Indian intelligence 'linked' to attack on Sri Lankan team: adnkronos

Lahore, 3 March (AKI) - By Syed Saleem Shahzad - Indian intelligence services are behind Tuesday's attack against the Sri Lankan cricket team in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, according to Pakistani analysts. At least five policemen died in the ambush by 12 masked gunmen, and six cricketers and their assistant coach were injured.

Some analysts said India's Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) was behind the attack against the team bus outside Lahore's Ghaddafi Stadium, in which a Pakistani test umpire was critically injured.

“The event was crafted on the pattern of Mumbai attacks of November, 2008 and its aims and objectives are apparently to damage Pakistan’s interests," a defence expert retired major general Jamshed Ayaz told Adnkronos International (AKI).

He was referring to the deadly assault against tourist targets in the Indian financial capital of Mumbai, which killed at least 170 people. India blamed outlawed militant Kashmiri separaratist group Laskar-e-Toiba for the Mumbai attacks.

"This job could only have been done by forces allied with Pakistan’s enemy country,” Ayaz claimed.

The test match has been called off and the Sri Lankan cricket team has flown home, reportedly badly shaken by the attack.

“It is not my place to comment on who was behind the incident but obviously Pakistanis are cricket lovers and they would never do that," former Pakistan Test Cricketer Zaheer Abbas told AKI.

"There is a possibility of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam being behind the event,” said Abbas.

But a spokesperson of the Sri Lankan Embassy in Islamabad denied that the militants from the LTTE were behind the attack. The spokesperson said however that the police motorcade escorting the Sri Lankan cricket team had been the target and that the cricketers were just caught in the crossfire.

For more on this article, please click on the following link: Indian intelligence 'linked' to attack on Sri Lankan team: adnkronos

Armed forces alarmed over construction of dams on River Indus: The News

By Khalid Mustafa

ISLAMABAD: Armed forces got alarmed over the construction of three dams by India on River Indus and asked the authorities concerned to look into it in detail and chalk out a modus operandi to reduce the impact of the said establishments on Pakistan’s interests. “Pakistan’s authorities concerned including the officials of General Headquarters (GHQ), (National Engineering Services of Pakistan) NESPak, Wapda, Irrigation Department of Punjab and Pakistan Commission of Indus Water would assemble in Lahore today (Saturday) to discuss the fallout impacts on Pakistan’s water and defence interests of the ongoing construction of three dams in Ladakh region on River Indus,” a senior official told The News.

“In addition, the participants would also figure in the Kishanganga hydropower project as Permanent Commission of Indus Waters has failed to resolve this issue. The participants are likely to recommend that this issue should be taken up at government level and if the dispute remains unresolved by both the governments, then neutral expert should be moved.”

The meeting, the official said, would also recommend to the government to take action against India for violating the treaty during the filling of Baglihar Dam, resultantly Pakistan experienced a massive dip in Chenab water that inflicted damage to the sowing process of wheat.

Earlier, it was proposed that the government would write a letter to the Indian government registering severe protest on the Chenab water ‘theft’, but the government of the day did not send a letter for unknown reason. The Punjab government then wrote a letter to the Centre in this regard, asking for required action for Chenab water dip. The federal government remained unmoved.

Syed Jamaat Ali Shah, Commissioner of Pakistan Commission of Indus Water, would chair this crucial meeting. The News in Feb 9 issue disclosed that India has initiated the construction of three dams on River Indus. “India is constructing large dams on River Indus, which include Nimoo Bazgo with a height of 57-metre, Dumkhar of 42 metres height and Chutak dam of 59 metres height to basically generate hydropower.

The three dams on River Indus in the Ladakh region will harness 219 megawatt (MW) of hydropower. “Yes, I have convened a meeting of all stakeholders to discuss the issues including the construction of dams on Indus,” Syed Jamaat Ali Shah, said when contacted by The News.

