pak politician (IRNA)
* Fazal meets Shujaat, Fahim in key talks (Gulf News)
* ARD making attempts to unite MMA, PPP (Gulf News)
* Muslims protest near Vajpayee residence (Arab News)
* Indian deputy PM Advani's trip to Moscow cancelled (IRNA)
* Malaysian PM arrives today (Arab News)
* Balasingham arrives for peace talks (Gulf News)

Editorial

* An election that threw up the unexpected (Gulf News)
* Avoiding South Asia's tensions (The Star)

Business/Technology

N/A

Africa

* Parcel bombs rock Karachi

Karachi, Pakistan -- Three parcel bombs exploded in Pakistan's violence-plagued commercial capital Karachi on Wednesday, injuring at least eight people, police said. There were no reports of deaths. The blasts occurred within a 2km radius in Karachi's southern districts. "All three were parcel blasts. They went off as the parcels wered," said a senior police officer. A parcel bomb exploded in the office of the Pakistani police force's top al-Qaeda investigators at the Crime Investigation Department (CID) just before 13:30, said CID investigator Mukhtar Junejo.

http://www.news24.com/News24/World/Asia/0,1113,2-10-20_1272356,00.html

Americas

N/A

Asia-Pacific

* India for phased withdrawal of troops from border

The National Security Advisory Board (NSAB) Wednesday favored a calibrated withdrawal of troops from the international border, saying their continued presence may not the best option. The NSAB meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, discussed several issues including the deployment of troops along the border, successful completion of Jammu and Kashmir polls as also the elections in Pakistan. The Board was of the view that there should be calibrated withdrawal in a phased manner from the international borders, senior government officials disclosed. A meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security is slated for Wednesday evening.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-10/16/content_598974.htm

* Indian government re-considers troops deployment

India's Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, will head a strategic meeting today on the issue of reducing the number of troops massed on the border with Pakistan. The meeting will be attended by his security cabinet and members of policy-making bodies such as the National Security Advisory Board and Strategic Policy Group. The conclave will be briefed by top military officials on the prevailing situation on the border and on efforts to stem the flow of militants from Pakistan. Meanwhile, a highly influential rightwing Hindu leader, Bal Thackeray, has warned Mr. Vajpayee against troop withdrawals and cited last month's attack by Muslim rebels on a popular temple as one of the many reasons to keep up border security.

http://abc.net.au/asiapacific/news/GoAsiaPacificBNA_702704.htm
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southasia/view/21957/1/.html

* Bomb explodes in office of Pakistani police's al-Qaeda unit

A parcel bomb has exploded in the office of the Pakistani police force's top al-Qaeda investigation unit, injuring two investigators. The Karachi-based Crime Investigation Department is tasked with tracking down fugitives from Osama bin Laden's network as well as Pakistani Islamic militants. The bomb went off half an hour after the postal package arrived at the office. Department investigator Mukhtar Junejo says the unit received two parcels. He says when an officerd one of the parcels it exploded, inflicting minor injuries on two investigators.

http://www.abc.net.au/asiapacific/news/GoAsiaPacificBNA_703193.htm

* Talks drag on for Indian Kashmir's new coalition government

With the Thursday deadline to form a new government in Indian Kashmir approaching, there has been little progress in talks on the formation of a coalition. Efforts to form a new government that could hold the promise of peace in the bloodied region were deadlocked over which of two parties should lead a coalition. The regional People's Democratic Party, or PDP, and India's main opposition Congress Party continue to wrangle over leadership for the coalition government. Both parties contend that their candidates are better equipped to lead the state. Under the constitution, the PDP and Congress have until Thursday to form a government. If one is not formed by then, Jammu and Kashmir will come under federal rule.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southasia/view/21911/1/.html

* Pakistani, FBI agents arrest 4 Afghans at refugee camp

Pakistan Intelligence officials accompanied by U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation agents arrested four Afghans early Tuesday who are suspected to be al Qaeda or Taliban fugitives. The arrests were made at the Jalozai refugee camp about 25 kilometers from Peshawer in North West Frontier Province, Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) reported.

http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=7&id=234600

* Indian minister blasts Pakistan for backing militants

Indian Minister for Disinvestment Arun Shourie on Tuesday blasted Pakistan for continuing to support Islamic extremists that pose threats to the world's biggest democracy and affect its booming economy. The terrorism New Delhi is facing has been "financed by, armed by, trained by and motivated by the state," Shourie, visiting Tokyo this week, told a press conference.

