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-- South Asian News, September 27, 2002 --- (International)

Africa

* 'No India-Pakistan war threat' (News 24)

Americas

* Pakistani Christians vent anger over 7 slayings (Globe and Mail) (The News Mexico)

Asia-Pacific

* General alert in Jammu, Kashmir (Xinhuanet)
* 14 injured in grenade blast in Kashmir (Xinhuanet)
* New Delhi to start dialogue with all groups in Kashmir (Xinhuanet)
* India on alert after temple massacre (Malaya Star)
* Hindu hardliners call for action against Pakistan after temple killings (Channel News Asia)
* India sees "external" involvement in temple attack (Xinhuanet)
* Minister blames 'enemy' for temple attack (Taiwan News)
* Nation-wide strike passes peacefully in India (Xinhuanet)
* Indian defense minister: temple attack was preplanned (Xinhuanet) (Channel News Asia)
* US undersecretary of defense arrives in Pakistan (Xinhuanet) (Channel News Asia)
* Pakistan Christians demand protection (Japan Today)
* US, India begin joint Naval exercise (Xinhuanet) (People Daily)
* India keen on signing nuclear-free zone treaty with ASEAN (Xinhuanet)
* Terrorist attacks not to affect electioneering: Pak official (Xinhuanet)
* Ongoing violence in Pakistan to hurt efforts to attract investment: analysts (Channel News Asia)
* Malaysia, India strengthen cooperation in infrastructure construction (Xinhuanet)
* S.Lankan opposition: govt, rebels end conflict by next year (Xinhuanet) (People Daily)
* Sri Lanka seeks multilateral aid to rebuild (Japan Today)

Europe

* Pakistani President Plays Down War Risk with India (Reuters)
* One Killed, 23 Hurt in Kashmir Blasts (Reuters)
* Indian Temple Attackers Were Pakistanis (Reuters)
* Indian State of Gujarat Calm After Temple Raid (Reuters)
* Two detained over Hindu temple attack (BBC) (Reuters)
* Christians mourn Karachi victims (BBC)
* Pakistan presses for US arms (BBC)
* India objects to Iraq missile charge (BBC)
* Arrests in India stocks scandal (BBC)
* Bangladesh told to find more gas before exporting (Reuters)

Middle East

* Qayyum wants international mediation on Kashmir (Arab News)
* Election Focus: People's Conference straining at Hurriyat leash (Gulf News)
* Kashmiris reject violence (Gulf News)
* Islamabad wants equal US treatment for India, Pakistan (Arab News)
* Musharraf says Pakistan, US defence ties to benefit region (IRNA)
* Pakistan wants U.S withdraw FBI (IRNA)
* Indo-US joint naval exercises begin in Arabian Sea (IRNA)
* India objects to selective reference to Indian firm in UK dossier (IRNA)
* Indian govt sees Lashkar's hand behind Gujarat temple attack (IRNA)
* Strike call by VHP, Shiv Sena evokes lukewarm response (Arab News) (Gulf News)
* India's VHP workers stage sit in protest in front of US Consulate (IRNA)
* Backlash fears ease after temple raid (Gulf Daily News)
* Christians protest massacre of charity workers (Gulf News)
* Election focus: Many change loyalties in Multan city (Gulf News)
* Colombo, rebels set for prisoner swap (Gulf News)

Editorial

N/A

Business/Technology

N/A

Africa

* 'No India-Pakistan war threat'

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said on Friday there was no danger of the country going to war with neighbouring India, but that Pakistani forces would be ready to repel any aggression. "There is no danger (of war)," Musharraf told reporters in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad. "We should have confidence in ourselves. We are not sitting idle. We are prepared for everything. There should not be any misunderstanding." New Delhi has blamed a string of attacks on religious, military and political targets in recent months on Pakistan-based militants. Pakistan says it has cracked down on the groups and that infiltration into India by extremists had stopped.