For more on this article, please click on the following link: Armed forces alarmed over construction of dams on River Indus: The News

‘Kashmir be given to Pakistan’: Slipper thrown at Arundhati Roy: Daily Times

LAHORE: A slipper thrown at Arundhati Roy when she visited the Delhi University on February 13 was auctioned for Rs 101,000 on Thursday, Hindustan Times reported. Asif Kumar, a member of the Youth Unity for Vibrant Action, threw his slipper at the acclaimed author in protest against her statement that “Kashmir should be given to Pakistan”, an official of the student group told the newspaper. daily times monitor

For more on this article, please click on the following link: ‘Kashmir be given to Pakistan’: Slipper thrown at Arundhati Roy: Daily Times

India relying on 70% outside sources to meet defence equipment: Antony: APP

NEW DELHI, Feb. 10 APP Indian Defence Minister A K Antony said on Tuesday India was relying on 70% outside sources to meet its requirement of defence equipment.

He said change in internal policies of the countries from where the equipment was imported could pose strategic problems for India.

Indigenous defence production capability is the only way to overcome this difficulty, he said while addressing a foundation‑stone laying ceremony for BrahMos Missile Integration Complex at the BrahMos Aerospace in Thiruvananthapuram, South India.

For more on this article, please click on the following link: India relying on 70% outside sources to meet defence equipment: Antony: APP

Indian Army lacked ammo to attack Pakistan: expert: Daily Times

‘India feared Pakistan might capture land’

NEW DELHI: India’s air force and navy were ready to strike Pakistan after the November 26 Mumbai terrorist attacks, but New Delhi stopped them because its army lacked key artillery equipment and adequate ammunition supplies, an Indian strategic affairs expert said in a newspaper article on Saturday.

The Indian Army could have taken several weeks to begin operations, and New Delhi feared Pakistan could penetrate into Indian territory to make gains that could prove costly “politically rather than militarily”, according to Manoj Joshi.“The 400-odd Bofors guns we bought in the 1980s are falling apart for want of spares. The 600-odd Shilka anti-aircraft cannons are in desperate need of upgrade. And, this is just the tip of the iceberg,” he wrote, quoting an unidentified retired general.

The same general disclosed that India’s numerically vast tank fleet was in poor shape it did not have any mobile artillery to speak of. Joshi said the Indian Air Force was prepared to strike specified targets with the Israeli Popeye – a very destructive and accurate 100-kilometre range flying bomb – and the Paveway GPS-guided bombs. The Indian Navy was also ready to use its conventional solid-fuelled 220-kilometre-range Klub land-attack missiles, he wrote.

For more on this article, please click on the following link: Indian Army lacked ammo to attack Pakistan: expert: Daily Times

‘Pakistan’ in Indian state of Bihar: Daily Times

LAHORE: The aftermath of the Mumbai attacks and the tensions ensuing between India and Pakistan have spread anxiety among the people of the region, but the people living in a village named ‘Pakistan’ in Porniya district of the Indian state of Bihar do not want to change the name of their village, BBC reported on Friday. According to BBC, the villagers did not want war between the two countries and wanted to spread the message of peace and brotherhood. ‘Pakistan’ is a village on western Bengal’s borders whose the Muslims had migrated to the then East Pakistan in 1947, and in the memory of those Muslims, the local non-Muslims had named the village ‘Pakistan’.

For more on this article, please click on the following link: ‘Pakistan’ in Indian state of Bihar: Daily Times

Tensions rise as troops mass on India's border: Scotsman

By SEBASTIAN ABBOT

PAKISTAN began moving thousands of troops to the Indian border yesterday, adding to the tensions triggered by the Mumbai terror attacks.

India has blamed Pakistan-based militants for last month's raid on its financial capital, which killed 164 people and provoked an increasingly bitter war of words between the nuclear-armed neighbours that have fought three wars in 60 years.The troops were being diverted away from tribal areas near Afghanistan, officials said, in a move expected to frustrate the United States, which has been pushing Pakistan to step up its fight against al-Qaeda and Taleban militants near the Afghan border.

