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-- South Asian News, September 30, 2002 --- (US)

Breaking News/ Newswire

* India on Pakistan's mind as US debates pre-emptive strikes (IANS): With the U.S. talking of the doctrine of pre-emptive strikes, officials here fear India may cite it to launch an attack on Pakistan, a newspaper here reported Monday. A front-page report in The News daily said Islamabad has picked up signals that India is preparing a plan to carry out pre-emptive strikes against Pakistan in case the U.S. carries out similar action against Iraq. Washington has been debating action against Baghdad for its perceived refusal to allow in U.N. weapons inspectors. The paper, quoting sources, added that the government was taking the signals seriously and had ordered preparations to counter any eventuality.
http://in.news.yahoo.com/020930/43/1vt5m.html

* US reviews Karachi consulate security after deadly bomb attack (AFP): US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Christina Rocca held talks here Monday with Pakistani officials on creating "foolproof security" for the US consulate, the target of a deadly bomb attack four months ago, officials said. The June 14 suicide car bomb attack outside the downtown consulate building in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, killed 12 Pakistanis including the bomber. The consulate has been operating from a secret location since August, after several closures of its normal office.
http://in.news.yahoo.com/020930/6/1vteb.html

* India forging special unit to operate nuclear arsenal (AFP): India is forging a special unit, comprising personnel from the army, navy and air force, to handle the country's nuclear arsenal, a senior military official said Monday. "We are in the process of raising a strategic forces nuclear command with all the strategic assets, like aircraft carrying landbased missiles and nuclear weapons and bombs," said Lieutenant General Pankaj Joshi, India's chief of the integrated defence staff. "It will be a 'fighting command' and will become operational soon," Joshi said, declining to specify a date. He also declined to give the strength of the unit.
http://in.news.yahoo.com/020930/6/1vtcx.html

* Russia to start delivering AWAC copters to India by the end of the year (PTI): Russia is to start deliveries of nine Kamov K-31 AWACS helicopters to India by the end of this year, under two separate contracts signed in 1999 and 2001. The Indian Navy would start receiving the K-31 helicopters, which are fitted with "Oko" (Eye) radar, by the year-end, ITAR-TASS reported. With their "Oko" radar, K-31 helicopters are capable of detecting upto 200 aerial targets at a time with simultaneous tracking of 20 of them at the range of 110-115 kilometres and surface ships at the range of 200 kilometres. India had signed a 92-million-dollar deal in 1999 for the purchase of four AWACS helicopters for deployment at INS Viraat aircraft carrier and three Krivak class frigates under construction in St Petersburg.
http://in.news.yahoo.com/020930/20/1vt11.html

* US reimburses $317 million to Pak for war on terrorism expenses (PTI): The United States has paid 317 million dollars to Pakistan to meet the expenses incurred during the US-led war on terror in Afghanistan, Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz has said. The payment was finalised in a meeting between US President George W. Bush and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf in New York on September 12. The finance minister told reporters that participation in the 'Operation Enduring Freedom' had cost Pakistan more than 700 million dollar, and said the rest of the amount would also be reimbursed soon.
http://in.news.yahoo.com/020928/20/1vrhy.html


--- South Asian News, September 30, 2002 ---


In Pakistan, a bomb explodes outside a church while thousands took to the streets demanding government protection for the country's minority Christian community. In India, five suspected Islamic militants are killed in a three-hour shootout in the southern city of Bangalore.

Top Stories

* Bomb explodes outside of church after thousands gather to protest Christian killings (Wall Street Journal) (NY Times) (Washington Post) (MSNBC) (Sun Times) (Las Vegas Sun) (Voice of America) (Boston Globe)
* Pakistani election candidate arrested (Washington Post)
* Pakistan parades man as confessed Indian agent (MSNBC)
* Pakistan's police force struggles to find the resources it needs to combat terrorism (NY Times)
* Two suspected Islamic militants are killed in gunbattle in Pakistan (Wall Street Journal)
* Pakistanis demand Christian safety (NY Times) (ABC News)
* US envoy meets Pakistani officials (Washington Post)
* Commonwealth team in Pakistan to monitor national polls (Wall Street Journal)
* Even in peace, Indians still see links of violence and politics (Wall Street Journal) (NY Times) (LA Times) (Washington Post) (Las Vegas Sun) (MSNBC)
* Five militants killed in shootout in southern India (NY Times) (Washington Post) (MSNBC) (Boston.com) (ABC News)
* Most Kashmiris don't want union (NY Times) (LA Times) (Washington Post)
* India says is curbing 'cross-border terrorism' (NY Times) (Washington Post) (Voice of America) (Fox News)
* One dead, 12 wounded in Indian Kashmir attack (NY Times)
* American climbers in Nepal say shot at near China border (Wall Street Journal)
* Nepali election may be delayed by Maoist threat (NY Times) (MSNBC)