http://www.news24.com/News24/World/Asia/0,1113,2-10-20_1263866,00.html

Americas

* Pakistani Christians vent anger over 7 slayings

Karachi, Pakistan -- Angry and frightened after another deadly attack, Christians took to the streets yesterday demanding protection from Islamic militants believed behind the slayings of seven Christian charity workers who were bound, gagged and shot execution-style in their office. Black flags flew over churches and Christian schools were closed in mourning, while relatives began burying those killed in Wednesday's attack.

http://www.globeandmail.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/PEstory/TGAM/20020927/UREPOM-5/International/international/internationalAsiaHeadline_temp/5/5/6/
http://www.thenewsmexico.com/noticia.asp?id=36174

Asia-Pacific

* General alert in Jammu, Kashmir

A general alert has been soundedacross Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of the terrorist attack on a temple in Gujarat, a senior police official said Thursday. "Although the security forces remain in high state of alert in Jammu and Kashmir to frustrate militant designs, the latest attackon the temple has further added responsibility on the shoulders ofsecurity forces guarding the places of worship," Kashmir InspectorGeneral of Police K Rajindra Kumar told local media.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-09/27/content_576690.htm

* 14 injured in grenade blast in Kashmir

September 26 -- At least 14 people, including two army personnel, were injured Thursday when militants lobbed a grenade at a security vehicle in Pulwama district town of south Kashmir which went to polls in the third phase of assembly elections on Oct. 1, police said. Militants hurled the grenade on the army vehicle Thursday evening, but it missed the intended target and exploded in the crowded market, injuring 14 people, including two army personnel, they said.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-09/26/content_576622.htm

* New Delhi to start dialogue with all groups in Kashmir

September 26 -- Minister of State for Home I.D.Swami Thursday said the government will start dialogue with all groups after the completion of assembly elections in India-controlled Jammu and Kashmir. He told reporters, "Dialogue will be started with all concerned,even with those who unfortunately did not participate in the elections and stood isolated and exposed before the people of Jammu and Kashmir today." On the government's plans for Jammu and Kashmir after the elections, Swami said it will further its talks with the representatives there for devolution of powers.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-09/26/content_576425.htm

* India on alert after temple massacre

Ahmedabad, India -- Indian troops in trucks patrolled this city yesterday while thousands of other soldiers remained on standby to deter communal violence after two gunmen massacred worshippers in a temple. Elsewhere in India, hardline Hindu groups held demonstrations across India to protest against Tuesday's Akshardham Temple massacre in which 28 worshippers died in Gandhinagar, capital of the western state of Gujarat. There was no sign of a backlash in this city, the state's commercial centre, where at least 1,000 people, most of them Muslims, died in communal unrest earlier this year.

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2002/9/27/asia/alertly&sec=asia

* Hindu hardliners call for action against Pakistan after temple killings

Thousands of Hindu hardliners have been out on the streets in protest after Tuesday's temple massacre in Gujarat. Militants gunned down 31 people at the Akshardham temple in the Gujarat state capital Gandhinagar before they were killed by commandos. In New Delhi, thousands of activists of the ruling Hindu nationalist BJP party demonstrated near the Pakistani High Commission, shouting slogans and breaking police cordons, witnesses said. Demanding tough action against Pakistan was the hardline Shiv Sena party - which has also threatened to pull out of the ruling coalition. The protests - which have also included one by members of the ruling BJP - come amid a nationwide strike called by Hindu nationalists.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southasia/view/20128/1/.html

* India sees "external" involvement in temple attack

India Thursday said it saw a particular "pattern" and harbored suspicions of "external" involvement in the terrorist attack on the Swaminaraian temple in Gujarat but stopped short of directly accusing Pakistan. An External Affairs Ministry spokesperson told reporters, "Investigations are on. We will definitely be able to unearth the nature of the conspiracy and the planning of the attack and who were involved in it." "We are confident that we will be able to unearth the evidence," she said.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-09/27/content_576685.htm

