Police say train collision in south India kills 10-AP

Rescue workers and others crowd next to the derailed compartments of a passenger train after two trains collided near Arakkonam, southwest of Chennai, India, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2011. The passenger train traveling through southern India collided with another train stopped at a signal on Tuesday, killing eight people and injuring dozens more, a government official said. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi) September 14, 2011

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NEW DELHIA passenger train collided with another train stopped at a signal in southern India, killing 10 people and injuring dozens more, police said Wednesday. Five train cars derailed in Tuesday's accident, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu state, said Shalendra Babu, a senior police official. By early Wednesday, the death toll stood at 10, police official K.M. Babu told The Associated Press. Another 52 people were injured, he added. S. Nagarajan, the district administrator, said rains initially hampered rescue efforts but all the injured had been moved to hospitals. The Press Trust of India reported that several trains were canceled or delayed because of the accident. The accident's cause was being investigated, said Railways Minister Dinesh Trivedi.

India's railroad network is one of the largest in the world and carries about 14 million passengers each day. Accidents are common, with most blamed on poor maintenance and human error.

JPMorgan fund to invest $400 million in India's SKIL: sources

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UPDATE 2-JPMorgan fund to invest $400 mln in India's SKIL- sources

By Aniruddha Basu and Indulal PM

MUMBAI | Tue Sep 13, 2011 7:38am EDT

Deals Global Deals Review: 2011 Q2 Global Deals Review Inflows Outflows

(Reuters) - A fund managed by JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) has agreed to invest about $400 million in India's SKIL Infrastructure for a stake of just under 20 percent, two sources with direct knowledge of the development told Reuters.
SKIL, which controls ship-builder Pipavav Defense and Offshore Engineering Ltd (PIPA.NS) and has a 21 percent stake in Everonn Education (EVED.NS), will use the funds to pare debt and fund its growth, one of the sources said. Part of the funds will be used by SKIL to repay loans it took to buy about 20 percent of Pipavav from construction firm Punj Lloyd (PUJL.NS) last year, the source said, adding SKIL will also invest in defense and education. Pipavav, which is now 43 percent owned by SKIL, was previously known as Pipavav Shipyard. Both sources declined to be identified because the deal has not yet been announced. A potential deal was reported in June by India's Economic Times newspaper. Officials at SKIL and New York-based JPMorgan were not immediately available for comment. As of March 31, SKIL had total debt of 13.51 billion rupees ($285 million), excluding vehicle loans. In June, it filed papers for an initial public offering to raise up to 11.25 billion rupees and is awaiting approval from the regulator. "The company is looking to cut debt significantly, which is a positive sign," said Dev Kapadia, head of institutional equities at Lalkar Securities. Pipavav Defense said on Monday it had formed an equal joint venture with state-run Mazagon Dock to build submarines and warships in order to gain access to growing spending by India as it modernizes its defense systems. "The group's entry into defense sector looks lucrative in a long-term perspective," Kapadia said.

Arun Kejriwal, strategist at research firm KRIS, said the group's stepped-up focus on defense is a good idea. "We need to know more about their execution strategy and delivery skills, because the deliveries haven't happened" he said. Pipavav shares, which rose 11.6 percent on Monday on investor enthusiasm over the defense tieup, closed down 3.84 percent on Tuesday on what traders said was profit taking. Private equity investment in India rose 21.6 percent to $3.3 billion in the first half of 2011, according to Thomson Reuters data. Private equity investments in infrastructure hit $4 billion last year from about $1 billion in 2006, Bain & Company said in a recent report, predicting activity could grow 25-50 percent a year over the next three years. ($1 = 47.4 Indian rupees)

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Indian Inflation Quickens to 13-Month High, Adds Rate Pressure

September 14, 2011, 3:21 AM EDT MORE FROM BUSINESSWEEK

Indonesia Signals Readiness to Cut Rate as Growth Risks Rise Bollard May Keep Record-Low N.Z. Rate to Wait Out Turmoil Yuan Only BRIC Winner on Resilience to Debt Crisis: China Credit Indian Stocks Tumble on Slower Factory Output, Greece Concerns Indias Industrial Output Grows at Slowest Pace in 21 Months

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Sept. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Indias inflation accelerated to the highest level in more than a year, maintaining pressure for further interest-rate increases even as economic growth slows. The benchmark wholesale-price index rose 9.78 percent in August from a year earlier after a 9.22 percent jump in July, the commerce ministry said in New Delhi today. The median of 25 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey was for a 9.64 percent increase. The Reserve Bank of India will probably raise rates by a quarter of a percentage point at the Sept. 16 policy meeting, according to 11 of 12 economists in another Bloomberg survey. Governor Duvvuri

Subbarao has to weigh the risks to expansion from Europes debt crisis and a faltering U.S. recovery against price pressures, which may be stoked by a weaker rupee. Its going to be a close call this time, Devika Mehndiratta, a Singapore-based economist at Credit Suisse Group AG, said before the report. There would be more thought given on growth now than a month before, but the odds are in favor of a rate hike this week. The Indian rupee has declined 6.5 percent against the dollar this quarter, the worst performer in Asia, threatening higher import costs. The currency fell 0.4 percent to 47.78 in Mumbai at 11:14 a.m. before the report was released. The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index dropped 0.3 percent. The yield on the 7.8 percent bond due April 2021 was unchanged at 8.32 percent. BRICS Inflation Inflation in India is the highest among the so-called BRICS nations. Policy makers have raised borrowing costs by a total of 325 basis points since mid-March 2010, the fastest round of increases since the Reserve Bank was established in 1935, Bloomberg data show. The central banks repurchase rate is 8 percent. Consumer prices rose 7.2 percent in Brazil, 8.2 percent in Russia and 6.2 percent in China last month from a year earlier. In South Africa, they climbed 5.3 percent in July. Inflation is a political issue in India as it erodes spending power in a nation where the World Bank estimates more than three-quarters of the population live on less than $2 a day. India may boost borrowing costs further to tame inflation, the Asian Development Bank said today as it cut the nations economic growth forecast for the current financal year. Lower Growth Indias economy may grow 7.9 percent in the year ending March 31, lower than the 8.2 percent growth estimated in April, the ADB said in a report. Indias industrial production growth slowed to 3.3 percent in July, the weakest pace in almost two years, signaling consumer demand is waning in Asias third-largest economy. Sales at carmakers including Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. fell for the second straight month in August from a year earlier. Indias steel demand this fiscal year will probably grow at half the pace forecast

