--- South Asian News, September 23, 2002 ---

Pakistani security forces arrest 10 Arab men suspected to be from the al-Qaeda group, as they try to sneak across the border from Afghanistan. Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee blames Pakistan for disrupting elections and the increasing violence in Kashmir as 23 people are killed in latest militant attacks. At least 15 people die after a makeshift bomb exploded inside a small passenger-carrying truck in Uttar Pradesh, a state in northern India.

Top Stories

* Pakistan arrests two al Qaeda suspects (Wall Street Journal) (NY Times) (Washington Post) (MSNBC) (Boston.com) (Gomemphis.com)
* Pakistani security forces arrest 10 Middle Eastern men suspected of al-Qaida links in remote tribal region (Wall Street Journal) (NY Times) (LA Times) (Washington Post) (Sun Times) (San Antonio News) (Star Trubune) Las Vegas Sun) (Fox News) (MSNBC) (Sun Spot) (Fresnobee.com) (Anchorage Daily News) (News Tribune)
* India blames Pakistan for 23 deaths (NY Times) (LA Times) (Washington Times) (Las Vegas Sun) (Herald Sun)
* Bomb kills at least 15 in northern India (NY Times) (MSNBC) (CNN.com) (News Alert) (ABC News)
* Five rebels killed in Indian Kashmir clash (Houston Chronicle) (Washington Post)
* Three killed in Kashmir shootout (Washington Post)
* Security takes top priority on eve of Kashmir's elections (Wall Street Journal)
* Kashmir separatists seek India 'dialogue' (Washington Times)
* Nepal rebels plan strike to disrupt elections (MSNBC)
* Nepal army claims 49 rebels killed (NY Times) (LA Times) (Washington Post) (CNN.com) (MSNBC) (Boston Herald) (Herald Sun)
* Bangladesh seizes weapons from Myanmar refugees (MSNBC)
* Bangladesh PM voices concern for Yasser Arafat (Wall Street Journal)
* Sri Lanka govt, Tamil Tigers to exchange prisoners (Wall Street Journal)

Editorial/Op-Ed

N/A

Business/Technology

N/A

Other Stories

* He helps India's poor (The Cincinnati Enquirer)


Top Stories


* Pakistan arrests two al Qaeda suspects

Peshawar, Pakistan -- Pakistani and U.S. agents have arrested two suspected members of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda group in a raid in the northwestern city of Peshawar, official sources said on Monday. The suspects identified as Saeed, a Pakistani national, and Mohammad Din, an Afghan, were arrested in a joint operation by Pakistan's Crime Investigation Department and U.S. FBI agents on Sunday evening.

(Subscription Required)
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20020923_000973-search,00.html
(Registration Required)
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-pakistan-alqaeda-arrests.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/ASep23.html
http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters.asp?reg=ASIA
http://www.boston.com/dailynews/264/world/Two_more_Islamic_militants_arr:.shtml
http://www.gomemphis.com/mca/america_at_war/article/0%2C1426%2CMCA_945_1431864%2C00.html


* Pakistani security forces arrest 10 Middle Eastern men suspected of al-Qaida links in remote tribal region

Peshawar, Pakistan -- Pakistani security forces arrested 10 Arab men as they tried to sneak across the border from neighboring Afghanistan in the past week, officials said Sunday. The men, traveling with fake passports, were ordered held in northwestern Pakistan. Officials suspected they may be part of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network.

(Subscription Required)
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB-search,00.html
(Registration Required)
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Pakistan-al-Qaida.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-pakistan-al-qaida0922sep22(0,2112322).story
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/-pakistan-arrests_x.htm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/ASep22.html
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-pak23.html
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/apwire/story.cfm?xla=apwire&xlb=11&xlc=729439
http://www.startribune.com/stories/1576/3319185.html
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/w-asia/2002/sep/22/092204518.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,63768,00.html
http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/ap.asp?reg=ASIA
http://www.sunspot.net/news/custom/attack/sns-ap-pakistan-al-qaida0922sep22%280%2C28956%29.story
http://www.fresnobee.com/24hour/world/story/546084p-4312114c.html
http://www.adn.com/24hour/world/story/546084p-4312114c.html
http://www.tribnet.com/24hour/world/story/546084p-4312114c.html


* India blames Pakistan for 23 deaths

Srinagar, India -- Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee blamed Pakistan for surging violence ahead of state elections in Kashmir, after suspected Islamic militants killed 23 people in the disputed province. "The manner in which elections in the state are being disrupted, there doesn't seem to be any change in Pakistan's attitude toward Kashmir," Vajpayee told reporters Sunday.

(Registration Required)
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Kashmir-Killings.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-kashmir-killings0922sep22(0,4004890).story
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/ASep22.html
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/w-asia/2002/sep/22/092204725.html
http://www.herald-sun.com/firstnews/37-269261.html


* Bomb kills at least 15 in northern India

New Delhi -- At least 15 people were killed when a makeshift bomb exploded on Sunday inside a small passenger-carrying truck in India's northern Uttar Pradesh state, a police official said. There was no immediate clue as to who might be responsible for the blast, but the official said there was no history of terrorist violence in the area and a criminal might have been transporting the device.

