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

--- South Asian News, September 23, 2002 (Weekend) ---(International)

In a fresh surge of poll-related violence, 17 people are killed and a third attempt is made on state tourism minister Sakina Itoo's life in Indian Kashmir. In continuing arrests in Pakistan, police arrest five men, all members of an Islamic extremist group, in connection with the US consulate bombing. India requests extradition of Abu Salem, terrorist mastermind and prime accused in the 1993 Bombay bombings, after his arrest in Portugal.

Africa


* Kashmir: 17 die in renewed violence (News 24)
* God's on my side, says 'target' Musharraf (Independent Online)

Americas


* India scoffs at Pakistan, says it has lost confidence in Musharraf (The News Mexico)
* Indian terror suspect arrested in Portugal (Globe and Mail)
* Young candidate set to lead India (The News Mexico)

Asia-Pacific


* Rebels attack minister twice in 24 hours (Malaya Star)
* Indian police retake control of police complex (Australian Broadcasting)
* Pakistan condemns Israeli attack on Arafat's headquarters (Xinhuanet)
* Militants attack minister's house in Indian Kashmir (Australian Broadcasting) (Channel News Asia)
* 12 people killed in Kashmir election violence (Australian Broadcasting) (Channel News Asia) (Malaya Star)
* Pakistani police detain three more suspected militants (Australian Broadcasting) (Channel News Asia)
* Top Indian gangster arrested in Portugal (Bangkok Post) (Channel News Asia)
* Indian PM: "No change in Pakistan's style of thinking" (Xinhuanet)
* Indian Prime Minister leaves for Maldives visit (Xinhuanet)
* US initiates humanitarian de-mining project in S.Lanka (Xinhuanet)
* Sri Lankan President wants statements on peace talks by govt, Tiger rebels (Xinhuanet)
* Hakeem to hold talks with Tamil leaders (Gulf News)
* Sri Lanka's telecom in bid to lure investors (Arab News)
* 7 anti-govt guerrillas killed in Nepal (Xinhuanet)
* Nepalese rebels call strike on poll day (Japan Today)
* Associated Press of Pakistan to become autonomous corporation (Xinhuanet)

Europe


* US says Musharraf plot foiled (BBC)
* India goes after crime boss (BBC)
* Karachi blast suspects held (BBC) (Reuters)
* Kashmir minister survives new attack (BBC) (Swiss Info) (Ananova)
* Food follows peace in Sri Lanka (BBC)
* Arms dealer loses India appeal (BBC)
* Nepalese troops kill Maoist rebels (BBC)

Middle East


* Rebels attempt to kill minister (Gulf Daily News)
* Poll panel steps up security for voting (Gulf News)
* Hurriyat faction joins the fray (Gulf News)
* Two more militants arrested in Karachi (Gulf News) (IRNA)
* Kashmir solution lies in plebiscite not in polls: APHC (IRNA)
* Begsays Pakistan to face uncertainty, political chaos after polls (IRNA)
* Afghan interim gov't designates first ambassador to Pakistan (IRNA)
* US sees India as "a growing world power" (IRNA)
* Kashmir party activist killed (Gulf Daily News)
* Portuguese police arrest India's most wanted don (Gulf Daily News)
* Lisbon 'no' to Indian mafia don's extradition (Gulf Daily News)
* India loses trust in Musharraf (Gulf Daily News) (IRNA)
* India welcomes conciliatory approach of LTTE, Lankan Govt. (IRNA)
* No decision on India, Russia and China trilateral dialogue (IRNA)
* India's dep. PM favors ending Indo-Pak tension (IRNA)
* Regional stability on US officials' India visit agenda (IRNA)
* India guarded in reacting to Sri Lankan talks with LTTE (IRNA)
* Sharif's party vows to end military coups (Gulf Daily News)

Editorial


* Pakistan allowing Kashmir raids to resume, militants say (International Herald Tribune)