in May as soaring rates damp purchases of cars and homes and stall public works projects, according to G.K. Basak, executive secretary of the steel ministrys joint plant committee. Still, given the RBIs commitment to battle persistent high inflation, there will be further monetary tightening in the remaining months of FY2011 until there is credible evidence of inflation trending to the RBIs target range, the ADB said. In his last policy decision on July 26, Subbarao raised the central banks repurchase rate by half a percentage point and predicted inflation by the end of March will be 7 percent, a percentage point higher than his previous guidance. --With assistance from Manish Modi in New Delhi. Editors: Cherian Thomas, Sunil Jagtiani To contact the reporter on this story: Unni Krishnan in New Delhi at ukrishnan2@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephanie Phang at sphang@bloomberg.net

Politics Journal: Where Did India-Bangladesh Talks Go Wrong?-WSJ

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By Jyoti Malhotra

Munir uz Zaman/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, left, waved before leaving Dhaka last week.

As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh climbed into Air India One at the end of his visit to Dhaka last week, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her entire Cabinet lined up on the tarmac. There they waited not only until the plane began taxiing for take off, but until it had completely disappeared from view. Only hours before, the Bangladesh National Party, Ms. Hasinas major political opposition, had blamed her for not adequately preparing for the Indian prime ministers two-day visit and described it as a diplomatic failure.

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The accusation hurt, not only because it was partially truea breakthrough agreement on sharing of river waters between India and Bangladesh had collapsed at the last minutebut also because Ms. Hasinas special friendship with India goes back to 1971 when her father, Sheikh Mujib-ur Rahman, accepted Indira Gandhis help in midwifing the new nation of Bangladesh. Ms. Hasinas prolonged presence at the airport was a huge relief, a senior Indian diplomat said on condition of anonymity, adding that it gave teeth to her statements that despite everything, both countries would always remain firm friends. Ironically, the Indian diplomat admitted, the breakdown in the river water talks did not happen because of differences between Delhi and Dhaka, but between the federal government in Delhi and the West Bengal government in Kolkata. Dhaka was notified by Delhi only in the late night before Manmohan Singh arrived on the morning of Sept. 6, a Bangladeshi official told India Real Time. The government was so incensed, the official added, that it decided to cancel its offer of allowing Indian goods to transit through the much shorter and cheaper Bangladesh route to Indias northeastern states, the Business Standard newspaper reported. Even after Bangladesh became independent following the India-Pakistan war in 1971, it did not restore the trade and transit privileges for India that had been shut down by Pakistan after its 1965 war with India. Meanwhile, a historic land boundary agreement between the two sidesallowing for the demarcation of the remaining 6.1 kilometers of the 4,095-km-long border for the first time since partition in 1947, as well as the adjustment of 166 enclaves and several adverse possessions, where people had continued to live on each others lands even though the territory belonged to the other countryhad seemed in serious danger until the last minute, Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Mijarul Quayes confirmed. It wasnt supposed to be like that. According to officials in both capitals, India would give in to Dhakas long-standing demand to dismantle a prohibitory trading regime in textiles, in return for the transit privileges it had long hankered after; old trading routes that were shut down after the 1965 IndiaPakistan war, when Bangladesh was still a part of Pakistan, would be opened, restoring ancient relationships. Meanwhile, the water treaty would allow both countries to share water on a 50:50 basis, the officials said.

With Pakistan fast becoming a failed state, Afghanistan in the throes of Al Qaeda, Nepal still unstable, Sri Lanka in the process of reaching out to the Tamils after the end of its civil war, and even tiny Maldives battered by a combination of Islamist and authoritarian forces, the new India-Bangladesh relationship was supposed to become a model for Indias vexed relationships with other countries in its neighborhood, a second Indian diplomat said in Delhi. Unfortunately, Delhi missed the big picture, said Mahfuz Anam, editor of the Daily Star newspaper in Dhaka. A new template between Delhi and Dhaka would have stimulated both economies and boosted Ms. Hasinas political standing.

Raveendran/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Instead, Mr. Anam said, Delhis failure in getting Kolkata on board the water issue not only compromised Manmohan Singhs authority with a foreign country, in this case Bangladesh, it also gave Ms. Hasinas chief rival and former prime minister, Khaleda Zia of the BNP, a political shot in the arm. If Khaleda comes to power in the 2013 elections, India will have played no small role in the matter, said a BNP leader in Dhaka, on condition of anonymity. South Asian foreign policy experts in Delhi, like former high commissioner to Bangladesh Deb Mukharji, agreed that inadequate communication between Delhi and Kolkata, not between Delhi and Dhaka, lay at the root of the problem. According to Mr Mukharji, Delhi should have ensured that there was no scope for misunderstanding on the part of West Bengal. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjees consent was not only imperative but necessary before Delhi finalized the water deal with Dhaka, because under the Indian constitution, water resources are a state subject, the second Indian diplomat added.