(Registration Required)
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-india-explosion.html
http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters.asp?reg=ASIA
http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/south/09/22/india.explosion.reut/index.html
http://www.newsalert.com/bin/story?StoryId=Cpy1aqbebAw5KAweTzxHWBg9ZAw9UlxnWB3q
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/reuters20020922_145.html


* Five rebels killed in Indian Kashmir clash

Srinagar, India -- Violence flared on Monday ahead of the second round of Indian Kashmir's state elections that Islamic militants have vowed to sabotage, as security forces gunned down four rebels, police said. "The four separatists were killed Monday in the gun battle which has been going on since last night and is still happening," a police official told Reuters. He had no further details.

(Subscription Required)
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/world/1586441
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/ASep23.html


* Three killed in Kashmir shootout

Srinagar, India -- Two police officers and a suspected Islamic rebel were killed in a shootout Sunday, ahead of elections in India's part of disputed Kashmir, police say. Eight police officers were wounded when suspected Islamic militants armed with grenades and automatic weapons barged into an apartment complex in Srinagar where police officers and their families live, an officer said on condition of anonymity.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/ASep22.html


* Security takes top priority on eve of Kashmir's elections

Srinagar, India -- Tens of thousands of Indian soldiers and elections officials were constructing sandbag bunkers at polling booths and being fitted for flak jackets Monday, the eve of state elections in two key cities of the disputed Himalayan province of Kashmir. Islamic militants who have been waging a 12-year insurgency for Kashmir's independence or merger with Pakistan have threatened to kill candidates and voters during the balloting Tuesday in Srinagar and Jammu, the summer and winter capitals of India's northern Jammu-Kashmir state.

(Subscription Required)
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20020923_000882-search,00.html


* Kashmir separatists seek India 'dialogue'

The main separatist alliance in Kashmir wants to engage the Indian government in "structured dialogue" that would later include Pakistan, the founder and senior official of the group said in an interview last week. A government elected before talks address the fundamental issues of the disputed state will not be accepted by the Kashmiri people, said Mirwaiz Omar Farooq, the founder and senior executive of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, an umbrella group of more than a dozen separatist parties.

http://www.washtimes.com/world/.htm


* Nepal rebels plan strike to disrupt elections

Kathmandu -- Maoist rebels fighting Nepal's constitutional monarchy have called for a three-day countrywide strike in November to disrupt general elections planned for then. The rebels said in a statement sent to newspapers late on Saturday they planned a three-day shutdown beginning November 11, two days before polling in the Himalayan kingdom's fourth election.

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


* Nepal army claims 49 rebels killed

Kathmandu -- The Nepalese army killed 38 rebels over the past two days in clashes in the insurgents' mountain strongholds, and another 11 died when explosives they were carrying went off accidentally, an official said Sunday. The army did not suffer any casualties, spokesman Shiv Kumar Thapa said. There was no independent confirmation of the death toll, and the guerrillas rarely comment on government claims.

(Registration Required)
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Nepal-Rebels.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-nepal-rebels0922sep22(0,1067221).story
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/ASep22.html
http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/south/09/22/nepal.rebels.ap/index.html
http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/ap.asp?reg=ASIA
http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/international/ap_nepal09222002.htm
http://www.herald-sun.com/firstnews/37-269457.html


* Bangladesh seizes weapons from Myanmar refugees

Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh -- Police in Bangladesh have confiscated nearly 160 swords and knives and two guns from Muslim refugees from neighbouring Myanmar, who have been protesting against a government repatriation plan. Police raided the Nayapara refugee camp in Cox's Bazar district on Saturday night, seized the weapons and arrested eight inmates, Cox's Bazar police officer Farid Ahmed told Reuters.

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


* Bangladesh PM voices concern for Yasser Arafat

Dhaka -- Bangladeshi leaders on Monday condemned the Israeli attack on Yasser Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah and voiced concern for the besieged Palestinian leader. Prime Minister Khaleda Zia is "gravely concerned about the safety of Yasser Arafat," a Foreign Ministry statement said. Zia said Israel will be held responsible if any harm is caused to Arafat.

(Subscription Required)
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20020923_000452-search,00.html


* Sri Lanka govt, Tamil Tigers to exchange prisoners

Colombo -- After several delays, the Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tiger rebels are set to exchange prisoners in an effort to boost the peace process, the country's army chief and rebel officials said Monday. "Arrangements have been virtually finalized and the exchange will take place shortly," Lt. Gen. Lionel Balagalle told The Associated Press. He declined to give a specific date. Rebel officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the swap will take place Saturday.

(Subscription Required)
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20020923_000957-search,00.html



Editorial/Op-Ed

N/A


Business/Technology

N/A


Other Stories


* He helps India's poor

Liberty -- Sri Mirle came to the United States from his native India in 1981 to further his education and explore opportunities. He has accomplished all that and more. But his heart has always ached for the estimated 400 million people in his homeland living in abject poverty. Mr. Mirle, born in Bangalore and raised in Bombay, had often made a point of helping others. But one day he had a rude awakening - he was not doing enough.

http://enquirer.com/editions/2002/09/23/loc_he_helps_indias_poor.html

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