* Minister blames 'enemy' for temple attack

A deadly attack on a temple in western Indian was a meticulously planned attempt to inflame hatred between Hindus and Muslims and intensify the country's tensions, Gujarat state's top elected official said. Although he did not name Pakistan, Chief Minister Narendra Modi accused an "enemy country" of sponsoring the attack, which left 33 people dead, including the two gunmen, and 76 others injured. "They could be from an enemy country ... from outside India," he said, using India's typical way of indirectly blaming its longtime rival, Pakistan.

http://www.etaiwannews.com/Asia/2002/09/27/.htm

* Nation-wide strike passes peacefully in India

The nationwide strike, called by VHP (World Hindu Council) and Shiv Sena Thursday in protest against the terrorist attack on a famous temple in Gujarat, passedoff peacefully amid tight security, particularly, in Gujarat. The strike evoked mixed response across the nation. While therewas a total shut down in states like Maharashtra and Gujarat, there was little or no response in New Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Tripura and West Bengal. However normal life was affected in states like Uttaranchal, Assam, Orissa, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-09/27/content_576701.htm

* Indian defense minister: temple attack was preplanned

September 26 -- Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes Thursday said the terrorist attack on the majestic Swaminarayan temple at Gandhinagar was preplanned and the execution showed that it was hatched in a manner in which attempt was made to storm Parliament house on Dec. 13. Fernandes, who arrived Ahmedabad Thursday morning, congratulated the state government and the people for successful elimination of the terrorists who had attacked the devotees at thetemple, an official spokesman said.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-09/26/content_576638.htm
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southasia/view/20148/1/.html

* US undersecretary of defense arrives in Pakistan

US Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith arrived in Pakistan on Thursday as formal military talks between the two countries got under way for the first time since Pakistan's nuclear tests in 1998. Pakistan, a key ally in Washington's war on terror, can expect spare parts for US supplied warplanes and greater cooperation in military training and intelligence from the Pak-US Defense Consultative Group talks which last until Friday, according to local press reports.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-09/26/content_576587.htm
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southasia/view/20105/1/.html

* Pakistan Christians demand protection

Karachi, Pakistan -- Angry and frightened after another deadly attack, Christians took to the streets Thursday demanding protection from Islamic militants believed behind the massacre of seven Christian charity workers who were bound, gagged and shot execution-style in their office. Black flags flew over churches and Christian schools were closed in mourning, while relatives began burying those killed in Wednesday's attack, the latest brutality against Christians and Westerners since President Pervez Musharraf began a crackdown on Islamic extremists and threw his support behind the U.S. war in Afghanistan.

http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=7&id=231979

* US, India begin joint Naval exercise

A week-long US-India joint naval exercise began off the west coast Thursday with the participation of more than 750 US naval personnel. Exercise Malabar, designed to increase interoperability betweenthe two navies, included surface, sub-surface and air events, as well as personnel exchanges, according to an American Center release in Mumbai. The US Navy is represented by the Ticonderoga class guided missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG 62), the Spruance class destroyer USS Paul F foster (DD 964) and a P-3C patrol and reconnaissance aircraft.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-09/26/content_576619.htm
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200209/27/eng20020927_103975.shtml

* India keen on signing nuclear-free zone treaty with ASEAN

September 26 -- India, South Asia's nuclear power, is keen on signing a Nuclear Free-Zone agreement with ASEAN soon, its Foreign Minister Yash want Sinha said Thursday. "As regards ASEAN I reiterate what has been said earlier, namely, that we fully respect the status of the Nuclear-Free Zone in Southeast Asia and are ready to convert this commitment into a legal obligation," he said at a talk organized by the Institute of Strategic and International Studies here. The talk was entitled "India's Foreign Policy in the New Millennium."

