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

--- South Asian News, October 16, 2002 ---

Breaking News/Newswire

* Russian silence makes Bangladesh seek MiG-29 buyers (IANS): Bangladesh is looking for buyers for eight MiG-29 fighter planes that were bought by the previous government, with Russia not responding to its request to take them back, a report said. "The government will send letters to those countries using MiG-29 fighter jets with a proposed sale offer," a senior defence source was quoted as saying in the Bengali language daily Prothom Alo. "Earlier a proposal was sent to Russia to take back the eight MiG-29s bought in 1999, but Russia is not responding. http://in.news.yahoo.com/021016/43/1wiaj.html

* Pakistan's Islamists to name pro-Taliban cleric for PM (AFP): Pakistan's newly powerful Islamic parties' alliance will demand that pro-Taliban cleric Maulana Fazlur Rehman be made prime minister if they enter into a coalition to form government, an alliance leader said. "If the MMA decides to join the government, then our prime minister will be Maulana Fazlur Rehman and we will support him," said Qazi Hussein Ahmed, vice president of the Muttahidda Majlis-e-Amal (MMA). Ahmed, who heads the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), one of six fundamentalist parties in the MMA, made the comment Tuesday after talks with a leader of the pro-government Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q). http://in.news.yahoo.com/021016/6/1wi6n.html US presence in Pakistan negated Pakistan's sovereignty: MMA (PTI): http://in.news.yahoo.com/021016/20/1whza.html

* Premption OK for US against Iraq, but not for India against Pakistan (PTI): The White House today suggested that preemptive attacks are permissible for the US against Iraq but the same logic does not hold for India which is fighting Pakistan-sponsored terrorism or for China which wants to reunify with Taiwan. Asked whether it would be lawful if India adopted the US Administration's policy of preemptive attack, vis-a-vis Pakistan, White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said different policies work in different parts of the world. "What is different is the unique history of Iraq.
http://in.news.yahoo.com/021016/20/1whxx.html


--- South Asian News, October 16, 2002 ---

In Pakistan, the leader of a leading radical Islamic group calls for better relations with the United States and at the same time wants US to soften its stand on Islamic parties. The Islamic parties also claim good progress on the coalition talks with the other political parties. Across the border, India is to decide whether to pull back some troops from its borders, a move that could signal the first big easing of tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors in almost a year. The editorial section describes the mixed reactions in the Kashmir as well as Pakistan after the elections.

Top Stories

* Official Pakistan election results (MSNBC)
* Pakistan's top Islamic cleric calls for better relations with U.S. (NY Times) (LA Times) (Washington Post) (Las Vegas Sun) (MSNBC) (ABC News) (Fox News) (San Francisco Chronicle) (Star Tribune) (Orange County Register)
* Pakistan's religious right seeks coalition role (NY Times) (Washington Post) (MSNBC) (ABC News)
* FBI-backed Pakistani police arrest four al-Qaida suspects (Wall Street Journal) (NY Times) (Voice of America) (MSNBC) (San Francisco Chronicle) (San Diego Union-Tribune) (Charlotte Observer)
* Islamic party leader in Pakistan opposes US war on terror (Voice of America) (Boston)
* Pakistan religious right set to dominate Senate (MSNBC)
* Pakistan still U.S. ally despite anti-West gains (GoMemphis.com)
* U.S. troops in Afghanistan want to hunt in Pakistan (Washington Post)
* 3 parcel bombs explode in Karachi (LA Times) (Kentucky.com) (The State) (Star Tribune) (San Francisco Chronicle) (News Day)
* Pakistan hard-liners' gains alarm Afghan official (Boston)
* India to decide on possible troop withdrawal (Wall Street Journal) (NY Times) (Washington Post) (Fort Wayne News) (Center Daily) (Kentucky.com) (Philadelphia Inquirer)
* Four wounded in bomb blast in western Indian town (Wall Street Journal) (MSNBC)
* Kashmir's opposition parties debate makeup of coalition (Wall Street Journal)
* Kashmir's future hangs in balance after state polls (Christian Science Monitor)
* Sri Lankan minister dismisses President Kumaratunga's fears of government (Wall Street Journal)