Business/Technology


N/A


Africa


* Kashmir: 17 die in renewed violence

September 22 -- Seventeen people have been killed in a fresh surge of violence in Indian-administered Kashmir, police said on Sunday, two days ahead of the second round of voting for the state assembly. Among those killed were 10 Muslim rebels shot dead in clashes with police, including one of two who launched a brazen attack on a police compound in Srinagar, Indian Kashmir's summer capital. Violence in Kashmir has risen sharply ahead of Tuesday's voting in the districts of Srinagar, Budgam and Jammu, with anti-India militants targeting those who have chosen to contest the four-phase elections.

http://www.news24.com/News24/World/Asia/0,1113,2-10-20_1261273,00.html

* God's on my side, says 'target' Musharraf

September 20, Islamabad -- Pakistan denied on Friday there was any evidence of a plot to kill President Pervez Musharraf this week, despite a US government statement to that effect. US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage had told a joint hearing of the Senate and House intelligence committees on Thursday that Pakistani authorities had foiled a plot to bomb Musharraf while he was visiting Karachi. But Information Minister Nisar Memon told a news conference this was not correct. Armitage's comments echoed Pakistani media reports on Thursday, which were also denied by Interior Minister Moinuddin Haider.

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

Americas


* India scoffs at Pakistan, says it has lost confidence in Musharraf

September 21, New Delhi -- India on Friday scoffed at Pakistan for urging the world to press New Delhi for the resumption of talks over Kashmir, and in a bitter attack said it had lost all confidence in President Pervez Musharraf. The rancorous exchanges between the two nuclear rivals renewed last week in New York where Indian and Pakistani leaders attacked each other over Kashmir, the cause of two of the three wars between the two South Asian neighbors since 1947. Indian Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal on Friday suggested that the comments of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf at the UN General Assembly on elections in Indian Kashmir did not come as a surprise to his government in New Delhi.

http://www.thenewsmexico.com/noticia.asp?id=35644

* Indian terror suspect arrested in Portugal

September 21, Lisbon -- Abu Salem, accused of being a terrorist mastermind and mobster boss and who is one of India's most wanted men, was arrested in Portugal, authorities said yesterday. Mr. Salem is accused by Indian police of being involved in the country's worst bombing attack, which killed 257 people in Bombay in 1993.

http://www.globeandmail.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/PEstory/TGAM/20020921/UREPOM-3/Asia/internationalAsia/internationalAsia_temp/3/3/3/

* Young candidate set to lead India

September 21, Khag, India -- A few minutes into his campaign speech, the young man expected to be Indian Kashmir's next administrator said something considered suicidal for a politician in India. "We have made mistakes. We realize our mistakes," Omar Abdullah said. There was a moment of awkward silence. Then the crowd of 200 Kashmiri villagers broke into applause. The 32-year-old Muslim is the new flagbearer of Kashmir's most powerful political dynasty, heading the state's ruling National Conference party founded by his grandfather. He campaigned this week for the second round in state elections next Tuesday. Omar Abdullah vows to push for greater autonomy for Kashmir. He also hopes to revive his home region's tourism.

http://www.thenewsmexico.com/noticia.asp?id=35695

Asia-Pacific


* Rebels attack minister twice in 24 hours

September 22 -- Suspected rebels attacked a minister twice and killed two members of India's main communist party in Kashmir as violence spiralled ahead of the next round of a state poll, police said yesterday. A police spokesman said a Communist Party of India (Marxist) activist was also wounded when militants barged into a house andd fire overnight in Kulgam area in Kashmir, which is at the centre of a military standoff between India and Pakistan. Suspected militants detonated a bomb near Kashmir Tourism Minister Sakina Itoo's motorcade in the same area as she travelled to an election rally yesterday, killing one policeman and wounding several people. It was the second attack on Itoo, the only female minister in Kashmir, in the past 24 hours and the fourth since campaigning began for the poll.

