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

--- South Asian News, September 22, 2002 ---

Islamic militants resume attacks in Indian-controlled Kashmir, apparently with Pakistan's tacit support, threatening to further raise tensions in the already volatile region. In election-related violence, a second attempt is made on a leading candidate's life and 11 other people are killed. Abu Salem, one of India's most wanted men accused in the infamous 1993 Bombay riots case, is arrested in Portugal. The editorial section talks about Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict and the factors which led to the recent peace talks between the government and the rebel Tamil tigers.

Top Stories

* Islamic militants in Pakistan say they have resumed cross-border raids into Kashmir (Washington Post) (MSNBC) (Voice of America) (Fox News) (Boston.com)
* Pakistan arrests 3 more linked to consulate bombing (MSNBC)
* Musharraf seeks change in schools (Washington Times)
* Pakistan denies plot on Musharraf's life (MSNBC)
* Pakistan suggests India, not al Qaeda behind bombs (MSNBC)
* U.S. neglect fostered al Qaeda--Pakistan minister (MSNBC)
* Canada urges India todialogue with Pakistan (MSNBC)
* 11 killed in Kashmir ahead of vote (LA Times) (Washington Post) (Fresnobee.com) (Anchorage Daily News) (News Tribune) (Burlington County Times)
* One killed in attack on Indian Kashmir minister (MSNBC) (CNN.com) (ABC News) (Voice of America)
* India's Gujarat on edge after religious clashes (MSNBC) (CNN.com)
* Portuguese police arrest one of India's most wanted men (Washington Post) (MSNBC) (Voice of America) (News Alert) (Las Vegas Sun) (Herald Sun)
* India court rejects jailed Briton's release plea (MSNBC)
* Kashmir rally turns violent (CNN.com)
* More election-related bloodshed in Indian Kashmir (Voice of America)
* 100,000 Tamil rebels return home (LA Times) (Las Vegas Sun) (Herald Sun)
* WFP to step up projects in war-hit parts of S.Lanka (MSNBC) (AlertNet)
* Suspected rebels free Nepal pilot, passenger (MSNBC)
* Bangladesh to give students money to go to school (MSNBC)

Editorial/Op-Ed

* Portents from the Kashmir polls (Antiwar.com)
* Sri Lanka: pragmatism, respect and mediation key to peace (Global Info)

Business/Technology

* India to cut 5,600 jobs at state-run oil companies (Bloomberg)

Other Stories

* New Delhi sees hope in commuter railway (CNN.com)


Top Stories


* Islamic militants in Pakistan say they have resumed cross-border raids into Kashmir

Islamabad -- Islamic extremists have resumed small-scale incursions into Indian-controlled Kashmir with Pakistan's tacit support, several militant groups said Friday, threatening to raise tensions over the disputed Himalayan region. The acknowledgment comes one day after the U.S. ambassador to India said infiltration of militants from Pakistan's portion of Kashmir into India had increased over the past two months, after a period of decline.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/ASep21.html
http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/ap.asp?reg=ASIA
http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=CCC3CCAD-90B6-48CD-B85F9A6725B85A33
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,63706,00.html
http://www.boston.com/dailynews/263/world/Islamic_militants_in_Pakistan_%3A.shtml


* Pakistan arrests 3 more linked to consulate bombing

Karachi, Pakistan -- Police in Karachi said on Saturday they had arrested three more militants believed to be members of a group accused of bombing the U.S. consulate in the southern Pakistani city in June. A sizable amount of weapons was also recovered from them, police said. ''Three more people were arrested yesterday in different raids. Arrests were made on the basis of information provided by the suspects we held earlier this week,'' a police official said.

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


* Musharraf seeks change in schools

Islamabad -- Pakistan's military government is moving step by step to tighten control over several thousand religious schools that have become cradles of terrorism by promoting jihad, or holy war, among young Muslims. President Pervez Musharraf is not attempting to impose a blanket ban on the schools, known as the madrassas. But some schools that were offering military training to young student clerics, particularly in the autonomous tribal areas near the Afghan border, are being kept under closer scrutiny..

http://washingtontimes.com/world/.htm


* Pakistan denies plot on Musharraf's life

Washington -- Pakistan denied on Friday there was any evidence of a plot to kill President Pervez Musharraf this week, despite a U.S. government statement to that effect. U.S. 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.