Editorial/Op-Ed

N/A

Business/Technology

* Pakistan to pay early on part of IMF loans (Wall Street Journal)
* Drought helps boost India's United Breweries sales (Forbes.com)



Top Stories


* Bomb explodes outside of church after thousands gather to protest Christian killings

Quetta, Pakistan -- A small bomb exploded outside a remote village church Sunday, hours after thousands took to the streets in Pakistan's largest city demanding government protection of the country's minority Christian community. The small, crude device was planted near a wall that surrounds a non-denominational church in the impoverished Sibi district of southwestern Baluchistan province, police officer Bashir Kohlo said. There were no casualties.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20020929_000083,00.html
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Pakistan-Church-Attack.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/ASep29.html
http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/ap.asp?reg=ASIA
http://www.suntimes.com/output/terror/cst-nws-pak30.html
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/w-asia/2002/sep/29/092900573.html
http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=6CC396D3-273F-497D-9B37B6C1F3557177
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/273/nation/Explosion_unsettles_Christians_no_injuries+.shtml


* Pakistani election candidate arrested

Islamabad -- Police arrested a parliamentary candidate and four other men for allegedly chopping off a man's hands during a fight after a political meeting in central Pakistan, authorities said Monday. Ashfaq Kamboh, who is a candidate for the Punjab provincial assembly in the Oct. 10 vote, was taken into custody after the incident Sunday in Kasur, about 150 miles southeast of the capital, Islamabad, said police official Qadir Sarwar.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/ASep30.html


* Pakistan parades man as confessed Indian agent

Karachi, Pakistan -- Pakistani police paraded a man on Monday who confessed to having been trained by Indian intelligence and carrying out bomb attacks in the country. The man, who gave his name as Bachal Ramji, said he was a Pakistani national who had crossed into India to be with his family some years ago, but had been forced by Indian intelligence to return to Pakistan to carry out bomb attacks in that country.

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


* Pakistan's police force struggles to find the resources it needs to combat terrorism

Karachi, Pakistan -- For a senior Pakistani police official, the night of Sept. 12 should have been a time of triumph. The previous day, his officers helped capture 10 men suspected of being members of Al Qaeda, including Ramzi bin al-Shibh, a senior operative thought to have been intimately involved in planning the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But, the seething official said that night that he had no idea whom his men had just risked their lives capturing.

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/30/international/asia/30STAN.html


* Two suspected Islamic militants are killed in gunbattle in Pakistan

Multan, Pakistan -- Two suspected Islamic militants wanted for their involvement in a massacre at a Catholic church last year were killed in a fierce 18-hour gunbattle on Sunday, police said. The two men, members of the Sunni Islamic extremist group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, were being sought for their role in the Oct. 28 attack on St. Dominic's Roman Catholic Church in Behawalpur, 450 miles southwest of Islamabad.

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


* Pakistanis demand Christian safety

Karachi, Pakistan -- Thousands of Pakistanis gathered Sunday outside Karachi's main cathedral, demanding government protection for minority Christians, at a memorial for the seven latest victims -- charity workers shot execution-style at their office. Some 10,000 protesters blocked roads near St. Patrick's Cathedral with makeshift barricades and garbage. They demanded Pakistan's interior minister resign for failing to stop deadly attacks on Christians and Westerners.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Pakistan-Christian-Attack.html
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20020929_574.html


* US envoy meets Pakistani officials

Karachi, Pakistan -- A top U.S. envoy was meeting with officials on Monday in this southern port city, discussing security, education and health care, according to Pakistani officials. Assistant Secretary of State Christina Rocca arrived in Karachi on Sunday for a three-day visit. She met with Sindh Gov. Muhammadmian Soomro, who briefed her on the government's effort to maintain law and order in a city that has seen a string of deadly attacks against Christians and Westerners, including the June car bombing outside the U.S. Consulate, which killed 12 Pakistanis.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/ASep30.html


* Commonwealth team in Pakistan to monitor national polls

Islamabad -- Observers from Commonwealth countries are in Pakistan to monitor arrangements for next month's general elections, the first since military rule was imposed three years ago, the team's leader said Monday. The group aims to determine whether results of the coming elections would "reflect the wishes of the people," Commonwealth team leader Sri Dato Musa bin Hitam said at a news conference in Islamabad.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20020930_001042-search,00.html