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/archives/story.asp?ppath=\2002\9\22&file=/2002/9/22/asia/srinnoog&sec=asia

* Indian police retake control of police complex

September 22 -- Police in India have ended an operation to retake control of a police residential complex in Kashmir, which was seized by suspected Islamic militants. One militant and a policeman were killed in the incident. Two attackers dressed in police uniforms stormed the high security complex on the outskirts of Srinigar yesterday. The violence was the latest incident in the run-up to a second round of state assembly elections in Indian-administered Kashmir.

http://abc.net.au/asiapacific/news/GoAsiaPacificBNA_682794.htm

* Pakistan condemns Israeli attack on Arafat's headquarters

September 22 -- Pakistan strongly condemned Israel's attack on the Ramallah headquarters of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. The latest Israeli assault, the third since March and the decision to isolate Arafat completely, constitutes a blatant violation of all norms of international law and further aggravatesthe tense situation in the region, said a statement released from the Foreign Office Saturday. The statement said that Israel's aggression against the Palestinian Authority's administrative infrastructure and its siege of President Arafat's headquarters clearly jeopardizes the efforts of the international community for the resumption of peace negotiations. The Government of Pakistan demands an end to the siege of President Arafat's headquarters, the statement said.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-09/22/content_570159.htm

* Militants attack minister's house in Indian Kashmir

September 21 -- Suspected guerrillas lobbed a grenade at the house of a Kashmir minister but nobody was hurt in the attack, which came ahead of the second round of voting in a state election dogged by violence, police say. A senior police official said Tourism Minister Sakina Itoo was not at home when the grenade exploded in the compound in Anantnag district of south Kashmir late on Friday. It was the third attack on Itoo since campaigning began for the poll which New Delhi hopes will bolster the legitimacy of its rule in the disputed region.

http://abc.net.au/news/2002/09/item_1.htm
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southasia/view/19590/1/.html

* 12 people killed in Kashmir election violence

September 21 -- Another 12 people have been killed in Indian-administered Kashmir, ahead of a second phase of voting in the disputed Himalayan region. Indian troops shot dead four Islamic militants trying to cross into Indian-administered Kashmir from Pakistan. Meanwhile, a member of the Indian security forces was killed and three others injured in a landmine explosion near Shopian ownship. Police say another two members of the ruling National Conference party were gunned down by militants, bringing to 29 the number of pro-India activists killed since New Delhi announced the dates for the election in early August. The second phase of voting will take place next Tuesday. The voting ends on October 8 and the results are expected to be finalised by October 12.

http://abc.net.au/asiapacific/news/GoAsiaPacificBNA_682219.htm
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southasia/view/19584/1/.html
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2002/9/21/asia/kasmere&sec=asia

* Pakistani police detain three more suspected militants

September 21 -- Police in Pakistan say they have arrested three more suspected militants believed to be members of a group accused of bombing the United States consulate in the southern city of Karachi in June. Police said they the three Islamic militants were also plotting a raid to free seven arrested colleagues and planning a suicide bombing. The three members of the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen al Alaami group were now being interrogated, police said. They were named as Iqbal Zubairi, district chief of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen al Alaami (International Movement of Mujahideen) and his comrades, Mohammad Wakeel and Waseem Haider alias Hamza. They say a sizable amount of weapons was also recovered.

http://abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s682379.htm
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southasia/view/19589/1/.html

* Top Indian gangster arrested in Portugal

September 21 -- Abu Salem, one of the alleged masterminds of the 1993 bombings in Bombay which killed and injured hundreds, has been arrested by Interpol in Portugal, Indian police announced in New Delhi. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Indian chapter of Interpol, said Friday Salem was arrested along with his girlfriend Monika Bedi in Lisbon. Their arrests ends one of India's largest manhunts. CBI director P.C. Sharma told reporters that Salem and Bedi were arrested Wednesday. "The government is in touch with the authorities in Portugal and is considering sending a CBI team there tomorrow," Sharma said, ending speculation over the arrest of Salem, who is also wanted in India for a string of murders and other crimes.