For more on this article, please click on the following link: Tensions rise as troops mass on India's border: Scotsman

Interpol 'not given Mumbai data': BBC

The global police agency Interpol says India has not shared any information with it about last month's deadly attacks in Mumbai (Bombay).

Interpol secretary general Ronald Noble, who is in Islamabad, said its only knowledge of what happened had come from the media.
Pakistan also says it has had no firm information from Delhi.
India says Pakistani militants carried out the attacks, which left more than 170 people dead.

Only one of the 10 gunmen, Mohammed Ajmal Amir Qasab, survived and he is in Indian custody.
On Monday India handed a letter to Pakistan it says was written by Mr Qasab, confirming he is Pakistani and asking for Islamabad's help.
The attacks have severely strained relations between the two countries.
But on Tuesday, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh dismissed talk of possible war with Pakistan.
"Nobody wants war," he told reporters. "The issue is terror - and territory in Pakistan being used to promote and abet terrorism."

For more on this article, please click on the following link: Interpol 'not given Mumbai data': BBC

Pakistan warns India it will respond to any attack: Associated Press

By KHALID TANVEER – 4 hours ago

MULTAN, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan warned India on Thursday not to launch a strike against it and vowed to respond to any attack — a sign that the relationship between the two nuclear powers remains strained in the wake of the Mumbai attacks.

Though the South Asian rivals have engaged in tit-for-tat accusations in recent weeks, both sides have repeatedly said they hope to avoid conflict. But India has not ruled out the use of force in response to the attacks, which it blames on a Pakistan-based militant group.
"We want peace, but should not be complacent about India," Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told reporters in his hometown of Multan in central Pakistan. "We should hope for the best but prepare for the worst."

Pakistan and India have fought three wars since they were created in the bloody partition of the Indian subcontinent at independence from Britain in 1947.

For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan warns India it will respond to any attack: Associated Press

India, Pakistan: Signs of a Coming War: Stratfor

Several major signs of a coming Indian-Pakistani war surfaced Dec. 24.

Indian troops reportedly have deployed to the Barmer district of southwest Rajasthan state along the Indian-Pakistani border. Furthermore, the state government of Rajasthan has ordered residents of its border villages to be prepared for relocation. The decision reportedly came after a meeting among the state’s director-general of police, home secretary and an official from the central government. Stratfor confirmed the report with an Indian army officer.
According to India’s ZeeNews, the Pakistani army replaced the Pakistan Rangers that regularly patrol the border with India. The Pakistani troop movements were later confirmed by U.K. Bansal, the additional director-general of India’s Border Security Force (BSF) in Barmer, Rajasthan.

As Stratfor reported Dec. 22, there is a high probability of India using military force against Pakistan after Dec. 26, when a deadline expires for Pakistan to deliver on Indian demands to crack down on Islamist militant proxies that threaten India. With low expectations that Pakistan has the will or capability to deliver on these demands, India has spent the past month preparing for military action against Pakistan. Pressure is now ratcheting up on both sides of the border, with Indian Air Marshal P.K. Barbora, air officer commanding-in-chief of the Western Air Command, telling reporters Dec. 24 that as many as 5,000 targets in Pakistan have thus far been identified, while saying that many of the militants hiding out in camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir have already fled.

For more on this article, please click on the following link: India, Pakistan: Signs of a Coming War: Stratfor

India has not shared any evidence of attack: Interpol: The News

NEW DELHI: Interpol chief General Ronald K Noble said in Islamabad on Tuesday that India had neither shared any evidence about the involvement of Pakistani nationals in the Mumbai attacks nor given any names to the agency.

While it may surprise some, the fact remains that even approaching the France-based global agency in the past has been of little help for India. According to senior Indian police and security officials, it's neither mandatory nor a norm to share probe details with Interpol.

"Whether or not to approach Interpol is entirely up to the country concerned. Even after the role of an accused is established and he is charge sheeted, there are other ways of nabbing him, like issuing a letter rogatory to the country where he might be hiding," a senior police officer said.