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-09/26/content_576418.htm

* Terrorist attacks not to affect electioneering: Pak official

September 26 -- Terrorist attacks will not affect electioneering in Pakistan, Interior Minister Moinuddin Haider said here on Thursday, according to the Associated Press ofPakistan. Haider said "these type of attacks have been continuing for a long time and become almost a routine." A number of groups have emerged and they are active in the nameof religion or sect. "The nation must acknowledge that activities of none of these is in the interest of the nation or country," he said.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-09/26/content_576618.htm

* Ongoing violence in Pakistan to hurt efforts to attract investment: analysts

Analysts say this ongoing violence will hurt the government's efforts to attract foreign investment - so crucial for Pakistan's weak economy. Arshad Arif, research head, Khadim Ali Shah Bukhari Securities, said: "All their efforts are not successful. I think these are the issues which will remain in the question of the general public and the investors community won't be investing in Pakistan." The recent killings have come at a time when high profile consultations on stopping such terrorists acts are going on between the United States and Musharraf government.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southasia/view/20077/1/.html

* Malaysia, India strengthen cooperation in infrastructure construction

September 26 -- Malaysia and India have agreed to continue their collaboration and partnership in human resource and infrastructure development, Works Minister S. Samy Vellu said Thursday. He said Malaysian construction companies were now involved in 24 road-building projects in India worth over 1 billion ringgit (263 million US dollars) and covering 12,000 kilometers. Another 24 projects worth 2 billion ringgit (526 million US dollars) were under consideration by the Indian government, he told a media conference after meeting visiting Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha at his office here.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-09/26/content_576451.htm

* S.Lankan opposition: govt, rebels end conflict by next year

Sri Lanka's main opposition People's Alliance (PA) urges the government and separatist Tamil Tiger rebels to work out a solution to the country's long running ethnic conflict by next year, Lakshman Kadirgamar, PA front liner said Friday. The government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) held their first round of Norwegian-brokered direct talks last week in Thailand.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-09/27/content_577642.htm
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200209/27/eng20020927_104005.shtml

* Sri Lanka seeks multilateral aid to rebuild

The Sri Lankan government announced Thursday that it would seek substantial multilateral aid from abroad to rebuild the country's war-ravaged northeast and boost the Norway-brokered peace effort to end Asia's longest conflict, which has cost nearly 65,000 lives over two decades. Cabinet spokesman Lakshman Pieris told reporters the government would shortly set up a meeting with potential donors to receive pledges for the massive reconstruction and rehabilitation effort, for funds are urgently required.

http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=7&id=231935

Europe

* Pakistani President Plays Down War Risk with India

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said Friday that there was no danger of the country going to war with neighboring India, but that Pakistani forces would be ready to repel any aggression. "There is no danger (of war)," Musharraf told reporters in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad. "We should have confidence in ourselves. We are not sitting idle. We are prepared for everything. There should not be any misunderstanding." New Delhi has blamed a string of attacks on religious, military and political targets in recent months on Pakistan-based militants. Pakistan says it has cracked down on the groups and that infiltration into India by extremists had stopped.

http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml;jsessionid=2BFVNSI01MJDKCRBAE0CFEY?type=search&StoryID=1503604

* One Killed, 23 Hurt in Kashmir Blasts

Suspected separatist Islamic militants killed an Indian soldier and injured 23 people, most of them civilians, in two separate blasts in India's Jammu and Kashmir state, police said Friday. Suspected militants hurled a grenade late Thursday at an army patrol in Pulwama, southern Kashmir, police said. "The grenade exploded on the road injuring 17 civilians and five soldiers," a police official told Reuters. Earlier Thursday, a paramilitary soldier was killed and another injured when their vehicle ran over a land mine in neighboring Anantnag district, he said.

http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml;jsessionid=2BFVNSI01MJDKCRBAE0CFEY?type=search&StoryID=1503963