http://matrix.bangkokpost.co.th/afp_news/210902/.jiw4h1jr.html
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southasia/view/19588/1/.html

* Indian PM: "No change in Pakistan's style of thinking"

September 22 -- Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee Sunday charged Pakistan with creating obstructions in the peaceful conduct of assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, saying there has been no change in Islamabad's style of thinking. "I don't think there has been any change in Pakistan's style ofthinking," Vajpayee said at the airport before leaving for Maldives. Vajpayee said there could be a conducive atmosphere for talks with Pakistan only if terrorist activities are stopped totally and the infrastructure of terrorism is demolished.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-09/22/content_570219.htm

* Indian Prime Minister leaves for Maldives visit

September 22 -- Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee Sunday left on a four-day official visit to Maldives to push ahead India's special focus on forging close linkages with friendly neighboring countries. Vajpayee will hold talks with President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom Monday soon after he is accorded a ceremonial welcome. In his departure statement, Vajpayee said that he would look forward to reviewing the progress in the on-going bilateral project and to discuss some new projects which will define partnership between the two countries in the coming decade.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-09/22/content_570209.htm

* US initiates humanitarian de-mining project in S.Lanka

September 21 -- The United States is working on ailitary-to-military humanitarian de-mining program to make sure the safe resettlement of displaced people in the war-torn north and east of Sri Lanka, according to a statement of US embassy hereavailable on Saturday. The military-to-military program will replace US-sponsored Quick Reaction De-mining Force working in the north of Sri Lanka which started operation earlier this year and will end its missionshortly. It is reported that there are over 1 million landmines planted in the north and east of the country which posed a serious threat to the safe return of displaced persons who are expected to trickle back to their homes following the progress of the peace process.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-09/21/content_569710.htm

* Sri Lankan President wants statements on peace talks by govt, Tiger rebels

September 21 -- Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga wants an official statement on the progress of the first round of peace talks held in Thailand between the governmentof Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and separatist Tamil Tiger rebels for her to respond, The Island newspaper reported on Saturday. Kumaratunga has expressed satisfaction over the progress made at the peace talks earlier this week between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and is now studying the statements mad by LTTE chief negotiator Anton Balasingham and government delegation leader Constitutional Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris at the conclusion of the talks, Presidential spokesman Janadasa Peiris was quoted by the paper as saying on Friday.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-09/21/content_569700.htm

* Hakeem to hold talks with Tamil leaders

September 21 -- The leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) Rauf Hakeem, who was a member of the four-member government peace delegation for peace talks in Thailand, will shortly take up with the Tamil guerrilla leadership a series of issues which concerns the Muslims living in the strife-torn north and eastern provinces. Hakeem on his return home told journalists that so far he had only seen a 'marginal' change of the problems faced by the Muslim community in the north and eastern province and problems related to day to day living and other humanitarian issues will be taken up at the discussion.

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=63643

* Sri Lanka's telecom in bid to lure investors

September 22 -- In an effort to attract foreign investment to revive its civil war ravaged economy, Sri Lanka's national telecom company has decided to allocate 15 percent of its shares for potential investors in the Kingdom and elsewhere. This was disclosed by Imthiaz Bakeer Markar, Sri Lankan minister of mass communications, who said the share flotation was part of the island republic's plan to privatize the telecom sector and streamline telecommunication services that were crippled during the civil war. He was speaking to Arab News at a one-day arts exhibition organized by the United Lanka Forum (ULF) at the Sri Lankan Embassy here.

http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=18805&ArY=2002&ArM=9&ArD=22