For more on this article, please click on the following link: India has not shared any evidence of attack: Interpol: The News

Pak, Indian air forces step-up surveillance flight: Online News

LAHORE/NEW DELHI: Pakistan Air Force (PAF) jet fighters continued flying over the skies for the second consecutive day on Tuesday for protection of eastern border while Indian air forces have also stepped up flights along Pakistan border.

According to the details, 4 jetfighters equipped with extra-fuel tanks kept taking rounds of Lahore air space on Tuesday morning for surveillance.

PAF F-16 fighters and Miraj jet left Sargodha Air Base and landed at the Lahore air base after hovering over areas of Lahore for about 8 minutes. The jetfighters also made to and for surveillance flight from Sargodha to Lahore.

The people witnessing the jet-speeding fighters happily waved and welcomed the ever-eagle ’Shaheens’ and voiced slogans in support of the motherland. The people especially elders having tears in their eyes also shouted slogans "Allah-o-Akbar" "Allah-o-Akbar".

For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pak, Indian air forces step-up surveillance flight: Online News

'Kashmir part of Pakistan: Nokia': Economic Times

JABALPUR: Sores of activists of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) rampaged a Nokia showroom for showing Kashmir as part of Pakistan's territory in its mobile navigation system.

They barged into a Nokia showroom and snatched mobile phones and burnt them. Besides, they also set hoardings on fire outside the showroom. Dozens of policemen were present when the attack took place. A BJP leader and a deputy in the state assembly demanded legal action against Nokia.

For more on this article, please click on the following link: 'Kashmir part of Pakistan: Nokia': Economic Times

'Pakistan will respond in case of attack': Press TV

Islamabad has expressed its desire for peace but warned New Delhi of an effective response, should India launch an attack on Pakistan. "Pakistan doesn't want war and we are desirous of peace, but if war is thrust on us, then we have all the rights to defend," Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Sunday. Qureshi's warning came as relations between the two neighbors continue to deteriorate with India repeatedly blaming a banned Pakistani group of orchestrating the deadly November attacks on Mumbai.

The minister further said that Pakistani Armed Forces were completely capable and prepared to defend the country should the row between the two nuclear-armed states escalate into a war. India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence from Britain. According to some media reports, following the Mumbai attacks India went so far as to deploy its warplane to the border with Pakistan. Talking to reporters at Multan Airport, Qureshi reiterated Islamabad's call for concrete evidence implicating Pakistani militants in the attacks that left more than 170 dead.

For more on this article, please click on the following link: 'Pakistan will respond in case of attack': Press TV

Is India getting ready to strike Pakistan?: Donklephant

As the luxury Taj and Trident hotels prepared to reopen for the first time since the November 26th terrorist attacks in Mumbai, The Times of India reported that India is “keeping the military option alive and kicking in face of Pakistan doublespeak on the crackdown on terror.” According to the report, “a top-level meeting was held on Saturday evening to review the security situation in the region and the state of defence preparedness of the armed forces.” Similar accounts of high-level security meetings have appeared elsewhere in the nation’s press over the past couple of days. More ominously, another leading newspaper, The Telegraph, quoted “top government sources” saying that the Mumbai attacks were “the direct handiwork of Pakistan’s military that trained and armed the militants and planned the strike in detail.”

Meanwhile, on both sides of the Indo-Pakistan border, stories about apparent border incursions by air continue to appear, including an Indian report of “massive practice by Indian Air Force planes in Jamnagar” a city in western India a short jet hop from Pakistan.
This should not come as a surprise. Since the Mumbai attacks, Pakistani authorities have gone through the motions of rounding up the usual suspects associated with the Kashmiri terrorist outfits, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Muhammad, that U.S. intelligence officials believe were responsible for the attacks. But Pakistan resolutely refuses even to concede that Pakistanis were involved in the attacks, much less crack down hard on the Kashmiri groups it has long sponsored and supported.
The Mumbai attacks shook Indian society and the Indian leadership to the core. Unless it gets some hard concessions from Pakistan that are politically difficult or impossible for any Pakistani government to make, India’s governing Congress Party government simply cannot afford to kick up a little dust and hope the matter will go away. It will likely lose the next national election.