http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=7&id=234585

* Hindu fundamentalist calls for suicide squads in India

An Indian Hindu hardliner has called for Hindu suicide squads to counter the growing threat of what he describes as "Islamic terrorism". The leader of the right wing Shiv Sena party, Bal Thackeray, is known for his aggressive anti-Muslim views. He says Hindus have no option but to set up suicide squads to take on the might of Islamic terrorism, as the government has completely failed to fight it. Mr. Thackeray's party is a member of prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's federal coalition.

http://abc.net.au/asiapacific/news/GoAsiaPacificBNA_702245.htm

* US troops in Pakistan for exercises

Even as newly-powerful Islamic parties denounced the presence of American troops on Pakistani soil, a contingent of US soldiers arrived on Monday for joint military exercises - the first since Washington lifted sanctions on Pakistan earlier this year. The exercises, dubbed "Inspired Gambit," will focus on small arms training and small unit tactics and will go on for about three weeks, the US Embassy said. Some 115 American soldiers arrived at Chaklala air base, near here, on Monday afternoon, the Pakistani military said. News of the exercises comes days after a remarkably strong showing by pro-Taliban hardline Islamic groups in Pakistan's national elections.

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2002/10/16/asia/aslead&sec=asia

* Sri Lankan Muslim leader assures return of dissident MPs

Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) leader Rauff Hakeem has assured the prime minister that those Muslim MPs who did not attend parliamentary sittings last week will return to the party fold, The Island newspaper said on Wednesday. Hakeem, who is the Ports Minister, met Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday night to assure him that the crisis within his party could be resolved and stability restored within government ranks.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-10/16/content_598549.htm

* LTTE negotiator in Sri Lanka

Anton Balasingham, the chief negotiator for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), arrived in Colombo from London on Tuesday to prepare for a second round of peace talks with a government delegation and was immediately flown to the rebel-held Wanni district by an air force helicopter, a government spokesman said. Balasingham, 64, was accompanied by his Australian-born wife, Adele. They were escorted to Wanni, where they will meet LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, by an official of the government peace secretariat.

http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=7&id=234584

* 50 injured as stage collapses in India

Hindi film actress Ayesha Jhulka had a narrow escape as 50 persons received minor injuries when the stage collapsed at a function Monday night at Satpur in Nasik in west India's Maharashtra, police said Tuesday. Police said that the actress, city Bharatiya Janata Party unit President Bandopant Joshi and his wife were invited for prize distribution program at Satpur's Nasik Industries Welfare Center. As the actress came on the stage, large number of fans thronged the temporary wooden structure, which gave way at around 11.30 PM, police said.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-10/15/content_597720.htm

* Food poisoning in Bangladesh kills one, injures over hundred

One person was killed and over 100 others fell sick of food poisoning in Bangladesh's northern Nilphamari district. Over 100 people of three villages of Domar sub-district of Nilphamari district fell sick after they ate food prepared from flour bought from market, according to the official Bangladesh News Agency Tuesday. The people after taking the food started vomiting and felt pain in stomach. The sick people are getting treatment in different hospitals of the district. The administration has dispatched medical teams to the affected villages.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-10/16/content_597896.htm

Europe

* India considers troop withdrawal

Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee is meeting his senior security officials to discuss whether to withdraw troops from the border with Pakistan. Correspondents say the security officials are likely to discuss pulling some troops out of Indian-administered Kashmir, after the regional elections there ended last week. On Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani told reporters the election results in Pakistan had increased India's concern about the threat of cross-border militancy. There have recently been accounts of extreme fatigue and indiscipline among the Indian soldiers. But other comments by Mr. Advani, who is an extremely powerful figure within the government, leave a question mark on whether any will indeed be pulled back.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2332059.stm
http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/Swissinfo.html?siteSect=143&sid=1398608
http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml;jsessionid=YCPJZONGOOMQ2CRBAE0CFEY?type=search&StoryID=1582476
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/section/0,,3,00.html
http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=&p=

* Indian Security Body Urges Phased Troop Withdrawal

India's top security advisory group Wednesday urged the government to pull back some troops from the border with Pakistan, local television reported, in what would be the biggest move to ease tension in almost a year. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee chaired a National Security Advisory Board meeting that recommended a phased withdrawal of some of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers deployed along the international border, the Aaj Tak and Star television channels reported. They gave no further details.. The cabinet's security committee was due to meet from 6:00 p.m. (1230 GMT) to consider the proposal.

http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml;jsessionid=YCPJZONGOOMQ2CRBAE0CFEY?type=search&StoryID=1583291

* Three parcel bombs go off in southern city of Karachi

Three parcel bombs have exploded in the Pakistan city of Karachi injuring dozens. Police said at least eight people were injured in the three different explosions within minutes of each other. The explosive devices were concealed in notebooks inside the parcels.ng the notebooks triggered the explosions, said Sindh province police chief Syed Kamal Shah.