* 7 anti-govt guerrillas killed in Nepal

September 20, Kathmandu -- At least seven anti-government guerrillas were killed Thursday by the government security forces in Nepal, according to a press release issued by the Nepali Defense Ministry Friday. Two each insurgents were gunned down on the spot Sunday in Siraha and Saptari districts in eastern Nepal and three others were killed in other districts in different parts of the Himalayankingdom, the press release said. The guerrillas were killed when they exchanged fires with the government security forces and the security forces also seized some arms, ammunition and explosive materials from the guerrillas during their cordon and search operations in these districts, it added.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-09/20/content_569445.htm

* Nepalese rebels call strike on poll day

September 22, Kathmandu -- Maoist rebels waging an armed insurgency in Nepal have called for a three-day general strike coinciding with parliamentary elections slated for Nov 13. A statement signed by top leaders of the Nepal Communist Party (Maoist) said there will be a nationwide strike for three days from Nov 11.

http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=7&id=231355&page=2

* Associated Press of Pakistan to become autonomous corporation

September 21 -- The Federal Cabinet of Pakistanon Saturday approved conversion of the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) into an autonomous corporation to streamline, improve and enlarge it as a public information medium. The newly established APP Corporation will be managed by the Board of Directors with members from the public and private sectors, while the secretary of information will chair the Board of Directors, according to an APP news dispatch. The APP currently is the state-run news agency of Pakistan.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-09/22/content_569966.htm

Europe


* US says Musharraf plot foiled

September 20 -- The US and Pakistan appear at odds over an alleged attempt on the life of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf this week. US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage told a joint Congressional committee on Thursday that Pakistan's intelligence services had uncovered a plot to blow up the president on Wednesday. Hours earlier both President Musharraf and his interior minister had denied that seven men arrested on Tuesday had been plotting to attack the general while he attended a defence exhibition in Karachi. The confusion began after Pakistan's security agencies arrested seven alleged members of an Islamic extremist group late on Tuesday.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2270799.stm

* India goes after crime boss

September 21 -- India has asked the Portuguese authorities to hand over one of its most wanted men, crime boss Abu Salem. Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani said a letter had been sent to the Portuguese authorities and Interpol requesting the deportation of Abu Salem, also known as Abu Saleem Ansari. He is being held in Lisbon on charges of carrying false travel documents. Abu Salem is the prime suspect in a string of bombings in Bombay in 1993 in which more than 200 people died. He is also wanted in numerous cases of murder, extortion and kidnapping.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2272452.stm

* Karachi blast suspects held

September 21 -- Police in Pakistan say they have arrested five more militants in connection with a suicide bomb attack on the US consulate in Karachi in June. The five men, all members of an Islamic extremist group, were arrested in western Karachi. A large amount of weapons was also seized. Police believe the men were planning to help other members of their group escape from custody as they were taken to court. A total of 21 members of the organisation, all Pakistanis, have been arrested since July.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2272457.stm
http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml;jsessionid=FN4FUYAZNAMS4CRBAE0CFFA?type=worldnews&StoryID=1477994

* Kashmir minister survives new attack

September 21 -- The authorities in Indian-administered Kashmir say suspected militants have tried to kill the state tourism minister, Sakina Itoo, for the third time. A bomb was set off in the Kulgam district as the minister's motorcade was passing, but she was unhurt. However, an Indian paramilitary soldier and a child were killed in the attack. In another attack in the same area, suspected militants shot dead two activists of the Communist Party of India on Friday. Suspected militants also shot dead two residents of Punjab who were travelling on a truck in the same district. There has been a sharp increase in violence in the region in the run-up to a new round of elections next week.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2268037.stm
http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/Swissinfo.html?siteSect=143&sid=1350003
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_675269.html?menu=news.latestheadlines.worldnews