For more on this article, please click on the following link: Is India getting ready to strike Pakistan?: Donklephant

United States an "International Migraine"

Never has there been so much strife and trouble in the world which threatens ordinary civilians living in the cities as has been since the US has taken over as the primary bully starting from the end of the cold war. In a uni-polar world the United States has left no stone unturned to use its military might to create chaos in one country or another. Whether, that is through supporting despotic regimes (Egypt etc.) to accomplish sinister designs or initiating war in the name of the so called “war on terror”. The United States is also in the fore front of the neo-conic crusade to settle the Jews in the Middle East in order for the second coming of Christ to take place, thereby, spreading chaos in the entire Middle East. Iraq is yet another mess along with Afghanistan where the war shows no sign of abating, thanks to overwhelming support from the local population of Afghanistan, besides help from the shadowy Al Qaeda.

Human Rights Violations by the US

US’s support for other like-minded terrorist states such as India and Israel is no surprise since they are all joined at the hip. Each of them is in business to terrorize, subjugate and suppress freedom of the respective countries or territories which they have occupied by force. Suppressing human rights has also been the main objective of these countries with human rights groups severely chastising these terrorist states but to no avail. Guatanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib are telling examples of how the US runs its business. Bush has finally conceded in the latest interview that the occupation of Iraq was a big mistake. Mahatir Mohamed, the ex-Malaysian Prime Minister in an interview with Al-Jazeera has called for the world to declare George Bush and Tony Blair as international terrorists and hold them accountable for the turmoil and misery they have spread throughout the world in the name of the so called “war on terror”. United States is continuing to destabilize neighboring Pakistan where Pakistani troops have already suffered close to a thousand deaths at the hands of the terrorists which the US is unable to handle in Afghanistan. Pakistani cities have also undergone a regular spate of suicide bombings for showing support to the US with the US having no plan or clear cut deadline for withdrawal.

Myopic Policies of the US and Pakistan in the Line of Fire

The Afghanistan government recently conceded that the real solution to the problem is to talk to the Taliban instead of fighting a losing battle. US firepower is of no use in the terrain, training and time the insurgents have at their disposal. If the US does not have support of the local populace, this war can go on for centuries without an end. It is about time Pakistan asked the US for at least 100 billion dollars in damages to the Pakistani way of life where terror has become part of ordinary everyday life. Pakistan should tell the US categorically to find a way that is workable without spreading terror through Pakistani cities. The best way for the US would be to leave immediately from Afghanistan and let the Taliban govern Afghanistan. The US can still maintain a good diplomatic relationship by having a pact with the Taliban emphasizing that no Al Qaeda be allowed to operate from Afghanistan. The sooner the US realizes the importance of diplomacy, the sooner we can stop the whole region and the world at large from descending into the US led chaos. Diplomatic engagement can accomplish much more than any bullet or missile can do and engaging Taliban is the key. Holding talks between the Afghanistan government and Taliban in Saudi Arabia was a step in the right direction. Myopic and gung-ho policies of the US are to blame for the current pandemonium we see everywhere in South Asia.

Indian Oppression in the Occupied Territories of South Asia

India has long been subjugating and oppressing freedom movements from various parts of India. Kashmir is in the forefront because Pakistan has fought three wars with India over Kashmir already and it has come very close to a full scale war with Pakistan on at least three occasions previously. Tamil freedom movement in the south is also not far behind in its scale and resolve where the movement has engaged India and Sri-lanka militarily on a daily basis. Khalistan movement in the Indian Punjab along with freedom movements in Assam, Nagaland and Mizo(90 percent Christian, wanted to join Burma) and parts close to Nepal have also shown their determination from time to time.