Instead, the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, a party in alliance with the Congress party both in West Bengal and at the center, was shown the prospective water deal with Bangladesh only two hours before it was intended to be discussed in the Cabinet on Sept. 2, a Trinamool leader told India Real Time. The Trinamool leader said he requested Manmohan Singh to amend the draft in keeping with the party demand that the water share for Bangladesh be capped at 25%. But all he got in return was a lecture and a scolding on the states duties and the centers responsibilities by finance minister and Congress stalwart Pranab Mukherjee. According to the Trinamool leader, Mr. Mukherjee said it wasnt possible at this late stage to amend the water treaty and that foreign policy was the preserve of the Centre, not the state. I had to tell him, you have no right to rebuke me, I am duty-bound to represent my states interests, the Trinamool leader said, adding: The federal government may have the right to run the countrys foreign policy, but the state has the right to protect its assets. If Delhi could show us the draft treaty on the land boundary ahead of time, which we had no problem with, why didnt they do the same with the water treaty? I think Delhi was trying to hoodwink us, the Trinamool leader said. Deb Mukharji pointed out that as the polity became much more federal and provincial parties became much more assertive, it was clear that Delhi would have to go the extra mile to keep them on board in achieving larger foreign policy objectives. As India picks up the pieces from the Bangladesh debacle, officials say they have begun to prepare for its negative impact in the rest of South Asia. Indias image has suffered a great deal, a senior Indian official with responsibility for negotiating with the neighborhood said. He said he feared trade concessions during Pakistan Commerce Minister Mohammed Amin Fahims visit to Delhi in late September would be in jeopardy.

But Mr. Mukharji believed otherwise: Most other countries in the neighborhood would be sad to look at India, the largest country in the region, to have been damaged in this way. These countries realize that India is a well-wisher as well as the only nation which can provide real opportunities for their own economic growth.

Pakistan has been an unreliable ally of US: BidenHindustan times

Indo-Asian News Service

Washington, September 13, 2011

First Published: 13:37 IST(13/9/2011) Last Updated: 13:39 IST(13/9/2011)

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Pakistan has been an unreliable ally of the US in the war against terror and failed "on occasion" when forced to choose between Washington and the al Qaeda, says US Vice President Joe Biden. The price of Pakistan's choices has been the "loss of life of American soldiers in Afghanistan", Biden told CNN in an interview on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks. The full interview was aired on Monday night. Islamabad has "been very helpful in other times", he added. "But it's not sufficient. They have to get better. We need a relationship that is born out of mutual interest. And it's in their interest that they be more cooperative with us." "We are demanding it," Biden said. Despite troubles in Pakistan and elsewhere, the US is "getting close" to bringing about an end to organised, legitimised terrorist activities, he said. "We have done great damage to ... al Qaeda," Biden said. "Satellite organisations" have emerged in Somalia and elsewhere, he said, but "they are less coordinated" and "less capable". "And we're relentless in pursuing them," he added. As a result, Americans are safer today than they were a decade ago, Biden asserted. Regardless he cautioned that "there is always a possibility of a lone wolf" attack within the US or elsewhere. "There's always a possibility of an incident occurring, but I do not believe there's anyone right now capable of putting together the kind of extremely complicated planned operation that took place on 9/11," he said. Biden said he believes that in 25 years, Americans will "read about this period of terror as ... a part of a chapter in the history of this country".

Flooding cripples southern Pakistan-Al Jazeera

Pakistan's biggest city shuts down and as many as 280,000 people are left homeless as floods devastate Sindh province.
Last Modified: 14 Sep 2011 03:38

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Up to 280,000 people in Sindh province have lost their homes this year due to rising flood waters [Reuters]

Floods triggered by monsoon rains have crippled Pakistan's biggest city and commercial hub of Karachi, with few people able to make it to work or school, government officials said. Villages have been inundated by flood waters as canals have been breached and rain water has not adequately drained. Many in the region are still recovering from last year's devastating floods, which brought widespread criticism of the government because of its slow response. About 800,000 families remain without permanent shelter, and more than one million people still need food assistance. Pakistan's already unpopular government now faces another crisis as monsoon rains that have killed 200 people sweep through the southern Sindh province. Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder, reporting from Karachi, said: "Things are pretty desperate, as the heavy rains

are pounding the entire city". Hyder added that many Pakistanis have no no faith in their government to come to their rescue.

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"The authorities are known to sleep at the time of urgency. These rains have UN pledges aid for Pakistan been going on for several weeks now, which the government saw coming, but they've been caught napping, and any action is seen as too little too late," he said. According to disaster management officials, new flood waters have made about 280,000 people homeless, destroyed or damaged 1.2 million houses and flooded 4.5 million acres since late August. The United Nations offered to help the victims of the floods after the Pakistani government appealed for international assistance. In Karachi, the capital of Sindh, rain was forecast through Wednesday or longer. "We have recorded 50 to 100 [millimetres] of rain in Karachi and the situation is pretty bad. Many main roads and areas are inundated at the moment and it can turn even worse," said Mohammad Hussain Syed, the city's district co-ordination officer. Officials at Pakistan's main stock market in Karachi were forced to close early on Tuesday due to negligible attendance and thin trade volumes, while many banks were also closed. The state of Punjab is set to close all public and private educational institutions because of the threat of dengue fever caused by heaving flooding. Flood devastation The 2010 floods killed about 2,000 people and made 11 million homeless in one of Pakistan's worst natural disasters. One-fifth of Pakistan was then submerged in water, and the government faced a $10bn bill to repair damage to homes, bridges, roads and other infrastructure. The Islamabad government will face another major setback if floods cause heavy damage to the vital agriculture sector. Pakistan may also have lost up to two million cotton bales, or about 13 per cent of its estimated crop, due to heavy monsoon rains during harvesting in Sindh, government and industry officials said. Aid workers expressed fears over possible outbreaks of diseases linked to the new floods, especially among children. Karachi, on the Arabian Sea and the country's main port, contributes about two-thirds of the government's total tax revenue and 25 per cent of Pakistan's gross domestic product, according to officials. Floods are the last thing the city of 18 million people needs as political, religious and sectarian violence, together with organised crime, has destabilised Karachi, prompting recent calls for a military crackdown.