* Food follows peace in Sri Lanka

September 20 -- Tamil refugees are flooding back to Sri Lanka's former conflict areas as the prospects for lasting peace begin to look brighter. More than 100,000 displaced people have voluntarily returned home to the island's north and east so far this year, the United Nations food agency says. The World Food Programme says it has started work in these areas to help rebuild communities devastated by war. Jeff Taft-Dick, country director for the WFP, told BBC News Online: "They have been neglected by any form of development for the past 19 years." Now the WFP has been able to start running "food-for-work" projects. It is asking returnees, some of whom are former Tamil Tiger fighters, to take part in projects aimed at rebuilding roads, irrigation works, schools and health clinics destroyed during the civil war in return for food.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2271141.stm

* Arms dealer loses India appeal

September 20 -- The High Court in the eastern Indian city of Calcutta has rejected an appeal by a British arms dealer, Peter Bleach, who was seeking release from jail. Bleach had alleged he was discriminated in the case, since five Russian air crew convicted on charges similar to his have already been freed. He and the five Russians were arrested in December 1995, four days after they had dropped a large consignment of weapons over Purulia in West Bengal state. After years of investigation, it is still not clear who the weapons were intended for.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2271236.stm

* Nepalese troops kill Maoist rebels

September 22 -- The Nepalese Army says it has shot dead dozens of separatist guerrillas in a series of clashes in the mountains.
Reports said at least 36 Maoist rebels had been killed in battles near their strongholds in the west of Nepal. The army action came as the rebels called a three-day strike to disrupt elections set for November.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2274367.stm

Middle East


* Rebels attempt to kill minister

September 22 -- Islamic militants launched two failed attempts in less than 24 hours on the life of Indian Kashmir's only female minister, police said yesterday, as 12 people died in violence ahead of a second phase of voting. Tourism Minister Sakina Itoo survived but a security officer and a Muslim woman died when the minister's motorcade hit a landmine and rebels raked the cars with gunfire yesterday morning, police said. Militants had earlier shot dead two activists of India's main leftwing party - the Communist Party of India (Marxist) - in the town of Kulgam, 60km south of Srinagar. In other poll-related violence, rebels killed a member of Kashmir's ruling National Conference party in the village of Dessu, in Anantnag district.

http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/arc_Articles.asp?Article=33118&Sn=WORL&IssueID=25186

* Poll panel steps up security for voting

September 22 -- The Election Commission (EC), currently overseeing the state legislative assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, has turned down the state government's demand to do away with using indelible ink for marking voters' fingers. The state government had earlier requested the EC to avoid putting ink marks in order to provide better security cover for voters, who face threats to their lives by insurgents if they participate in the polls.

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=63740

* Hurriyat faction joins the fray

September 22 -- The People's Conference, a leading constituent of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, standard-bearer of Kashmir's secession from India, has covertly backed at least 15 candidates in various constituencies across the state for the ongoing state assembly elections. The media has been full of reports over the past few weeks of four dummy candidates of the Peoples' Conference, since four of the independent candidates in Kupwara district resigned from the party to file nomination papers.

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=63779

* Two more militants arrested in Karachi

September 22 -- Pakistani police yesterday arrested in Karachi two suspected members of a domestic terror group blamed for recent U.S. consulate bombing and plotting to kill President Pervez Musharraf, bringing to 12 the total number of arrests since the alleged mastermind was caught on Wednesday. The men belonging to Harkatul Mujahideen Al Alami, were nabbed in separate raids in the southern port city, provincial police chief Syed Kamal Shah said.

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=63738
http://www.irna.com/en/world/.ewo.shtml

* Kashmir solution lies in plebiscite not in polls: APHC

September 22 -- All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) on Saturday said that the solution of Kashmir issue lied in implementation of UN resolutions and not in polls. "Plebiscite under the auspices of the UN is the only acceptable solution to the Kashmir question," said APHC executive member Siddiq Ganai while talking to IRNA here. He said that no solution other than UN-mandated plebiscite would guarantee peace in the region and improve relations between Pakistan and India.

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

* Begsays Pakistan to face uncertainty, political chaos after polls

September 22 -- Noted analyst and President of Awami Qiyadat Party, General (rtd) Mirza Aslam Beg on Sunday feared the country was heading for uncertainty and political chaos after the October elections. During an interview with "IRNA" here, Beg held the present government and the mainstream political parties responsible for what he termed as imminent political crisis the country was bound to face immediately after the polls.