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_690904.html?menu=news.latestheadlines.worldnews
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/section/0,,3,00.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-2093800,00.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2332779.stm

* Kashmir party hardens stand

October 15 -- One of the major parties seeking to form a coalition government in Indian-administered Kashmir has issued an ultimatum to its most likely partner. The president of the People's Democratic Party, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, says he will not make an alliance with the Congress Party unless he gets the chief minister's post. According to the constitution, the new government must be in place by 17 October, or the region will come under direct rule from Delhi. The PDP has also been talking to the newly-formed People's Democratic Forum, which has eight seats. The BBC's Altaf Hussain in Srinagar says some PDF members have indicated they will back Kashmir Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad for chief minister, if Congress and the PDP fail to team up.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2330559.stm

* Dhaka protests 'al-Qaeda claims'

The government of Bangladesh has strongly denied a report in the American magazine Time which alleges that the country is a safe haven for Taleban and al-Qaeda fighters. The report says that Bangladesh may become a dangerous new front in America's war against terror and that militant Islamic groups may be using the country to hide arms and ammunition. The Bangladesh Foreign Ministry has denounced the report as a sinister attempt to besmirch the country's secular and tolerant reputation. They are especially upset over allegations that Osama bin Laden's second-in-command, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, has been hiding in the country for many months.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2332523.stm

* India boat bodies found

October 15 -- Rescuers in India have recovered the bodies of at least 12 people after two boats capsized in the eastern state of Jharkhand, officials say. The disaster happened on Monday when the vessels collided in high winds and rain near the Rukka dam about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the state capital, Ranchi. Four people are believed to have swum ashore to safety. It is still unclear how many people were on the two boats.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2329583.stm

Middle East

* India's security meet to review troop deployment along Pak border

A meeting of the National Security Advisor Board (NSAB) began here Wednesday to review the issue of deployment of troops along Indo-Pak border after the December 13 attack on Indian Parliament. The meeting chaired by India's Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, took up for discussion Indian troops deployment following the conclusion of the electoral process in Jammu and Kashmir and the appeals by the international community for resumption of India-Pakistan dialogue, reported Press Trust of India on Wednesday.

http://www.irna.com/en/head/.ehe.shtml

* 'PDP must lead coalition govt in Kashmir'

Srinagar, India -- The People's Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday said it would support the Congress party in forming a coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir only if it was allowed to head the combine. PDP President Mufti Muhammad Sayeed ruled out the possibility of his party supporting the coalition if the Congress went ahead with plans to install Ghulam Nabi Azad as chief minister. "There has to be a PDP chief minister or else you can forget all talk about any Congress-PDP alliance in the state," Sayeed told reporters here. "The ball is in their (Congress') court."

http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=19467
http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=65764

* US likely to free 5 Pak detainees in Cuba: Pak daily

The United States is working with the Pervez Musharraf government to release the first batch of five alleged Pakistani Al-Qaeda associates held in Camp X-Ray in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. According to the local daily, The News, the Pakistanis are expected back home any time. All in all, as many as 58 Pakistanis are detained in Cuba. The US authorities, the newspaper added, expressed their readiness on October 11 to the Pakistani government to set free the five nationals. Similarly, the US authorities are also in touch with Pakistan to set free four other Pakistanis at the earliest.

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

* US forces presence in Pakistan against independence, sovereignty:

A top Pakistani religious leader has said that the presence of American forces in Pakistan is negation of the country's independence and sovereignty. "The people have given verdict against the American forces presence and we hope the US will not ignore verdict of the people," said Maulana Fazal-ur Rehman, deputy chief of religious parties' alliance 'Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal' on Tuesday. "Washington respect for the wishes of Pakistanis can lay a solid base for good relations between the MMA and the United States," he told a news conference in Islamabad. He asked the United States to change its policy about Pakistan which could pave the way for friendly relations.

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

* PML(Q) to form gov't, continue Musharraf's policies: spokesman

The spokesman of the Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-e Azam), Mohammed Azeem Chaudhry, on Wednesday said his party would form a government in the Centre. During an interview with "IRNA" here, he was confident that PML(Q) would be able to form government in the Centre with the support of other democratic forces. He also made it clear that the new government would continue with most of the policies of the present military government, saying there would be no change in its position on the war on terrorism, devolution of power mechanism and economic policies.