Heavy rains compounding misery for flood victims in Pakistan-Washington post

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By Associated Press, Published: September 13

BADIN, Pakistan Stranded by floodwaters, army soldier Mohammed Hameed was unable to get to the graveyard to bury his 5-year-old daughter when she succumbed to diarrhea. He laid her to rest in his courtyard one of the latest victims of floods that have returned to Pakistan this year, leaving some 200,000 homeless and triggering another international aid effort. The scale of the disaster and the aid response is much less than last year, but the misery for those effected is just as real. The floods began early last month, but heavy rains have compounded them recently and hampered relief efforts.

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( no / Associated Press ) - Pakistani villagers carry a motorbike as they flee their flooded homes in Badin 200 kilometers (124 miles) from Karachi, Pakistan on Tuesday, Sept 13, 2011. The floods caused by heavy rains killed more than 200 people, made 200,000 people homeless and left 4.2 million acres of agriculture land inundated with floodwater, authorities said.

On Tuesday, thousands of men, women and children lined the main road in Badin, the worst hit district around 200 kilometers from Karachi, the countrys largest city. Some were sitting under plastic sheets held up by the branches of trees. There was heavy rain overnight and when we came out of our home we found ourselves stranded in high waters, said Sham Lal. He was with his seven children and a few household possessions by the side of the road, the highest ground around. There is nobody to rescue us and I am worried where to go, he said. The affected area is southern Sindh province, which was also badly hit in the 2010 floods. The United Nations is rushing food and tents there after Islamabad formally asked for foreign assistance this weekend. Japan and China have also pledged relief goods or money, according to the Pakistan government. The United States said it had paid for food packages for 23,000 families, and that its local partners would soon begin handing out tents, clean water and other supplies. The return of the floods is testament to the heaviness of the monsoon rains that lash much of South Asia from June to September, as well as the limits of Pakistans weak and corrupt government.

As they did last year, the floods are undercutting the legitimacy of the shaky government, which is already widely disliked and struggling against Islamist militants, ever present political turmoil and massive economic problems. The situation is extremely bad, said Provincial Minister Muzaffar Shajra Tuesday. We cannot carry out relief operations because of continuos rains. More than 200 people have been killed, 200,000 made homeless and 4.2 million acres of agricultural land have been inundated, authorities say. Most of the displaced are staying in camps, under whatever shelter they can find or in the open. The town of Tando Bago, where Hameed lives, has been flooded with several feet of water in places, making it impossible for residents to bury their loved ones at a local graveyard, which is also flooded. We are stranded and we need to get out immediately to somewhere safer so we can survive, Hameed said by telephone. He buried his daughter in the courtyard of his house on Friday. In 2010, the floods followed the course of the River Indus and its tributaries from the foothills of the Himalayas to the flatlands of Sindh, where the river empties out into the Arabian Sea. As much as one-fifth of the countrys landmass and 20 million people were affected at the peak, making it one of the largest natural disasters in recent history. The U.S. army deployed helicopters to ferry victims and aid around the country, and the U.N. and other international aid groups also helped. Across the border in India, monsoon raids have also been causing havoc, killing at least 16 people and leaving nearly 100,000 others homeless in Orrissa state. The region has seen incessant rains for 10 days, a government minister there said.

Taliban kill 4 children in school van

Associated Press / September 14, 2011

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PESHAWAR, Pakistan - Taliban gunmen attacked a school van in northwestern Pakistan yesterday, killing four children and the driver in an assault they said was carried out to punish local tribesmen for resisting the insurgent movement. At least 12 boys, two girls, and two female teachers were wounded in the attack in Matani on the outskirts of the main northwestern city of Peshawar, said police officer Qayyum Khan. Two local tribal leaders in Matani have formed militias to stop militant infiltration into Peshawar from the nearby border regions with Afghanistan. They get government financial and logistical help, and have killed or captured many militants over the last 18 months. In return, they and their families have been targeted by the militants, who controlled the area until three years ago. Its proximity to the tribal regions and the main northwestern city of Peshawar make it highly strategic. This was to teach them a lesson, and we will continue to carry out attacks wherever and whenever possible, no matter if it is a school or a school bus, said Mohammad Afridi, a Pakistani Taliban spokesman in the Dara Adam Khel region, which is close to Matani.