Editorial/Op-Ed

* Happy (and unhappy) returns / Mixed election signals from Kashmir and Pakistan (Pittsburgh Post Gazette)
* Elections viewed as flawed (IRIN News)

Business/Technology

* Subscriber growth falls in India (Global Wireless)
* Pakistan losing share of exports to Japan (Global Sources)
* China offers Pakistan $25 million credit line for machinery import (Global Sources)

Other Stories

* When corporate whistle blows after allegations, CA took fast action (News Day)

Top Stories

* Official Pakistan election results

Islamabad -- Pakistan's Election Commission on Wednesday officially declared the results of 269 of 272 parliamentary seats contested in last week's general election. Three constituency seats will have to be contested again. Last Thursday's poll formally marked the transition from military to civilian rule in the country of 140 million, although President Pervez Musharraf, who took over power in a bloodless coup in 1999, will continue to have a major political role.

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

* Pakistan's top Islamic cleric calls for better relations with U.S.

Islamabad -- The leader of a radical Islamic group that made major gains in Pakistan's parliamentary elections called Tuesday for better relations with the United States. Maulana Fazal-ur Rehman, leader of a six-party alliance of hard-line Islamic groups called the United Action Forum, also insisted Washington must soften its attitude toward Pakistan's Islamic parties.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Pakistan-Religious-Rise.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-pakistan-religious-rise1015oct15,0,2246781.story
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/AOct15.html
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/w-asia/2002/oct/15/101505079.html
http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/ap.asp?reg=ASIA
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20021015_1539.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,65713,00.html
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2002/10/15/international1431EDT0651.DTL
http://www.startribune.com/stories/670/3367297.html
http://www2.ocregister.com/ocrweb/ocr/article.do?id=7208§ion=NATION_WORLD&year=2002&month=10&day=16

* Pakistan's religious right seeks coalition role

Islamabad -- Pakistan's resurgent religious right, which posted huge gains in last week's general election on a fiercely anti-American platform, held a series of coalition talks on Tuesday with leaders of rival parties. Fazal-ur-Rehman, secretary-general of the hardline Islamic Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) movement, repeated his opposition to the country's support for the U.S. war on terror and to the presence of U.S. troops on Pakistani soil.

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-pakistan-election.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/AOct15.html
http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters.asp?reg=ASIA
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/reuters20021015_212.html

* FBI-backed Pakistani police arrest four al-Qaida suspects

Peshawar, Pakistan -- Pakistani police backed by FBI agents arrested four men on Tuesday suspected of close ties to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network, police said. The four men, all from Afghanistan, were arrested in a three-hour raid at the Jalozai Refugee Camp, about 25 miles east of Peshawar, they said.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20021015_002535,00.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/15/international/15CND_STAN.html
http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=A7610F64-496E-4B16-AAD1B1B3822AD401
http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/ap.asp?reg=ASIA
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2002/10/15/international0850EDT0534.DTL
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/-pakistan-al-qaida.html
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/4294527.htm

* Islamic party leader in Pakistan opposes US war on terror

A leader in Pakistan's six-party Islamic alliance has repeated his group's opposition to the country's support for the U.S. war on terrorism and the presence of U.S. troops on Pakistani soil. The alliance scored major gains in just-completed parliamentary elections. The group's secretary-general, Fazal-ur-Reham, said the vote shows Pakistanis are strongly against U.S. actions in the region.

http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=C83D3016-B219-4B30-84BDFBE8535AD751
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/288/nation/Pakistan_hard_liners_want_US_troops_out+.shtml

* Pakistan religious right set to dominate Senate

Islamabad -- Pakistan's hardline Islamic parties are likely to be the largest grouping in parliament's upper house due to be elected next month, giving them leverage over the passage of legislation, analysts said on Tuesday. The Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) group of six Islamic parties won 50 of 272 seats in the National Assembly or parliament's lower house in last Thursday's poll, a far cry from the two they won in a 1997 election.

