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Updated on October 29, 2002 |
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--- South Asian News, September 04, 2002 ---
A recent investigation reveals that al-Qaeda members pipelined their finances from Afghanistan and Pakistan to Sudan. In India Kashmir's plight is in the hands of ambitious young faces in politics hoping to bring new hope to their state's destiny. In the editorial section, an opinion piece about the judicial system in Pakistan stresses the need to fight crimes aganst humanity. In the business section, Pakistan expects to write-off its huge debt from the US.
Top Stories
* Pakistan in last-ditch talks in al-Qaeda standoff (NY Times) (MSNBC)
* Afghans send home 55 Pakistani Taliban prisoners (NY Times)
* Al Qaida gold moved to Sudan (MSNBC) (St. Petersburg Times) (Boston Globe)
* Renegade Afghan commander urges jihad against US troops (Wall Street Journal) (NY Times) (Burlington County Times) (SF Gate)
* Seven killed in new flooding in western India (Wall Street Journal)
* Young faces bring fresh hope to politics in India Kashmir (Wall Street Journal)
* Britain urges New Delhi to release gunrunner Bleach (MSNBC)
* Sri Lanka president questions POW swap (MSNBC)
* One hurt in explosion in Nepal capital (Wall Street Journal)
Editorial/Op-Ed
* Historical event in Pakistan's history (Media Monitors)
* Do right by Pakistan (Wall Street Journal)
Business/Technology
* Pakistan may formalize $1billion US debt write-off in September (Wall Street Journal)
Top Stories
* Pakistan in last-ditch talks in al-Qaeda standoff
Peshawar, Pakistan -- Pakistani authorities brought in Muslim scholars to negotiate with tribesmen thought to be giving refuge to six al Qaeda fighters on Wednesday just before an ultimatum for their surrender expired. Hundreds of Pakistani troops deployed near the northwestern village of Jani Kheil since Monday have threatened to storm it if the men, thought to be Arabs and possibly including an Indonesian, are not handed over.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-pakistan-alqaeda.html
http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters.asp?reg=ASIA
* Afghans send home 55 Pakistani Taliban prisoners
Kabul -- Pakistan called on Wednesday for all Pakistani Taliban fighters to be freed from Afghan jails, despite international concern that a wholesale release could include people planning to take up arms again in Afghanistan. Rustam Shah Mohmand, Pakistan's ambassador to Afghanistan, spoke to reporters at Kabul airport, where 55 Pakistani Taliban fighters were handed over to Pakistani custody and escorted on to a military aircraft for the flight home. Security was tight as the bearded men, most wearing white skullcaps and the traditional pajama-style Pakistan shalwar kameez shirts under dark waistcoats, filed off a bus and waited as international peacekeepers took video footage of each of them.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-afghan-pakistan-prisoners.html
* Al Qaida gold moved to Sudan
Washington -- Financial officers of al Qaeda and the Taliban have quietly shipped large quantities of gold out of Pakistan to Sudan in recent weeks, transiting through the United Arab Emirates and Iran, according to European, Pakistani and U.S. investigators. Several shipments of boxes of gold, usually disguised as other products, were taken by small boat from the Pakistani port of Karachi to either Iran or Dubai, and from there mixed with other goods and flown by chartered airplanes to Khartoum, the Sudanese capital.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/802564.asp?cp1=1
http://www.sptimes.com/2002/09/03/Worldandnation/Report__Al_Qaida_ship.shtml
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/246/nation/Al_Qaeda_Taliban_said_to_stash_gold_in_Sudan+.shtml
http://www.sptimes.com/2002/09/03/Worldandnation/Report__Al_Qaida_ship.shtml
* Renegade Afghan commander urges jihad against US troops
Peshawar, Pakistan -- A renegade Afghan commander with links to Iran called for a jihad, or holy war, against U.S. forces in Afghanistan and accused international peacekeepers of failing to provide security. "All true Muslim Afghans who want an Islamic government in their country must know it is possible only when the United States and allied soldiers are forced out," Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former prime minister of Afghanistan, said in a taped message. "We must all unite and rise against them."