* Even in peace, Indians still see links of violence and politics

Ahmedabad, India -- Sitting on his shop's metal cashbox, amid stacks of books on Islam, prayer caps, and towers of velvety smooth Quran cases, Mohammed Gula will tell you why mobs are not stalking the streets of this city. He saw them in February, when a Muslim mob attacked a train filled with Hindu activists, killing 59 people and igniting sectarian riots that flared for weeks in Ahmadabad and other cities and towns across the western state of Gujarat. At least 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20020929_000709,00.html
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-India-Politics-of-Peace.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-india-politics-of-peace0929sep29,0,1346462.story
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/ASep29.html
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/w-asia/2002/sep/29/092900638.html
http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/ap.asp?reg=ASIA


* Five militants killed in shootout in southern India

Bangalore, India -- A three-hour shootout early Sunday left five suspected Islamic militants dead and 13 policemen injured in southern India, police said. Police commandos from the Karnataka state and neighboring Tamil Nadu state surrounded a house in downtown Bangalore Saturday after being tipped that militants had moved in, police said.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-India-Militants.html
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-india-militants.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/ASep29.html
http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/ap.asp?reg=ASIA
http://www.boston.com/dailynews/272/world/Five_militants_killed_in_shoot%3A.shtml
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/reuters20020928_348.html


* Most Kashmiris don't want union

Srinagar, India -- Pakistan's president insists the hearts of Kashmiris in the Indian-controlled portion of this beautiful Himalayan region ache to be reunited with their Muslim brothers across the border. Most Indian Kashmiris just roll their eyes when asked about President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's argument.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Kashmiri-Choices.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-kashmiri-choices0930sep29,0,3227644.story
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/ASep30.html


* India says is curbing 'cross-border terrorism'

New Delhi/Srinagar, India -- India said on Sunday that state elections in Kashmir -- now at the midway stage -- had been successful and showed it had made big strides in curbing ``cross-border terrorism'' from neighboring Pakistan. ``Pakistani-sponsored terrorist groups tried everything to dissuade the people of Kashmir from participating...it is a victory of democracy,'' Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani said ahead of the third round of voting set for Tuesday.

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-kashmir.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/ASep29.html
http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=996B3EB3-9614-4DFC-8DEA3A
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,64378,00.html


* One dead, 12 wounded in Indian Kashmir attack

Srinagar, India -- Suspected Islamic militants hurled a grenade at a bus station in Indian Kashmir on Sunday, killing a man and wounding 12 people two days ahead of the third round of state elections, police said. ``Terrorists lobbed a grenade at a bus stand in Tral, resulting in the death of one civilian,'' a police statement said. A dozen people were wounded, a police official added

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-kashmir-grenade.html


* American climbers in Nepal say shot at near China border

Kathmandu -- Two American mountaineers said Monday that they were shot at by two men who appeared to be Chinese soldiers while hiking in Nepal near the border with China earlier this month. Jeff Lamoureux, 36, and David Morton, 31, both from Seattle, Washington, told The Associated Press in Katmandu, Nepal's capital, that two men shot at them Sept. 20, while they were 12 kilometers inside Nepalese territory.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20020930_000483-search,00.html


* Nepali election may be delayed by Maoist threat

Kathmandu -- A Nepali cabinet minister said on Monday parliamentary elections due to begin on November 13 may be postponed because of the threat of violence by Maoist rebels bent on disrupting the vote. Representatives of all main political parties told Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on Sunday the security situation was too risky and they urged him to postone the elections.

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-nepal.html
http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters.asp?reg=ASIA


Editorial/Op-Ed

N/A


Business/Technology


* Pakistan to pay early on part of IMF loans

Washington -- Pakistan plans to repay hundreds of millions of dollars in International Monetary Fund loans ahead of schedule, the country's finance minister said. Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz said he told IMF Managing Director Horst Koehler of Pakistan's plan to prepay -- in tranches -- its standby loan, which carries a higher interest rate than some of the country's other IMF debt. Pakistan owes $605 million on the standby loan, according to IMF figures.

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


* Drought helps boost India's United Breweries sales

Bangalore, India -- India's prolonged hot weather is helping to boost sales of United Breweries Ltd (UB) , the country's largest beer company said on Monday. "In the first five months of the current financial year, beer sales of UB has gone up by 21 percent," UB's chairman Vijay Mallya told shareholders in the southern city of Bangalore at the firm's annual general meeting.

http://www.forbes.com/markets/newswire/2002/09/30/rtr735464.html

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