Kashmir is an especially troubled region where the indigenous population has fought against Indian occupation for many years now. Hundreds of thousands of Kashmiris have already laid their lives for the cause of an independent homeland. Recently, even Indian journalists have started to take notice of the human rights violations that the Indian Army is committing in the occupied Kashmir. State terrorism from India it seems would never be able to subdue the local population as there has never been any precedence from history where an occupier has ever held on to a territory without the consent of the locals.

Hindu Muslim Conflict in India and India’s International Relations

Muslim population in India elsewhere has also suffered at the hands of the majority Hindus with Gujarat Massacre the most publicized event of them all. Even in Mumbai there has always been a sense of uneasy calm between the Muslims and the Hindus at daggers drawn during the Mumbai bombings a few years back. Even very recently there have been riots in the Hyderabad Deccan between Hindus and Muslims. On a national level India itself has never had good relations with any of its neighbors including China, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Burma and Bangladesh; blaming each of these countries for supporting insurgencies or intrusions in the adjoining areas. Pakistan is no exception.

Militant Attacks in India

The acts of terrorism brought about by these freedom movements are also not so uncommon in India. In fact, they are the result of the oppressive Indian policies towards its own populace. It is interesting to note that some of the acts of terrorism have also been perpetrated by the extremist right wing Hindu parties. Very recently a serving Colonel of the Indian Army was arrested on charges related to terrorism. Blaming Pakistan for all of India’s problems can be a workable cry during election rallies but holds no weight if India itself does nothing to alleviate the problems in Kashmir and elsewhere.

Historical Freedom Movements in India

India has a history of territories that have broken apart from India simply because many South Asians do not find it acceptable that their territories and their lives be governed from the Hindu majority ruling from the center. Many states have already achieved freedom or separation from India. Pakistan and Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Burma and Chinese Kashmir are the territories which have already separated. In order to avoid any further division of India, the Indian Army is in the habit of using full force to subjugate freedom fighters to keep modern India in one piece and calls these freedom movements as terrorist movements. United States is also hand in hand with India in depriving humanity freedom from oppression and calls many of these movements as terrorist movements. United States and India think they can fool the world in whatever banner or politically correct name they can conjure up.

Towards a Multi-polar World

United States thinks that bank rolling the United Nations can help it run the entire world as it feels free. It is about time the head quarters of the United Nations was shifted from the US to a neutral country or territory say Antarctica and all countries given their due voice. The current UN Security Council is ruled by the rich and powerful for the rich and powerful. Present day UN is just a tool used by the US to wage and legitimize one war after another. United States of Warica as it should be called should stop its bullying tactics and start following the playbook of China if it truly wants to earn respect and succeed as an economy. Waging war and financing current account deficits from borrowed money from the central banks of the entire world using the US treasury bills might have worked in the past but I am afraid in the modern world where there are plenty of sound options available especially with the West in the financial crunch; old strategies would be of no use. It is about time the US saw the writing on the wall; worried about its own economic problems and stopped meddling in the affairs of the entire world. Ethics over the politics of power would prevail.

Pakistan goes on military alert against India: Malaysia Sun

The Pakistan Air Force has been put on alert over what it has called India’s aggression.A PAF spokesman has said the airforce is focused on the Indian situation and is ready to defend the security and safety of its airspace.

A Pakistan Navy spokesman also said the navy was put on alert to closely watch Indian Navy's movements at sea.Tensions between Pakistan and India are rising as India accused Pakistan-based militant groups of involvement in the terrorist attack on India's financial centre, which killed more that 170 people and injured over 200.

For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan goes on military alert against India: Malaysia Sun

What Did Kashmir Have to Do with the Mumbai Attacks?: Time

Two suspected members of Lashkar e Toiba (LeT) — the same militant group that is under suspicion for orchestrating the Mumbai attacks — were killed by Indian authorities Friday night after trying to cross the border into Kashmir near the village of Dardpura. Two AK-47s were recovered from them, along with ammunition. That encounter, police say, is part of a slight increase in infiltration by militants from Pakistan over the last few months.