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

* Pakistan still U.S. ally despite anti-West gains

Karachi, Pakistan -- Pakistan's government will remain closely allied with the United States in the war against terrorism despite strong gains by hardline Islamic parties in general elections, officials said Sunday. A bloc of religious parties running on an anti-Western platform won a surprising number of seats in last week's election, and has promised to banish American soldiers in Pakistan as part of the military campaign in neighboring Afghanistan.

http://www.gomemphis.com/mca/america_at_war/article/0,1426,MCA_945_1477644,00.html

* U.S. troops in Afghanistan want to hunt in Pakistan

Southeastern Afghanistan -- Pvt. Kevin Haller sits on a rock wall overlooking a Pakistani village from just inside Afghanistan. "I think we should be going into Pakistan," he said. "I think we should be going over there today. We are right here." He is one of many U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan increasingly frustrated that their hunt for members of the al Qaeda network and Taliban militia stops at the border with Pakistan, beyond which they say lies a safe haven for their targets.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/AOct15.html

* 3 parcel bombs explode in Karachi

Karachi, Pakistan -- Three small parcel bombs exploded in the southern city of Karachi on Wednesday, injuring dozens, police said. At least eight people were injured in three different explosions that went off within minutes of each other. The extent of the injuries was not immediately known. The first parcel bomb exploded in the Crimes Investigations department at a police station lightly injuring two policemen, officials said.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-pakistan-parcel-bombs1016oct16,0,7910459.story
http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/world/4297112.htm
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/world/4296438.htm
http://www.startribune.com/stories/670/3368681.html
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2002/10/16/international0734EDT0508.DTL
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/sns-ap-pakistan-parcel-bombs1016oct16,0,7504588.story

* Pakistan hard-liners' gains alarm Afghan official

Kandahar, Afghanistan - A key southern Afghan police official warned yesterday that the strong showing of Islamic hard-line parties in neighboring Pakistan's elections could hinder efforts to capture leaders linked to Osama bin Laden. Major Shafiullah Afghan of the Kandahar provincial police said the gains by Islamic parties in the Pakistan border areas could make it even tougher to find thousands of Taliban and Al Qaeda extremists who escaped US-led forces in Afghanistan.

http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/287/nation/Pakistan_hard_liners_gains_alarm_Afghan_official+.shtml

* India to decide on possible troop withdrawal

New Delhi -- India is to decide on Wednesday whether to pull back some troops from the border with Pakistan, a move that could signal the first big easing of tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors in almost a year. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was chairing a joint session of the National Security Advisory Board and the National Security Council made up of top security and defense officials to review deployment of troops along the Pakistan border.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20021016_000284-search,00.html
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-southasia-india.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/AOct16.html
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/4295117.htm
http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/4295117.htm
http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/world/4294167.htm
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/local/4295117.htm

* Four wounded in bomb blast in western Indian town

Ahmedabad, India -- Four people were wounded on Tuesday when a bomb exploded in a bus in a western Indian town, where the torching of a train in February triggered the country's worst religious violence in a decade, police said. The bomb went off in a state-run bus outside a bus station in Godhra, 150 km (95 miles) northwest of Ahmedabad, Gujarat's main city, Narasimh Komar, superintendent of police of Panchmahal district told Reuters.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20021015_005868-search,00.html
http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters.asp?reg=ASIA

* Kashmir's opposition parties debate makeup of coalition

Srinagar, India -- Opposition parties in Indian-controlled Kashmir were still wrangling Wednesday over who should head the government in the troubled Himalayan state. After a month of staggered voting in Jammu-Kashmir state, no party won a majority of the 87-seat legislature when the results were announced last Thursday.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20021016_000989-search,00.html