9/11 and Pakistan-The Pakistan observer

Sajjad Shaukat
1

Since 9/11 evens inside the US homeland, although a number of small countries decided to join the US war on terror, yet Pakistan again became the frontline state in this regard. In this respect, American also applied coercive diplomacy on the weak states such as Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Yemen etc., without bothering for the public backlash and internal instability in these countries. However, Pakistan has already been facing severe economic and financial crises, so it was compelled to support American invasion of Afghanistan. In turn, US started giving economic and military aid to Islamabad. In fact, it was a matter of mutual dependence for both the countries. But within a few years, US-led NATO forces which were equipped with sophisticated technology felt that they had been failing in coping with the Afghan Taliban who succeeded in demoralising them through suicide attacks, ambush assaults and roadside bombs. In order to conceal its defeatism in Afghanistan, particularly the United States which had earlier granted the status of non-NATO ally to Pakistan began to accuse Pakistan of cross-border terrorism in Afghanistanand Pak Army and intelligence agency IS in close contacts with the Afghan Taliban. In 2009, when the heavy-armed Taliban occupied Dir, Buner and other adjoining areas, US high officials and their media had left no stone unturned in exaggerating the Talibinisation of whole Pakistan and underestimated the capabilities of Pakistans armed forces. In that context, On April 22, 2009, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned that Pakistans nuclear weapons could fall into the hands of terrorists. Admiral Mike Mullen and General David Petraeus had also expressed similar thoughts. Surprisingly, when Pakistans armed forces ejected the Taliban insurgents out of Swat, Dir and Buner by breaking their backbone including command and control systemcapturing many militants, then these American high officials started admiring the Pak Army. Afterwards, Pak Army also launched a successful operation in South Waziristan, and is still fighting the insurgents in some tribal areas. This self-contradictory statements of the US high officials continued, showing American duplicity with Pakistansometimes cajoling the latter with economic and military aid and sometimes pressurising Islamabad to do more against the Taliban militants. As regards Afghanistan, stiff resistance of the Afghan Taliban against the occupying forces created unending lawlessness in the country which has become a most suitable place for India and US so as to prepare conspiracy in order to fulfill their secret strategic designs against Iran, China and especially Pakistan. Indian secret agency RAW, based in Afghanistanhas been sending well-trained agents in Pakistan, who have joined the ranks and files of the Taliban. Masquerading themselves as the Pakistan Taliban, they have continuously been conducting subversive acts in our country. Besides Afghanistan, now CIA, RAW and Mossad are collectively working inside Pakistan. In this regard, these secret agencies have been spending huge money to train and equip the terrorists who have been carrying out suicide attacks, assaults on security forces and targeted killingsinciting sectarian violence in our country including backing separatism in Balochistan. Now-a-days, Karachi has become their special target. Their purpose is to create perennial unrest in Pakistan. However, during the Swat-Malakand and South Waziristan operations, ISPR spokesman, MajGeneral Athar Abbas has shown to the media, huge cache of arms and ammuniton, made of India and America, entering Pakistan from Afghanistan. And a number of foreign agents have been captured in the country. Recently, without naming US, Pakistans Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and Interior Minister Rehman Malik have disclosed that foreign hands are bebind the militancy in our country. After the death of top Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden in a covert military operation by the US in Pakistans city, Abbottabad, on May 2, paradoxical approach of American high officials coupled with their media has accelerated as part of a deliberate propaganda campaign against Pakistan, targeting its nuclear assets, army and ISI. In this respect, on May 5, 2011, in a news briefing, Foreign

Secretary Salman Bashir remarked that the performance of no intelligence agency including CIA can be compared with that of the ISI in the war against terrorism. He further elaborated that it was due to the efforts of ISI which arrested top terrorists and Al Qaedas militants, namely, Khalid Sheikh, Abu Faraj Libbi, Rumzi, Abu Zubaida, Khalfan, Abu Hamza Rabia etc. While, Pakistans Interior Minister, Rehman Malik had indicated on May 2, that ISI has castigated more than 2,000 suicide attacks. It is noteworthy that during war against terrorism, Pakistan has sacrificed more than any country including the US or NATO in terms of collateral damage, economic losses and political instability. In this context, more than 30, 000 people died in various incidents of terrorism. Besides, more than 5, 000 military soldiers and 2,000 policemen were martyred in this different conflict, while Pakistan has been facing a continued wave of terror- attacks by the militants and missile strikes by the CIAoperated predators. It is mentionable that a statement of Pakistans Finance Division pointed out that the countrys economy suffered a loss of Rs 2.1 trillion due to the global war on terror. It elaborated that the economy suffered direct and indirect losses in terms of exports, foreign investment, privatisation and industrial production. Pakistans economy has suffered more than the total aid of the US, while more than three million Afghan refugees harbouring in the country are also posing security risk. According to an estimate, Pakistans national economy is suffering a net loss of $7 billion annually as fallout of the war on terror, which has displaced thousands of people. In the recent past, controversy existed between Pakistan and the US as the latter killed Bin Laden by violating the sovereignty of the country, and without the knowledge of Islamabadon the question of drone attacks and illegal activities of CIA agent Raymond Davis and the Blackwater whose employees entered Pakistan in the guise of diplomats. It is of particular attention that the US, India and Israel have been destabilising Pakistan to denculearise it because it is the only nuclear country in the Islamic world. For this purpose, the US seeks to shift Afghan war to Pakistan after the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan. Obama Administration which is already implementing its agenda of secret war in Pakistan through various acts of sabotage has planned a covert war against Pakistan which will extend drone attacks beyond tribal areas by including Balochistan and major cities. Now, a widening rift has been created between Islamabad and Washington. And America has revived propaganda regarding Pakistans nuclear assets, location of terrorists safe-havens in the country, cross-border terrorism in Afghanistan. While, in the recent past, aerial and ground shelling by the US-supported NATO forces inside Pakistans border, and the US-backed intermittent attacks by the armed militants who crossed inside Pakistan from Afghanistan, have continued. Notably, on August 28, 2011, Sindh Senior Minister Zulfiqar Mirza of the ruling party, who resigned from all posts, while hinting the involvement of America in the perennial ethnic violence in Karachi and support of some political leaders in this regard, disclosed by swearing on the holy Quran that Altaf Hussain leader of the Muhttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) had said, the United States wanted to disintegrate Pakistan. Nonetheless, knowing the US real designs, Pakistans civil and military leadership has flatly refused to implement American unnecessary demands. And Islamabad sent home 120 US military trainers. While Pakistans intelligence and security agencies have arrested a number of foreigners from various cities of the country, and are keeping the movements of American diplomats and nationals under strict observation. In response, America withheld $800 million in military assistance to Pakistan. Moreover, Islamabad has also rejected American pressure to do more against the Haqqani fighters based in North Waziristan without bothering for public backlash. In this connection on June 9, this year, Pakistans Chief of the Army Staff, Gen Ashfaq Parvez remarked about military operation in North Waziristan, saying, a well thought out campaign is under no pressure to carry out operations at a particular timefuture operations, as and when undertaken, will be with political consensus. No doubt, since 9/11, the US has acted upon its shrewd diplomacy in deceiving Pakistan by ignoring the sacrifices of the latter in relation to war against terrorism.