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


* Pakistan suggests India, not al Qaeda behind bombs

Islamabad -- Pakistan's interior minister said on Saturday there was no conclusive evidence of al Qaeda involvement in bloody attacks on Western targets this year and suggested bitter rival India may have financed them. Moinuddin Haider told Reuters al Qaeda suspects arrested this month came to Pakistan as fugitives, not to carry out attacks, and local militants were thought to blame for bombing the U.S. consulate in June and killing 11 French naval engineers in May.

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


* U.S. neglect fostered al Qaeda--Pakistan minister

Islamabad -- The interior minister of Pakistan, a key ally in the U.S.-led war against terror, said on Saturday that neglect by the United States may have been to blame for the growth of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network. Moinuddin Haider told Reuters he had not come across al Qaeda members during past visits to neighboring Afghanistan and had not heard of the group until it was blamed for attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001.

http://www.msnbc.com/news/eurasia_front.asp?0dm=C302N&cp1=1


* Canada urges India todialogue with Pakistan

Ottawa, Canada -- Canada's foreign minister said on Friday he had urged India to establish some kind of dialogue with Pakistan to prevent tensions over the disputed province of Kashmir from erupting into all-out war. The nuclear-armed rivals have been locked in a standoff over Kashmir for almost a year and India is rejecting calls for talks until Pakistan ends what New Delhi says is its support for Kashmiri Muslim separatists.

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


* 11 killed in Kashmir ahead of vote

Srinagar, India -- Gunmen tried for a second time to kill a leading candidate in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Saturday, and another 11 people died in election-related violence. Sakina Yatoo, a legislative candidate in Tuesday's elections, was on her way to a campaign stop in a village south of Srinagar when her motorcade was hit by a remote-controlled bomb, police said.

(Registration Required)
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-kashmir-killings0921sep21(0,3415064).story
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/ASep21.html
http://www.fresnobee.com/24hour/world/story/544543p-4303624c.html
http://www.adn.com/24hour/world/story/544543p-4303624c.html
http://www.tribnet.com/24hour/world/story/544543p-4303624c.html
http://www.phillyburbs.com/%2E%2E/apNews/apstory.asp%3FArticleNo%3D65042


* One killed in attack on Indian Kashmir minister

Srinagar, India -- Suspected militants detonated a bomb near a Kashmir minister's motorcade on Saturday, killing one policeman and wounding several people as violence spiraled ahead of the next round of a state poll. It was the second attack on Tourism Minister Sakina Itoo, the only woman minister in Kashmir, in the past 24 hours and the fourth since campaigning began for the poll which New Delhi hopes will bolster the legitimacy of its rule in the disputed region.

http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters.asp?reg=ASIA
http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/south/09/21/kashmir.violence/index.html
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/reuters20020920_226.html
http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=F3539BF6-6EDBE9D40ACE3


* India's Gujarat on edge after religious clashes

Ahmedabad, India -- Police and paramilitary forces patrolled the streets of Baroda city in India's western Gujarat state on Saturday after four people were killed in religious clashes between Hindus and Muslims, police said. The latest clashes on Friday erupted on the eve of the third stage of a controversial political march by Hindu nationalists that non-government groups and opposition parties fear could reignite religious violence in the sensitive state.

http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters.asp?reg=ASIA
http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/south/09/21/india.gujarat.reut/index.html


* Portuguese police arrest one of India's most wanted men

Lisbon, Portugal -- Abu Salem, an alleged terrorist mastermind and Mafia boss who is one of India's most wanted men, was arrested in Portugal, authorities said Friday. Salem is accused by Indian police of being involved in the country's worst bombing attack, which killed 257 people in Bombay in 1993, as well as a string of murder and extortion cases.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/ASep20.html
http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/ap.asp?reg=ASIA
http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=5B98CE8F-7000-40A2-B0FB8F3589BE72D2
http://www.newsalert.com/bin/story?StoryId=CpyQDqbebAw5KAweTy3jPBwuTC3bVD
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/w-eur/2002/sep/20/092000890.html
http://www.herald-sun.com/firstnews/37-268995.html


* India court rejects jailed Briton's release plea

Calcutta, India -- An Indian court rejected on Friday a petition by jailed British gunrunner Peter Bleach seeking his release from a prison in Calcutta. Bleach, 51, who is serving a life sentence, had argued in his petition that the Indian government discriminated against him when they freed his five co-accused in an arms drop case.