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20020904_000739-search,00.html
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Afghan-Jihad-Call.html
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Afghanistan-Jihad-Call.html
http://www.phillyburbs.com/apNews/apstory.asp?ArticleNo=55406
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2002/09/04/international0453EDT0470.DTL
* Seven killed in new flooding in western India
Ahmedabad, India -- Heavy rains along the Narmada River have caused flooding in western India , killing at least seven people in the state of Gujarat, officials said Wednesday. Hundreds of people have died this year in east and northeastern India , but is the first serious monsoon flooding in the west, which until recently had been suffering through a drought. Authorities have evacuated more than 1,700 people in the Bharuch district, an industrial region, following flash floods.
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20020904_001389-search,00.html
* Young faces bring fresh hope to politics in India Kashmir
Srinagar, India -- Kashmir's youngest political stalwart was set to enter a crucial election battle Wednesday as young people bring fresh hope to politics in the militancy-ripped region after a generation of turbulence. India's junior foreign minister, Omar Abdullah, aged 32 and newly elected president of Jammu-Kashmir's ruling National Conference party, is scheduled to enter his nomination for the state assembly elections. He hopes to lead his pro-India party to victory and become the chief minister - the top elected official.
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20020903_006656,00.html
* Britain urges New Delhi to release gunrunner Bleach
Calcutta, India -- Britain's envoy to India made a fresh appeal on Tuesday for New Delhi to release British gunrunner Peter Bleach, who is serving a life sentence for his role in an illegal arms drop. Bleach, along with five airmen from Russia and Latvia, was convicted in February 2000 of airdropping arms including AK-47s and ammunition in the eastern state of West Bengal in 1995.
http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters.asp?reg=ASIA
* Sri Lanka president questions POW swap
Colombo -- A delayed prisoner-of-war swap in Sri Lanka came under more scrutiny on Tuesday with President Chandrika Kumaratunga demanding to know the names of the Tamil Tiger rebels to be exchanged for government soldiers. In a letter sent to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, she said several of the prisoners 'were responsible for serious crimes including the assassination of several highly placed politicians of this country.'
http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters.asp?reg=ASIA
* One hurt in explosion in Nepal capital
Kathmandu -- An explosive device went off in the men's restroom of the city council offices in the Nepalese capital Wednesday, wounding one person, police said. The blast occurred around midday on the ground floor of the Katmandu Metropolitan City Office. It shattered windows and damaged the restroom wall, police said.
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20020904_001314-search,00.html
Editorial/Op-Ed
* Do right by Pakistan
Even as it promises to topple the dictatorship of Iraq's Saddam Hussein, the Bush administration curiously appears to have decided not to press Pakistan on democratic reforms. The day after Gen. Pervez Musharraf announced 29 amendments to the country's constitution, in effect giving him absolute power, the U.S. State Department only expressed muted concern. Yet those amendments amount to a virtual re-writing of Pakistan's constitution by one man; in contrast, the American constitution has accumulated just 27 amendments in over two centuries.
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB-search,00.html
* Historical event in Pakistan's history
I would like to congratulate the judicial system of Pakistan on the swift decision of giving death penalty to the people involved in the gang rape case. It is a truly historical event for the Pakistani people and Pakistan as a nation. We are not celebrating the death sentence of anyone but it is the rapid and swift decision process and the manner of the verdict is delivered needs to be praised. Justice is done and the criminals got what they deserve. It is a true fact that rape is a crime against humanity. Such crimes should be a shame in every society.
http://www.mediamonitors.net/shaziamirza6.html
Business/Technology
* Pakistan may formalize $1 billion US debt write-off in September
KARACHI -- Pakistan is expected to formalize an accord with the U.S. - one of its largest aid donors - on a $1 billion debt write-off during President Pervez Musharraf's visit to the U.S. next month, a Finance Ministry official told Dow Jones Newswires Wednesday. The official said Pakistani officials are likely "to formalize the $1 billion debt write-off" when Musharraf holds talks with President George Bush in September.
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20020904_001555-search,00.html
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--- South Asian News, September 04, 2002 ---
The Indian American Center for Political Awareness (IACPA) is a national non-profit organization committed to the political empowerment of the Indian American community. For additional information on IACPA, please visit www..
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