Pakistan needs to step up its efforts against terrorism

Press Trust Of India

Washington, September 14, 2011

First Published: 11:49 IST(14/9/2011) Last Updated: 11:51 IST(14/9/2011)

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Pakistan needs to step up its efforts against terrorism and put a hold on cross-border weapons smuggling into Afghanistan, a top Pentagon official told lawmakers today. Deputy Secretary of Defense, Ashton Cartor, told lawmakers during his confirmation hearing that ammonium nitrate used in explosives in Afghanistan is often traced back to Pakistan and this was a matter that needs to be addressed. So was the fact that the US-led NATO forces needed to open alternate transport routes of supply for Afghanistan given the volatility of using the Pakistani border routes for crucial supplies. "Certainly as regards terrorism and as regards weapons crossing the border from Pakistan to Afghanistan, we need their help. I mentioned that earlier with respect to ammonium nitrate, but it's across the board. They need to step up," Cartor said responding to a question from Senator Lindsay Graham. Graham asked: "Would it be in our national security interest to open up transportation routes in the north to get supplies and equipment into Afghanistan without having to send everything through Pakistan?" "It is, and we are," Carter responded. Graham said it was his understanding that the administration is negotiating with the Uzbekistan government to dramatically expand that supply capability and that some waivers would be needed from this committee to support the Uzbekistan security forces. Responding to another question, Carter said that the ammonium nitrate that originates in Pakistan as calcium ammonium nitrate fertiliser, then shows up as homemade explosives. Carter said the Pentagon is procuring a large number of ballistic underwear as a protective gear for its personnel in Afghanistan. "We are procuring large quantities of ballistic underwear, several different variants of it, that offer differing levels of protection, both male and female. Obviously, this is a, you know, critically important effort. So we're sparing no effort in that regard," Carter said. "We have a number of suppliers to make sure that we're not dependent upon any single supplier who might have a production interruption or something like that and people wouldn't get to have the protection," he said. "Other chemicals, potassium chlorate, which is a favourite of the enemy in the east as HME, is a favourite of the enemy in the south -- we have to go -- we have to attack this IED problem in every single possible way we can," he said. "You can't just wait for it to come and get you. You have to go back into the supply chain. And part of that supply chain traces back into Pakistan, and we need to get back and get at that. I know that we've been working with Pakistan to that effect but really just in a preliminary way, and a lot more needs to be done," Carter said.

Country cannot progress unless Karachi is secure-daily times

* Justice Iftikhar says government should ask allied parties to express dissociation with armed groups KARACHI: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry remarked that Karachi was the economic hub of Pakistan and that the country could not progress unless the city was secure. He said this during the hearing of a suo motu case on the law and order situation in Karachi on Tuesday. A five-member bench of the apex court, comprised of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, Justice Sarmad Jalal Usmani, Justice Amir Hani Muslim and Justice Ghulam Rabbani, heard the case. A lot of time has already been wasted, corrective measures should be taken without delay to improve law and order situation in Karachi, the chief justice remarked during the hearing. The attorney general said, The reports of intelligence agencies regarding law and order situation in Karachi have been submitted before the bench and now we have to examine that who is responsible for the violation of law. The Sindh Police inspector general submitted a report on licensed weapons in Karachi. During proceedings, the chief justice raised questions about the report of Joint Investigation Team (JIT) on Ajmal Pahari, an activist of a political party. Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq and Advocate General Abdul Fattah Malik completed their arguments on behalf of the federation and the Sindh government respectively. Justice Chaudhry also said, If the government can do nothing, it should at least ask allied parties to express dissociation with armed groups. AG said that there was no need to call in army and that the police had the potential to restore peace. Advocate General (AG) Sindh Abdul Fateh Malik said that police officers who had taken part in the 1992 operation were still scared. He said that 92 police personnel had been killed so far and that their families were also receiving threats on their lives and that police had no infrastructure and that you could expect nothing from them. The CJP inquired of the AG if the provincial government was protecting the fundamental rights of the people and if compensation was being given to the family members of the victims of target killings. The attorney general said in reply that the government had no such policy, adding that he would talk to the chief minister in this regard. The Sindh advocate general said that criminals raise their heads in civil governments, adding that thousands of people were killed during the Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto regimes, but that peace prevailed during the Musharraf regime. Babar Awan said that he supported the suo motu action and that no notice was taken of the October 18 incident despite the submission of an application, to which the CJP said that notice had been taken, but that it could not be heard due to the suspension of judges in November. agencies

Rare wildlife seized in Thai trafficking bust-Boston globe

September 14, 2011

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BANGKOKThai authorities say they have seized nearly 3,000 rare animals in the biggest wildlife trafficking bust reported in the Southeast Asian nation this year. Customs Department Director-General Prasong Poontaneat says officials stopped a truck Tuesday night in the southern province of Prachuap Khiri Khan and confiscated 2,721 monitor lizards, 717 turtles, 44 civets and 20 snakes. The animals are protected by a convention on international trade in endangered species of which Thailand is a member. Prasong says the truck's driver was also detained. Prasong told reporters Wednesday that the animals were worth more than four million Thai baht ($130,000) and were being trafficked through the region.

