Kashmir

Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee vowed yesterday to crush terrorism, saying there had been no change on the ground in rebellion-torn Kashmir despite Pakistan's promise to crack down on Islamic militants. His comments came as police in Indian-ruled Kashmir reported attacks from Muslim militants and an exchange of fire between Indian and Pakistani forces. "To make us a target of terrorism, and we do not give an appropriate response, that is not possible," Vajpayee said, a day after Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf had called for talks between the two countries to end their military standoff.

NEW DELHI - Indian military officials Tuesday accused Pakistani troops of killing two of their soldiers and mutilating the body of at least one of them after crossing into Indian territory in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, a development that could impede a tenuous peace process between the nuclear-armed rivals. The charge came two days after Pakistan accused India of killing one of its soldiers along the Line of Control, the de facto border where a fragile cease-fire has held for almost a decade.

To most of us, the word Kashmir conjures up an image of a soft, expensive sweater. Others might dream of a high Himalayan valley full of broad lakes and dark-skinned people. But for a handful of tourists each year, Kashmir means skiing, with deep snow, uncrowded slopes and incomparable mountain scenery. Snow skiing in India? You bet. India's premier ski resort is in the Vale of Gulmarg, a high meadow tucked amid lofty peaks. It's in a remote corner of the world near Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and the Soviet Union, and if you didn't know any better, you'd think you couldn't possibly get there from here.

Three months after Sept. 11, an official-looking white sedan drove past an entry gate at India's Parliament and five suicide attackers jumped out, firing rifles and tossing grenades at the building. After a shoot-out that killed 14 and narrowly averted a massacre of Indian leaders, police looked again at the fake government sticker on the windshield. In bad English, the fine print read: "India is very bad country and we hate India we want to destroy India. . . . brother bush he is also a very bad person he will be next target he is also the killer of innocent people he have to die and we will do it. " The attackers turned out to be militants from Kashmir.

Federal prosecutors yesterday charged 11 Muslim men - including an electrical engineer from Norristown - with conspiring to "engage in violent jihad" in Kashmir and countries at peace with the United States. The men include nine Americans, three of them former U.S. servicemen. They are accused of having ties to a Pakistani-based terrorist organization whose main goal is driving India out of the disputed Kashmir territory. Mohammed Aatique, 31, a Pakistani national who had worked for high-tech companies and lived in Norristown, is accused of accompanying several of the defendants to a Pakistan training camp operated by Lashkar-e-Taiba, which the State Department lists as a terrorist group.

The storefronts of these two friends - Pakistani restaurant owner Tariq Shaheen and Indian businessman Sharat Mallya - are separated by a narrow road in Upper Darby. On the other side of the world, their families are separated by a wide, tense border bristling with the threat of nuclear war between India and Pakistan. While the United States and other nations are urgently working to avert all-out war over the long-disputed region of Kashmir, Indians and Pakistanis now living in the Philadelphia region expressed confidence yesterday that cooler heads would prevail.

Kashmir is an outgoing 10-year-old who delights in meeting new people. With her sparkling eyes and bright smile, she easily draws others to her. Kashmir has many interests, including playing on the computer, reading books, and listening to Christian music. Another pastime that keeps her busy is writing short stories, which she happily shares with her friends. Her favorite food is chicken noodle soup and her favorite movie is Alvin and the Chipmunks. A very bright student, Kashmir is in the fourth grade and can be successful academically when she applies herself.

In September 2009, I sat next to Pakistan's former military ruler, Pervez Musharraf, at a poolside dinner in his honor in Villanova. When he flew home from a self-imposed, four-year exile two weeks ago, I couldn't help recalling our conversation. The former president spoke about his secret efforts to produce a framework for ending the bitter 66-year-old conflict between Pakistan and India over the disputed territory of Kashmir. Such an accord might have prevented the current jihadi surge in Pakistan, and ensured a far more hopeful future for Afghanistan.

At the heart of the conflict between India and Pakistan is an 85,000-square mile piece of land called Kashmir. And the conflict is hardly new. It began when the British Empire partitioned the South Asian colonies in 1947. Three wars followed in 1956, 1965 and 1971, all fought over territory. In 1965, the war lasted only six days because both sides ran out of military hardware. Nuclear weapons have upped the ante, and now everyone is paying attention. But the source of the conflict hasn't changed with the technology.