That development added to the growing evidence of both infiltration from Pakistan and local Indian collusion in the siege of Mumbai. Early on Saturday, Indian authorities revealed that two men had been arrested for illegally providing SIM cards to the attackers: one of them is believed to be a police officer from the Indian-occupied half of the disputed region of Kashmir. If so, it is a disturbing development. Police in Kashmir are deeply involved in the fight against the militants who sneak in from Pakistan as well as local Kashmiri separatists. Local newspapers report that Mumbai police officers have been in Srinagar this week investigating the role of Mukhtar Ahmed, the police constable from the area allegedly involved in the SIM card purchase. It is the first evidence so far that the attackers had help within India.

For more on this article, please click on the following link: What Did Kashmir Have to Do with the Mumbai Attacks?: Time

Muslims -- India's new 'untouchables': LA Times

The condition of the country's Muslims has deteriorated, and the world has overlooked the nation's problems.

By Asra Q. Nomani
December 1, 2008

The news of the attacks in Mumbai eerily took me back to a quiet morning two years ago when I sat in Room 721 of the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower hotel, reading the morning newspaper, fearing just the kind of violence that has now exploded in the city of my birth. The headlines recounted how the socioeconomic condition of the people of my ancestry, Muslims in India, had fallen below that of the Hindu caste traditionally called "untouchables," according to a government report."Muslims are India's new untouchables," I said sadly to my mother, in the room with me. "India is going to explode if it doesn't take care of them." Now, indeed, alas it has. And shattered in the process is the myth of India's thriving secular democracy.

Mumbai police said over the weekend that the only gunman they'd captured during the attacks -- which left nearly 200 dead and more than 300 wounded -- claimed to belong to a Pakistani militant group. But even if the trouble was imported, the violence will most certainly turn a spotlight of suspicion on Muslims in India. Already, my relatives are hunkered down for a sectarian backlash they expect from anti-terrorism agencies, police and angry Hindu fundamentalists.

India, long championed as a model of pluralism, used to be an example of how Muslims can coexist and thrive even as a minority population. My extended family prospered as part of an educated, middle class. My parents, who settled in the United States in the 1960s when my father pursued a doctorate at Rutgers University, were part of India's successful diaspora. I love India, and on that trip, I wanted to show it off to my son, Shibli, then age 4.

For more on this article, please click on the following link: Muslims -- India's new 'untouchables': LA Times

Mumbai: The Perils of Blaming Pakistan: Time

By Aryn Baker

Indian accusations of a Pakistani hand in last week's Mumbai massacre couldn't have come at a worse time for the government in Islamabad: As a Taliban insurgency continues to simmer in the tribal areas along the Afghan border, clashes on Sunday between rival political groups in the southern metropolis of Karachi killed 13 people and wounded 70. The country is on the verge of economic collapse, its desperate pleas for financial assistance from China and Saudi Arabia last month having been rebuffed, forcing Pakistan to accept loans from the International Monetary Fund — but those loans come with stern conditions limiting government spending, the implementation of which will risk inflaming further unrest. A suspected U.S. predator drone attack in the tribal areas on Saturday — one of dozens in recent months — has further alienated a population already suspicious of U.S. interference. Hardly surprising, then, that Pakistani leaders have reacted with alarm to politicians and the media in India pointing a finger at Pakistan-based terror groups over the Mumbai attack. Some foreign investigators have made similar claims, although not in any official capacity.

Most Pakistanis reacted with horror to news of the Mumbai killing spree starting Wednesday, having lived through equally devastating attacks on their own soil. But that initial sympathy quickly gave way to hostility as the focus of blame landed on Pakistan — a knee-jerk first reaction, rather than one based on any solid evidence. "It is a tragic incident, and we also felt bad about it as Pakistan is going through the same problem," says Abdur Rashid, a 67-year-old retired government servant in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad. "But it was really unfortunate to see that even before the operation [to clear out the attackers] was finished, the Indian government stated that Pakistan is involved. It sounds that the entire incident was concocted to punish Pakistan."

For more on this article, please click on the following link: Mumbai: The Perils of Blaming Pakistan: Time