* Kashmir's future hangs in balance after state polls

Srinagar, India -- It was one of the freest and fairest - albeit bloodiest - state elections in Indian history, with voter turnout surprising both skeptics and optimists. For many Kashmiris, these elections, which ended last week, were more than the selection of a state parliament. They were also a test of India's sincerity in allowing Kashmiris to speak their minds at the voting booth - even if it meant the dismissal of the very pro-Indian National Conference party (NC), a leading power in state politics for decades.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/1016/p07s01-wosc.html

* Sri Lankan minister dismisses President Kumaratunga's fears of government

Colombo -- A top government minister said Tuesday that the government was unconcerned about accusations by the president that the state was perpetrating terror and putting her life in danger. Amid efforts by the government to end a bloody war with the Tamil Tiger rebels, President Chandrika Kumaratunga said her life was in danger not because of Tamil Tiger rebels, but from some government lawmakers.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20021015_003786-search,00.html


Editorial/Op-Ed

* Happy (and unhappy) returns / Mixed election signals from Kashmir and Pakistan

Americans rightly consider democratic elections to be a desirable phenomenon, but in their consequences they can resemble a roll of the dice. One recent election in South Asia came out to U.S. satisfaction, but another could spell trouble. Indian state elections in Jammu and Kashmir took place over a period of weeks. Campaign-related violence took the lives of some 830 people.

http://www.post-gazette.com/forum/20021016edasia1016p3.asp

* Elections viewed as flawed

Islamabad -- After three years of military rule, Pakistan's national elections last week, which produced a hung parliament, are being described by both domestic and international observers as flawed. "This general election does not represent the people's will to shape their political future," Afrasiab Khattak, head of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) that independently observed the process, told IRIN.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=30399&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=PAKISTAN

Business/Technology

* Subscriber growth falls in India

New Delhi -- After a steady growth in the number of subscribers during the first eight months of 2002, the number of new additions have registered a fall in India. New additions in September were 360,000 as against nearly half a million in the previous month, according to figures released by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI). At the end of September, the total subscriber position stood at 8.53 million.

http://www.globalwirelessnews.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?newsId=3345

* Pakistan losing share of exports to Japan

Lahore -- Pakistan is steadily losing its share of exports to Japan every year because of lack of diversification in products and Japan's move towards hi-tech industry. In 1995-96 Pakistan's exports to Japan were at $582 million, which have dropped to $133 million, gradually, by the year 2001-02 (July-March), showing steady and unabated erosion in exports.

http://www.globalsources.com/TNTLIST/2002/10/14/ix/9842-0026-.htm

* China offers Pakistan $25 million credit line for machinery import

Lahore -- The Chinese government has offered a credit line of US$25 million for import of Chinese textile machinery to Pakistan. Habib Bank Limited has already been designated from Pakistan side for co-ordination and utilization of this revolving credit facility. According to information made available to reporters, Federal Ministry of Commerce and Industry has conveyed the details in this regard to the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA).

http://www.globalsources.com/TNTLIST/2002/10/14/ix/9881-0065-.htm

Other Stories

* When corporate whistle blows after allegations, CA took fast action

Framingham, Mass. - With less than a month before he was to certify the accuracy of Computer Associates' financial reports for the Securities and Exchange Commission, chief executive Sanjay Kumar on July 19 received a heart-stopping phone call. An internal whistleblower gave him allegations about a nearly yearlong scheme by a group of managers and salespeople in CA's Framingham field office to boost their commissions by allegedly falsifying contracts and forging client signatures. The alleged actions affected at least 15 large corporate customers, including Fleet Bank, Textron Inc. and Banknorth Group, according to people familiar with the dealings. "I was devastated," Kumar said.

http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-bzca162967329oct16,0,5996872.story?coll=ny%2Dtop%2Dheadlines

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