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


* Kashmir rally turns violent

Srinagar, India -- Security forces have killed three suspected Islamic militants in a day of violence in Indian-controlled Kashmir which also saw an angry protest outside Srinagar's largest mosque. With the next stage of elections in the Jammu and Kashmir state just four days away, about 25 people gathered outside the mosque after Friday prayers, distributing pamphlets and urging citizens to boycott the vote.

http://asia.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/south/09/20/kashmir.violence/index.html


* More election-related bloodshed in Indian Kashmir

Srinagar, India -- There has been more election-related violence in Indian-administered Kashmir. Officials say another political activist from India's ruling party has been shot dead, the fourth such killing this week. Also, security forces killed three militants allegedly trying to infiltrate Indian territory. Meanwhile, India's top election official has reviewed security arrangements for the second round of polls in Kashmir's state assembly elections, which are scheduled to be held on Tuesday.

http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=42AA6B33-EFD55B8007F5C2C


* 100,000 Tamil rebels return home

Colombo -- More than 100,000 minority Tamils have returned to their homes in war-ravaged northern Sri Lanka and urgently need food and help resettling, the U.N. World Food Program said Friday. The refugees started to trickle back home after the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam signed a landmark cease-fire on Feb. 22.

(Registration Required)
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-sri-lanka-tamil-refugees0920sep20(0,6729616).story
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/w-asia/2002/sep/20/092000758.html
http://www.herald-sun.com/firstnews/37-268990.html


* WFP to step up projects in war-hit parts of S.Lanka

Colombo -- The United Nations food agency said on Friday it would step up plans to rebuild war-hit areas of Sri Lanka using refugees encouraged to return home by the island's growing peace process. The drive for a permanent peace to end 19 years of fighting that has killed 64,000 people and displaced one million was given a boost this week with the first round of peace talks between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels in neutral Thailand.

http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters.asp?reg=ASIA
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/517806


* Suspected rebels free Nepal pilot, passenger

Kathmandu -- Suspected Maoist rebels freed on Friday the pilot and a passenger they abducted after setting a private Nepali helicopter ablaze at a remote mountain village, an airline official said. A group of about 50 gunmen set fire to the helicopter run by Karnali Air on Thursday after forcing four passengers and a pilot out as it landed at Jubu in Solukhumbhu district, 200 km east of the capital.

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


* Bangladesh to give students money to go to school

Dhaka -- Bangladesh said on Saturday it would spend $114.51 million to give stipends to students in primary schools to increase enrolment and reduce the number of dropouts. The programme for the fiscal year that began in July would also help enhance the standard of primary education, Jahanara Begum, Advisor to the Prime Minister Begum Khalda Zia on Primary and Mass Education, told reporters.

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


Editorial/Op-Ed


* Portents From the Kashmir Polls

Now that the first of four phases of the "litmus-test" elections to the legislative Assembly of the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) is over, India and Pakistan have instantly locked horns over their representative character and significance. This renewed rivalry could seriously affect the remaining three phases and the people's responses, and in turn further aggravate India-Pakistan tensions.

http://www.antiwar.com/bidwai/bi092002.html


* Sri Lanka: Pragmatism, Respect and Mediation key to peace

Sattahip, Thailand -- The signals of peace from the just-finished round of talks on Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict stem from three elements that saw the negotiations through: pragmatism, mutual respect, and effective international mediation. These three factors formed the foundations of the Sept. 16-19 discussions at the Sattahip naval base here -- and made it possible for Sri Lankan government negotiators and Tamil Tiger rebels to set the dates for three more rounds of talks in late October, December and January.

http://globalinfo.org/eng/reader.asp?ArticleId=17655


Business/Technology


* India to cut 5,600 jobs at state-run oil companies

Osaka, Japan -- India expects to cut as many as 5,600 jobs at state-run Oil & Natural Gas Corp. and Bharat Petroleum Corp. to boost efficiency as it the country's oil market to competition. India plans to reduce workers at Oil & Natural Gas, India's biggest oil producer, by as much as 5,000 from 38,000, Ram Naik, India's energy minister said. Bharat Petroleum will shed as many as 600 of its 11,000 workers, he said.

http://quote.bloomberg.com/fgcgi.cgi?ptitle=Top%20Financial%20News&T=markets_box.ht&middle=ad_frame2_all&s=APYvSSxN5SW5kaWEg


Other Stories


* New Delhi sees hope in commuter railway

New Delhi -- It's evening rush hour on the New Delhi stretch of the Grand Trunk Road, the centuries-old highway that slices through the Indian subcontinent, and things are fairly normal. If that's what you'd call it. Horns blare, buses bursting with passengers spew clouds of rancid fumes, bicycles and motorized rickshaws weave through a thicket of trucks, cars and horse carts.

http://www.cnn.com/2002/TRAVEL/09/22/india.subway.ap/index.html

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