* Indian Temple Attackers Were Pakistanis

Two Muslim gunmen who attacked a Hindu temple in western India this week and shot dead 28 people were Pakistani nationals, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported Friday, citing security sources. A federal Interior Ministry official would not comment on the report. "I don't have anything to say," he told Reuters. PTI said one of the gunmen was from Lahore and the other from Attock city, 50 miles west of Islamabad. The report said it was not known yet which militant group the two men may have belonged to.

http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml;jsessionid=2BFVNSI01MJDKCRBAE0CFEY?type=search&StoryID=1504607

* Indian State of Gujarat Calm After Temple Raid

The western Indian state of Gujarat red for business Friday after a one-day strike to protest against a massacre at a Hindu temple by Muslim gunmen but people remained fearful of more violence. There was no violence overnight in Gujarat and aside from scattered incidents, it was calm during the general strike called by Hindu hard-liners allied to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml;jsessionid=2BFVNSI01MJDKCRBAE0CFEY?type=search&StoryID=1503674

* Two detained over Hindu temple attack

Police in the Indian state of Gujarat have detained two suspects over the attack on a Hindu temple on Tuesday. The two men are believed to be the driver and the owner of a taxi which police say was used by the attackers. Thirty-one people, including four children, were killed in the attack. The two gunmen who carried it out were also killed. On Thursday, a nationwide strike in protest at the attack passed off peacefully. The streets of Ahmedabad, Gujarat's commercial capital, were largely deserted as army reinforcements were deployed in a bid to pre-empt new religious violence. Hundreds of Muslims in Gujarat have been taking temporary refuge in camps or in Muslim-majority areas since officials announced that the temple attackers were Islamic radicals.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2284479.stm
http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml;jsessionid=2BFVNSI01MJDKCRBAE0CFEY?type=search&StoryID=1504321

* Christians mourn Karachi victims

Christian groups in Pakistan have observed the first of three days of mourning for the seven people killed in an attack on a Christian charity in Karachi. Black flags flew over churches and Christian areas as hundreds of members of the community marched through the city's streets. The marchers carried placards denouncing "religious terrorism" and calling for an end to "the massacre of Christians". Pakistani Christian groups say they are not reassured by government pledges to protect them following Wednesday's attack, the latest in a string of incidents in which Christians have been targeted.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2282198.stm

* Pakistan presses for US arms

Pakistan and the United States have ended a first full day of formal talks on defence cooperation. Islamabad has pressed Washington for spares it badly needs for its military hardware. "We called for the resumption of defence training, joint exercises and acquisition of military equipment," Pakistan's Defence Secretary Hamid Nawaz told the BBC. After discussions with US Under-Secretary of Defence Douglas J Feith on Thursday he said: "We are looking to pick up the threads from where we left off in 1998, when defence co-operation between the two countries was suspended.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2283686.stm

* India objects to Iraq missile charge

India has objected to an allegation in a dossier published by the UK Government that an Indian firm helped Iraq develop its missile programme. The 50-page dossier unveiled by the UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair, on Wednesday, named NEC Engineers, a chemical engineering firm, as one of the companies that provided Iraq with material for its missile programme. The Indian foreign ministry spokeswoman, Nirupama Rao, said it was unfortunate that Britain had singled out an Indian firm as the object of its allegations.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2284008.stm

* Arrests in India stocks scandal

Police in the eastern Indian city of Calcutta have arrested six leading stockbrokers for their alleged involvement in a major scam two year ago. The scandal left the Calcutta Stock Exchange(CSE) nearly bankrupt. The city's police intelligence chief, Soumen Mitra, says at least two more stockbrokers, who he alleges were heavily involved in the scam, are wanted for questioning. The bank accounts of those arrested have been frozen.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2283299.stm