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

* Afghan interim gov't designates first ambassador to Pakistan

September 22 -- Interim Afghan government has designated Nangyalai Tarzai as its first ambassador to Pakistan, media reported Sunday. Nangyalai Tarzai is currently working with the United Nations. Rehmatullah Musa Ghazi has been working as charge d'affaires since the interim Afghan authority took charge of the Afghan embassy earlier this year. Ghazi will continue as number two in the embassy. With the appointment of an ambassador, the Afghan government has up-graded the level of its diplomatic mission in Pakistan.

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

* US sees India as "a growing world power"

September 21 -- India as a "growing world power" describes a US White House strategy paper on Saturday, saying "US interests require a strong relationship" with New Delhi. The document, approved by President George W Bush, over the weekend, also reaffirms US interest in seeing India and Pakistan resolve their disputes, reported Press Trust of India on Saturday. The Administration sees India's potential to become one of the great democratic powers and "has worked hard to transform our relationship accordingly." With regard to Pakistan it said, "US bilateral relations have been bolstered by Pakistan's choice to join the war against terror and move toward building a moreand tolerant society."

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

* Kashmir party activist killed

September 21 -- Another ruling party activist was gunned down in Kashmir, the fourth this week, and police fired tear gas on a separatist rally yesterday, as tensions mounted ahead of the second stage of a state poll. Senior National Conference party worker Moulvi Mohammed Hussain was shot dead at his home 65km south of Srinagar, police said. Ahead of Tuesday's second day of voting, police also detained leading separatist Javed Mir for urging a boycott of a poll India wants to be successful to bolster its rule in the Himalayan state at the heart of a military standoff with nuclear rival Pakistan.

http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Articles.asp?Article=33030&Sn=WORL

* Portuguese police arrest India's most wanted don

September 21 -- Portuguese police have arrested Abu Salem, an alleged terrorism mastermind and mafia boss who is one of India's most wanted men, an Indian Embassy official said yesterday. Salem is accused by Indian police of being involved in the country's worst bombing attack in 1993, which killed 257 people, and a string of murder and extortion cases. "It is true, (Salem) has been arrested in Lisbon," the diplomat in Lisbon said on condition of anonymity. India yesterday expressed hope that Salem will be deported to India although the two countries have no extradition treaty.

http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Articles.asp?Article=33032&Sn=WORL

* Lisbon 'no' to Indian mafia don's extradition

September 22 -- A Portuguese court ruled yesterday against deporting Abu Salem, the alleged Indian gangster accused of masterminding bombings in Bombay in 1993 that killed or maimed hundreds of people, it was reported. India had requested the extradition of Salem, who was arrested by Interpol in Portugal on Wednesday along with his girlfriend Monica Bedi and another man on charges of carrying fake travel documents.

http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/arc_Articles.asp?Article=33127&Sn=WORL&IssueID=25186

* India loses trust in Musharraf

September 21 -- India yesterday scoffed at Pakistan for urging the world to press New Delhi for the resumption of talks over Kashmir, and in a bitter attack said it had lost all confidence in President Pervez Musharraf. The heated exchanges between the two countries renewed last week in New York where Indian and Pakistani leaders attacked each other over Kashmir. Indian Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal yesterday suggested that the comments of Musharraf at the UN General Assembly on elections in Kashmir did not come as a surprise to his government. India's chief diplomat said that the exchanges in New York had derailed all hopes of talks between the two nations.

http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Articles.asp?Article=33038&Sn=WORL
http://www.irna.com/en/world/.ewo.shtml

* India welcomes conciliatory approach of LTTE, Lankan Govt.