Bloomberg

Indonesia Signals Readiness to Cut Rate as Growth Risks Rise-Bloomberg

September 14, 2011, 1:35 AM EDT MORE FROM BUSINESSWEEK

ADB Says Asia Inflation Persists Even as Growth Outlook Cut Wen Says World Must Get Houses in Order, Not Rely on China Bollard May Keep Record-Low N.Z. Rate to Wait Out Turmoil China Called On as Emergency Lender as Italy Faces Crisis Emerging-Market Stocks Fall to Three-Week Low on Greece Concern

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By Widya Utami

(Updates with ADB cutting forecast in third paragraph.) Sept. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Indonesias central bank signaled it may cut the benchmark interest rate to spur growth in Southeast Asias biggest economy as Europes debt crisis threatens demand for the countrys exports. Policy makers are ready to adjust the rate and mix monetary policy toward loosening if inflation slows and the economy expands less than expected due to a global slowdown, Perry Warjiyo, Bank Indonesias director of economic research, said late yesterday in response to reporters questions after meeting with lawmakers in Parliament to discuss the nations 2012 budget assumptions.

Asian currencies and stocks weakened today as Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao signaled that developed nations shouldnt rely on China to bail out the world economy and the Asian Development Bank cut its 2011 growth forecast for the region. Europes debt crisis and a weakening U.S. recovery prompted nations from Malaysia to South Korea to hold their key rates last week. As Bank Indonesia feels comfort that inflation this year will be in their range target, theres room to cut rates because it will support growth, said Winang Budoyo, chief economist at PT Bank CIMB Niaga in Jakarta. Bank Indonesia may cut rates next year as the central bank should remain cautious on core inflation thats still increasing. Currency Falls The rupiah fell 1.4 percent to 8,828 a dollar as of 11:34 a.m. in Jakarta today, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Jakarta Composite Index declined 1.6 percent as regional stocks slumped, erasing an earlier gain of as much as 0.6 percent. Indonesia kept its reference rate unchanged at 6.75 percent for a seventh month on Sept. 8 while allowing lower interbank lending rates as concern the global recovery is faltering prompted policy makers to move to protect growth. The last increase in Indonesias benchmark rate was a 0.25 percentage- point move in February. Bank Indonesia said Sept. 9 it will require companies to place export revenue and offshore-loan proceeds at Indonesia financial institutions in order to increase domestic foreign- currency supplies, a move Standard Chartered Plc said may lead to lower lending rates and bolster demand for credit. Wen, facing calls to widen support for indebted European countries, said at the World Economic Forum in Dalian, China that countries must first put their own houses in order. The ADB cut its 2011 growth forecast for Asia excluding Japan to 7.5 percent from an April estimate of 7.8 percent even as it raised the regions inflation forecast to 5.8 percent. Indonesian Inflation While Indonesias inflation accelerated in August, economic expansion has eased to about 6.5 percent in the first half of 2011 from 6.89 percent late last year. The crisis in Europe will affect global demand, including Indonesias export performance, Bank Indonesia Deputy Governor Hartadi Sarwono, who also attended the parliament meeting, told reporters. Indonesias economic growth could be lower than the 6.7 percent targeted next year, perhaps 6.5 percent.

Achieving 6.7 percent growth is possible if the government focuses on domestic consumption and optimizing government spending, he said.

The Arab Spring in Southeast Asia-The Jakarta globe

Anindya Novyan Bakrie | September 13, 2011

Related articles Israel Hemmed In as the Arab Spring Turns Darker9:40am Sep 14, 2011 Jamil Maidan Flores: Godlings Twilight 9:28am Sep 12, 2011 Southeast Asias Sometimes Association 11:45am Mar 5, 2011 Flood of Money Propelling Asia Into Political Minefield 12:48am Oct 18, 2010 Australia Holds Talks with East Timor on Regional Refugee Hub 10:50am Oct 12, 2010 SHARE THIS PAGE

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Xpat 12:30pm Sep 13, 2011
It maybe misleading to superficially analyse what is going on. There are hidden malevolent powers at play. These powers have been there for hundreds of years and connected with of course Africa too. Therefore the outcome is uncertain for the people of the region. Demographics of the region has a lot ot do with what is going on. Muslim populations are young and growing. They are also much more enlightened and feel that they have nothing to loose. On the other hand the status quo is paranoid of loosing control. Therefore we live in interesting times but our concern should be for the normal people. Of course S.E.Asia is intercennected with this region and although Asia has sort of freed itself from domination, the events of Mid-East/Africa will have repercussions for Asia.

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Next The unfolding developments on the streets of the Arab world are widely perceived as a struggle for democracy. However, once we place the uprisings in the context of other developments in the Middle East, it becomes clear that the Arab Spring is much more complex than that. More importantly, it shows that the risks posed to the global system and Southeast Asia are higher than many think.