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

* Religious forces to safeguard Pak ideology: Pak politician

A senior leader of Pakistan's six-party religious alliance on Wednesday said that the country's ideology would be safeguarded at all cost. Talking to IRNA here, Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, secretary-general of the Jamiat Ulema-e Islam and deputy secretary-general of Mutahida Majlis-e Amal, said religious parties were voted for their consistent stance on key national issues. "MMA's success is a manifestation of the masses' confidence in religious parties that will continue to protect Pakistan's identity as an ideological state come what may," he maintained.

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

* Fazal meets Shujaat, Fahim in key talks

Pakistan's two major parties wooed a key religious alliance holding the trump card in the country's hung parliament as post-election maneuvers to form a governing coalition intensified yesterday. Leaders of pro-Musharraf Pakistan Muslim League Quaid-e-Azam (PML-QA) and Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians separately met Maulana Fazalur Rehman, a key leader of Mutahidda Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), an alliance of six religious parties. Rehman said his talks with PML-QA parliamentary leader Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and PPPP head Makhdoom Amin Fahim were "positive" but gave no details.

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=65765

* ARD making attempts to unite MMA, PPP

Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, who heads the multi-party opposition Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD), is attempting to create an understanding between the Majlis Muttahida-e-Amal (MMA) and the Pakistan People's Party (PPP). Both political forces already have an understanding with PML -N. The ARD reactivation by the Nawabzada gives fresh impetus to opposition forces reaching out to each other in the post-election period, laying the groundwork for the opposition parties to come together.

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=65776

* Muslims protest near Vajpayee residence

Thousands of Muslims from across the country took the security agencies by surprise as they converged near Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's residence here yesterday to demand quotas in government jobs. Raising slogans for better representation in educational institutions and legislatures, the protesters under the banner of the socio-religious group Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind unexpectedly descended on Vajpayee's 7, Race Course residence. Senior police officials rushed to the spot as the restless crowds squatted on the main road and blocked traffic for about an hour.

http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=19468

* Indian deputy PM Advani's trip to Moscow cancelled

The last-minute cancellation of India's Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani's four-day trip to Russia, beginning on Wednesday, has raised diplomatic eyebrows in both countries, even as Russian sources from Moscow ascribed it to President Vladimir Putin's "very packed schedule". While no official statement was issued in New Delhi, an Indian Embassy official confirmed in Moscow that the visit had "been postponed". "We are working with the Russian side to reschedule the visit," he said, but declined to give reasons for the unexpected postponement.

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

* Malaysian PM arrives today

Hyderabad, India -- Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad arrives here today on a two-day visit to India during which he will also address the first India-ASEAN Business Summit in New Delhi tomorrow. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee will inaugurate the summit in New Delhi tomorrow. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu willthe second session of the summit, which will be held here Friday. Mahathir's visit is also expected to boost cooperation between Andhra Pradesh and Malaysia in IT and other sectors, officials said.

http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=19469

* Balasingham arrives for peace talks

The chief negotiator for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Anton Balasingham, arrived in Sri Lanka yesterday for a crucial round of talks, signalling a growing confidence between the two sides ahead of a second round of peace talks. The chief negotiator for the LTTE, who was making his third trip to Sri Lanka since the peace process began, was due to meet the chief of his organisation, Velupillai Prabhakaran, yesterday evening. Balasingham will also be meeting parliamentarians of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) which is acting as the biggest pressure group on the government on behalf of the LTTE.

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=65766

Editorial/Opinion

* An election that threw up the unexpected

General Pervez Musharraf may have learnt the hard way that there is only one thing worse than fixing an election. It is fixing an election without getting the desired results. Pakistan's October 10 election has resulted in a hung parliament, something Musharraf and the military establishment has always sought. But the voters have also enhanced the leverage of Pakistan's religious parties who had, until recently, been dismissed by Musharraf as representing a minuscule minority. The religious parties' success will also have implications for Musharraf's dependence on, and support for, the United States.

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/opinion.asp?ArticleID=65762

* Avoiding South Asia's tensions

Just north of Pearson International Airport, where hundreds of immigrants arrive daily from the Indian subcontinent, one of the GTA's diverse South Asian neighbourhoods is proof to newcomers that their political baggage can be left behind. After a half-century of violent conflict, now removed from a distant land, Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and Sri Lankans, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and Christians, Tamils and Sinhalese have a choice: They can continue to define themselves by past political, cultural and religious differences, or they can be defined by the pluralism fostered here. Unlike the situation on the other side of the globe, these cultures have been free to interact throughout the GTA, in Brampton, Rexdale, Scarborough, Malton and other smaller South Asian pockets that have developed over the past few decades.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=&call_page=TS_News&call_pageid=&call_pagepath=News/News

Business/Technology

N/A

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