* Bangladesh told to find more gas before exporting

Bangladesh should discover new gas fields before allowing exports as its current reserves are insufficient to meet domestic demand, a report by Bangladeshi and Norwegian experts said. The report, by Norway's Petroleum Directorate and the Hydrocarbon Unit of the Bangladesh energy ministry, poses a dilemma as foreign oil companies are unwilling to finance exploration in the country unless they are allowed to export to India. The government is reluctant to take a hasty decision on exports, a sensitive political issue as opposition parties say exports should be considered only after ensuring enough reserves for 50 years of domestic use.

http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml;jsessionid=2BFVNSI01MJDKCRBAE0CFEY?type=search&StoryID=1504407

Middle East

* Qayyum wants international mediation on Kashmir

Jeddah -- A five-member Kashmiri delegation was in the Kingdom recently led by former President of Azad Kashmir Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan. The team visited several countries to drum up support for the Kashmir issue. Arab News spoke to Sardar Qayyum, who is also chairman of the National Kashmir Committee. Qayyum in his interview dwelt on the Kashmir issue, the proposal to make LoC an international border and the ongoing elections in Indian part of Kashmir. He also spoke about the Indian government-backed Ram Jethmalani committee's efforts to bring about peace in the disputed valley. Qayyum ruled out any possibilities of Pakistan taking a U-turn on Kashmir and going for some compromise with India on the Kashmir dispute. He was of the opinion that it was high time the crisis should be resolved with the mediation of the world community.

http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=18963

* Election Focus: People's Conference straining at Hurriyat leash

The amazing turnout of voters across rural Kashmir could lead to realignments in various political camps here over the next few months. Even in the pro-freedom All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), a split has become a distinct possibility as a section moves farther towards mainstream politics. Leaders of the People's Conference, which was founded by assassinated APHC leader Abdul Ghani Lone, are among the keenest watchers of these elections and even APHC Chairman Abdul Ghani Bhat nods when asked whether they are not "straining at the leash".

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=64182

* Kashmiris reject violence

An opinion poll conducted on behalf of popular dailies The Asian Age and Deccan Chronicle have come out with startling revelation that virtually nobody in the strife-torn state of Jammu and Kashmir wants the Kashmir Valley to become a part of neighbouring Pakistan. While respondents in Srinagar, Anantnag and Udhampur rejected the idea outright, one per cent in Jammu wanted the Valley to go to Pakistan. Nearly half the respondents state-wide want the Kashmir Valley to remain with India. More significantly, 91 per cent feel that violence by militants will not help in solving the Kashmir problem and 79 per cent doubt if Pakistan wants genuine peace with India.

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=64173

* Islamabad wants equal US treatment for India, Pakistan

Pakistan expects "an even-handed approach" from the United States in its political dealings in the Indian subcontinent, official sources said yesterday. Defense Secretary Hamid Nawaz expressed the view during a meeting with US Undersecretary of Defense Douglas J. Feith. The Pakistan-US Defense Consultative Group (DCG) met in Islamabad to discuss the resumption of military cooperation between the two countries. Nawaz sought the same treatment as India receives while discussing tensions on the India and Pakistan border and along the Line of Control in the disputed state of Kashmir.

http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=18966

* Musharraf says Pakistan, US defence ties to benefit region

September 26 -- President General Pervez Musharraf says cooperation between defence forces of Pakistan and the United States would not only be mutually beneficial but also for peace and stability in the region. He was talking to the visiting members of the US Defence Consultative Group, who called on him in Islamabad on Thursday. Genral Musharraf said there had been excellent relationship and cooperation between the defence forces of the two countries over the years and expressed the hope that the level of interaction would surpass the previous relationship in the future.

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

* Pakistan wants U.S withdraw FBI

September 26 -- Pakistan has told the United States to withdraw agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), as Islamic groups are raising the issue of the presence of FBI agents during election campaign, media has reported. "Pakistan is of the view that local environment was not conducive for the permanent presence of US agents in the country as some religious leaders during their election campaign were exploiting the FBI role in Pakistan," Pakistan daily The News reported.