First, the Arab Spring is still a work in progress, and the outlook is for yet more turbulence. Tunisia and Egypt have seen off their former authoritarian rulers, but are still in the process of working out new constitutional arrangements and elections. In Libya, while it is clear that the Qaddafi era is over, the civil war is not quite over. In Syria, the violent oppression of street protests continues. Any major upheaval in Syria would have potentially destabilizing implications for Lebanon and Israel. In the Persian Gulf, Yemens ruler appears to have been eased out, but the country is at risk of becoming a failed state. In Bahrain, only forceful intervention by Saudi Arabia ended protests by the majority Shias against their Sunni rulers, but resentments are still simmering. Second, it is important to appreciate that the political dynamic in the Middle East is changing independently of the uprisings in the Arab world and this is also increasing the risks in the region. The power balance in the Middle East is in a state of flux. There is a growing struggle for influence in the region between regional powers who are flexing their muscles. After many decades of disengagement, Turkey is now adopting a leadership role in the Middle East and making a play for support in the Arab world. Iran, too, is working hard to raise its profile. With a government in Iraq that is friendly to Iran and with strong links to powerful armed groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, it is challenging Saudi and American influence in the Arab world. Tensions along the Israel-Gaza-Egypt front are also rising. Thus, the domestic uprisings could interplay with the wider struggles for influence in the Middle East to create a combustible mixture, which has a significant bearing for the rest of the world. Clearly, we are likely to see a lot more tensions and conflicts in the Middle East before the Arab Spring is done. Political risks will remain high in a region that is a critical supplier of oil to the rest of the world. Even where actual oil production is not at risk, the transportation of oil through critical channels such as the Persian Gulf and the Suez Canal could be at risk. This has several implications for Southeast Asia. Improving stability in Libya could allow 1.5 million barrels a day of oil back into oil markets and so keep oil prices down. However, if political risks elsewhere worsen as highlighted above, the risk premium in oil prices could rise and that could help keep oil prices uncomfortably high. In other words, those who are currently arguing that a fall in oil prices will help support global economic growth in the face of severe problems in the United States and euro zone may be too optimistic. For us in Southeast Asia, high oil prices would keep consumer prices high and increase fiscal pressures in those countries which still retain fuel and other energy subsidies. Continued instability in the Middle East will also make investors nervous, reducing risk appetites and so hurting valuations of asset markets in emerging economies such as Indonesia. Lower valuations are akin to a higher cost of capital and this could restrain capital spending. Virtually all Asean countries (except Brunei and Burma) now have capital markets and banking sectors that are open to foreign investors and lenders, so global risk appetites do impact capital flows and currencies. Finally, the success of uprisings in the Middle East in precipitating regime change could embolden dissenting voices in other parts of Asia. In particular, the exposure of high-level corruption and cronyism in Arab dictatorships awakens Asians to rise against similar challenges in the region. Even in a country such as China, where political repression has long contained protests, the authorities are finding it harder to limit public backlashes against corruption or abuses of power. That is why China is already so concerned about the Arab Spring that it has stepped up repression of political dissent. India has seen a

tidal wave of public revulsion against corruption, which has forced the government into a humiliating retreat on the issue of anti-corruption legislation. The Arab Spring could galvanize movements for reform in Southeast Asia, especially in countries where the publics threshold of tolerance for corruption is already strained. Of course, most Southeast Asian nations have made significant efforts in recent years to promote political reforms, improve social inclusiveness, set up corruption-fighting agencies and combat the power of vested interests, and are therefore in much better political shape than trouble spots such as in the Middle East. But it was precisely in Tunisia and Egypt where some reforms were undertaken that protests turned into revolutions. The key lesson of the Arab Spring for us in Southeast Asia is that reform efforts must not lose momentum. Otherwise, we could see some turbulence in this part of the world.

Toyota to Boost Indonesian Output-WSJ

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By ERIC BELLMAN

JAKARTAToyota Motor Corp. said it would crank up production in Indonesia by more than 60% in a move to maintain its dominant position in Southeast Asia's largest economy.
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Associated Press

President Toyoda in Jakarta Tuesday.

Japan's largest auto maker said Tuesday that it will invest around $340 million to build a new factory which will lift its capacity to 180,000 vehicles a year in Indonesia by the middle of 2013, from about 110,000 vehicles today. As Toyota struggles with a downturn in demand at home and key export markets like the U.S. and Europe, Indonesia continues to be a sweet spot for the company. It is expected to sell around 300,000 vehicles in Indonesia this year giving it about 40% of the rapidly growing market. "This market is helping cheer us up," said company President Akio Toyoda, who rode into a Jakarta news conference in a Kijang, the boxy truck Toyota designed for Indonesian roads and consumers in the 1970s. "Globally the news is so dark so we're thankful the market here is bright and vibrant." While it has struggled in some of the larger emerging marketsincluding China and India, where it has less than a 5% market shareToyota has a special bond with Southeast Asia. With market shares of more than 30% in Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, Toyota is more popular in the region than in Japan where it has a 26% share, or the U.S, where only 11% of cars sold so far this year are Toyotas, according to researcher J.D. Power and Associates. Toyota controls an additional 15% of the Indonesian market through its subsidiary Daihatsu Motor Co. While Daihatsu is known for its mini-cars in Japan, it has boosted its slice of the Indonesian market

from less than 10% five years ago to close to 16% today with affordable vehicles designed for developing market consumers. "They want to utilize this market as a pilot to test the models," which are then exported to, and possibly will eventually be produced in, other emerging markets, said Amelia Tjandra, managing director of PT Astra Daihatsu Motor, Daihatsu's Indonesian arm.

The consumers in Southeast Asia are increasingly important for international companies like Toyota. As the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations lowers the barriers of trade between Southeast Asian countries, they are drawing more attention from multinational companies that believe the region can in some ways compete with China and India, with close to 600 million consumers and a combined gross domestic product bigger than India's. Car sales in Southeast Asia are expected to hit 2.2 million vehicles this year, increasing to 2.7 million vehicles a year by 2015, analysts say. Demand in Indonesia is expected to climb from around 900,000 vehicles this year to 1.2 million by 2015. Toyota's decision marks the further rise of Indonesia as the region's next big auto export hub. It has historically lost out to Thailand as an investment destination because of a reputation for poor infrastructure, corruption and confusing regulations. But Indonesia, which has the world's fourth-largest

population after China, India and the U.S., has become more attractive in the last five years as high commodity prices have boosted incomes across the archipelago, which is rich in coal, palm oil and other natural resources. Even when Toyota is expanding in China and India, "they are still investing in this region," said May Arthapan, to Bangkok-based, director of J.D. Power Asia Pacific Automotive Forecasting. "Thailand has always been their largest production base in this region and now Indonesia is coming up." Toyota isn't the only company boosting production in Indonesia. General Motors Co. plans to produce a seven-seat van in Indonesia and eventually use the country as an export hub. Daihatsu Motor plans to set up a second plant in Indonesia. Meanwhile, China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., plans to expand manufacturing capacity here.