September 21 -- India welcomed the conciliatory approach by the Liberation of Tamil Tigers Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lanka Government at their first round of peace talks in Thailand and expressed its readiness to assist in the development and reconstruction of the war-ravaged nation. India's Foreign Secretary, Kanwal Sibal, told reporters on Friday that "the adoption of a conciliatory approach to negotiations, which resulted in agreement for further meetings and the decision to deal jointly with important issues including internally displaced persions, humanitarian and reconstruction activities, demining etc, is welcome."

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

* No decision on India, Russia and China trilateral dialogue

September 21 -- India said no decision has been taken to formalize a trilateral dialogue between India, Russia and China. India's Foreign Secretary told this to reporters on Friday when asked whether the meeting of the three foreign ministers in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly would pave the way for formalizing such a dialogue. Former Russian Prime Minister Primakov had first mooted the idea of a trilateral axis between Russia, China and India but it had never fructified. "We should not unnecessarily over-estimate or exaggerate the significance of this meeting," Sibal said on whether the three countries would have a strategic dialogue.

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

* India's dep. PM favors ending Indo-Pak tension

September 20 -- India's Deputy Prime Minister, L. K. Advani expressed hope on Friday that India and Pakistan would be able to restart their dialogue to sort out all differences between them without holding peace a hostage to existing problems. Advani hoped that Pakistan-sponsored militancy would end one day and the people of both countries would bind themselves together with bonds of culture and mutual interest. "Both India and Pakistan are multi-lingual, multi-religious and multi-ethnic countries. The world is becoming an increasingly smaller place. I look forward to a day when people-to-people exchanges between the two countries will take place without any hindrance,'' Advani said. He cited the example of Europe where people and Governments had pooled together their resources.

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

* Regional stability on US officials' India visit agenda

September 20 -- Two senior US officials will be in New Delhi next week on two separate visits to initiate Indo-US dialogue on the new strategic framework and regional stability, reported India's local media on Friday. While assistant secretary of state for non-proliferation John Wolf will be here early in the week for the first round of talks on the Indo-US dialogue on the ''new strategic framework'' spelt out by US President George Bush, Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Christina Rocca will follow with talks in the framework of the regional strategic dialogue.

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

* India guarded in reacting to Sri Lankan talks with LTTE

September 20 -- India Thursday reacted cautiously to the limb down of Liberation of Tamil Tigers Eelam (LTTE) on its separate state demand. "Government of India has always extended support to the peace process in Sri Lanka and peaceful resolution of differences between the two sides", said India's External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Nirupama Rao on Thursday. The Indian foreign ministry spokesman underpinned New Delhi's three-fold commitment to the territorial integrity, unity and sovereignty of the island nation and to a peaceful, negotiated settlement of the problem that meets the aspirations of all elements of the Sri Lankan society.

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

* Sharif's party vows to end military coups

September 22 -- The Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, deposed by the army in October 1999, vowed yesterday to amend military laws to discourage future coups if it was voted to power. "It is time that the army resumes a pure professional role like in other countries of South Asia," co-ordinator Ahsan Iqbal said while releasing the party's manifesto for the October 10 general election.

http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/arc_Articles.asp?Article=33128&Sn=WORL&IssueID=25186

Editorial


* Pakistan allowing Kashmir raids to resume, militants say

September 21 -- Islamabad, Pakistan -- Officials from three Pakistani militant groups said in interviews this week that the government of Pakistan had allowed Islamic guerrillas to resume small-scale infiltrations into Indian-controlled Kashmir. India has repeatedly demanded that Pakistan halt the practice, which brought the two nuclear-armed rivals to the brink of war this spring. Under intense pressure from the United States, the president of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf, promised in May that his government would do all it could to stop the infiltrations. In a speech Thursday, Musharraf repeated that promise. In an interview in New Delhi on Thursday, the U.S. ambassador to India told Indian journalists that American officials believed infiltrations into Indian-controlled Kashmir had increased recently.

http://www.iht.com/articles/71365.html

Business/Technology


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