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

* Indo-US joint naval exercises begin in Arabian Sea

The largest-ever Indo-US naval wargames commenced on Thursday in the Arabian Sea off Kochi port city in the southern Indian state of Kerala with more than 750 American personnel and state of art warships participating. The war games described by US officials to increase inter-operability between the two navies would include surface, sub-surface and air events as well as personnel exchanges, reported Press Trust of India (PTI).

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

* India objects to selective reference to Indian firm in UK dossier

Objecting to the "selective reference" to an Indian firm made in the British government's latest dossier on Iraq, India on Thursday said this was liable to create a totally wrong impression in the public mind, and was "unfortunate." India has acted promptly and firmly by suspending the export license of the Indian company as it had violated Indian laws, India's External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Nirupama Rao told reporters on Thursday.

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

* Indian govt sees Lashkar's hand behind Gujarat temple attack

Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) is suspected of being behind the militant attack on Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar in western Indian state of Gujarat, officials at the India's home ministry have said. According to the Times of India, a New Delhi-based English daily, "the reason for this suspicion is the modus operandi of the two terrorists, which is similar to the one used in the attack on Parliament House, the Jammu and Kashmir assembly and similar such strikes elsewhere in Jammu and Kashmir," the sources said on Thursday. They pointed out that even the weapons used were similar to the ones used by the Lashkar militants.

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

* Strike call by VHP, Shiv Sena evokes lukewarm response

Calls for a nationwide shutdown by hard-line Hindu parties to protest Tuesday's terrorist attack on a temple in the western state of Gujarat went largely unheeded across most of India yesterday. Except in Gujarat, Bombay and parts of Orissa, people in most parts of India turned their backs to the call from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Shiv Sena to protest the killing of 32 people in the attack on the Swaminarayan temple of Gandhinagar.

http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=18933
http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=64181

* India's VHP workers stage sit in protest in front of US Consulate

September 26 -- Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) on Thursday picketed in front of the US Consulate in South Mumbai in the Western Indian State of Maharastra as part of their general strike in India called to protest the militant attack on Swaminarayan temple in Gandhinagar in Gujarat. Nearly 50 VHP workers asked the US Consulate office, which was working, to close down to express solidarity in condemning the militant act, reported Press Trust of India on Thursday.

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

* Backlash fears ease after temple raid

Fears of a backlash against Muslims in India's Gujarat state subsided yesterday, as New Delhi said it was considering all options including war against Pakistan after a massacre of Hindu worshippers. At least two people were stabbed in the state, but by nightfall no other violence was reported. Thousands of troops had flooded the streets of Gujarat's main cities fearing trouble during a nationwide protest strike called by Hindu hardliners.

http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Articles.asp?Article=33486&Sn=WORL

* Christians protest massacre of charity workers

Black flags flew over churches in Karachi yesterday and hundreds of people staged demonstrations as Pakistan's small Christian community mourned the massacre of seven charity workers. But sadness at the deaths at the hands of two unidentified gunmen was mixed with fear and widespread anger at the government of President Pervez Musharraf for not protecting them. Hundreds of Christian youngsters went on a rampage in a main commercial district of Karachi yesterday, smashing windscreens of vehicles and damaging shops.

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=64177

* Election focus: Many change loyalties in Multan city

The ancient city of Multan in southern Punjab has been known as the 'city of saints' for centuries, but recently it has acclaimed notoriety as a city of turncoats. Most of the candidates contesting the October elections from Multan district have a background of changing loyalties during the past elections. The politics of this region has always revolved around a few known families who managed to retain their assembly seats over the years no matter which party they belonged to.

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=64176

* Colombo, rebels set for prisoner swap

With a day left for the historic swap of prisoners between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the Tamil guerrillas have detained seven soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army in the north eastern part of the country after they allegedly entered an area controlled by the guerrillas, a spokesman for the group monitoring a cease-fire agreement, currently in operation said yesterday.

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=64174

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