Pay attention to Pakistan. President Pervez Musharraf has been a key ally in U.S. efforts to mop up al-Qaeda leaders. But his cooperation in fighting anti-American terrorists isn't matched by an equal zeal in fighting domestic militants. Pakistani jihadis who wage holy war against India have brought the two countries to the brink of nuclear war over the disputed territory of Kashmir. These Islamic extremists threaten the U.S. military presence in Pakistan, which is crucial to crushing the remnants of al-Qaeda.

When Pakistan's former military ruler and president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, flew home last week from four years of self-imposed exile, a physician-turned-entrepreneur from Villanova was by his side. Raza Bokhari, a 1991 immigrant from Pakistan who became a highly successful businessman and civic activist, describes himself as "a long-term friend of Musharraf's and his current point of contact in the U.S.A. " In a phone interview from Islamabad, Bokhari said Musharraf returned to participate in Pakistan's coming May elections - despite death threats, huge legal challenges, and an uncertain political future.

In September 2009, I sat next to Pakistan's former military ruler, Pervez Musharraf, at a poolside dinner in his honor in Villanova. When he flew home from a self-imposed, four-year exile two weeks ago, I couldn't help recalling our conversation. The former president spoke about his secret efforts to produce a framework for ending the bitter 66-year-old conflict between Pakistan and India over the disputed territory of Kashmir. Such an accord might have prevented the current jihadi surge in Pakistan, and ensured a far more hopeful future for Afghanistan.

NEW DELHI - Indian military officials Tuesday accused Pakistani troops of killing two of their soldiers and mutilating the body of at least one of them after crossing into Indian territory in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, a development that could impede a tenuous peace process between the nuclear-armed rivals. The charge came two days after Pakistan accused India of killing one of its soldiers along the Line of Control, the de facto border where a fragile cease-fire has held for almost a decade.

Position: Second base Height, weight: 6-1, 190 pounds Age: 31. Birthdate: Dec. 17, 1978 Hometown: Pasadena, Calif. Years in majors: 8 Statistically speaking: Utley is a career .293 hitter with 177 home runs and 650 RBI. His best year came in 2007; he hit .332 in 132 games with 104 runs and a .976 on-base plus slugging percentage. Utley has battled through several injuries, including a strained left thumb this year, when he played 115 games and hit .275 with 65 RBI. He has finished as high as seventh in MVP balloting (2006)

A bomb threat disrupts Lourdes PARIS - Thousands of pilgrims, many disabled or ailing, were evacuated Sunday from the shrine at Lourdes in southern France after a bomb threat. The pilgrims, gathered on the Catholic holy day of Assumption, returned after explosives experts scoured the area and dismissed the threat as unfounded. About 30,000 people were at the site, whose spring water is reputed to have healing powers, when police received an anonymous threat in the morning saying bombs would hit Sunday afternoon, said the shrine's chief spokesman, Pierre Adias.

Some of the harsh choices Americans face on Afghanistan might have been avoided had secret efforts by Pakistan and India to end their dispute over Kashmir not been derailed in 2007. When former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf visited Philadelphia this week, I asked him about the framework for a Kashmir peace that was worked out during his tenure, and whether it could be revived in the future. "We were close," he said in an interview yesterday. "I only wish the two governments would start again.

Kashmir is an outgoing 10-year-old who delights in meeting new people. With her sparkling eyes and bright smile, she easily draws others to her. Kashmir has many interests, including playing on the computer, reading books, and listening to Christian music. Another pastime that keeps her busy is writing short stories, which she happily shares with her friends. Her favorite food is chicken noodle soup and her favorite movie is Alvin and the Chipmunks. A very bright student, Kashmir is in the fourth grade and can be successful academically when she applies herself.

U.S. examined radioactive poisons during Cold War WASHINGTON - In one of the longest-held secrets of the Cold War, the Army explored the potential for using radioactive poisons to assassinate "important individuals" such as military or civilian leaders, according to newly declassified documents obtained by the Associated Press. Approved at the highest levels of the Army in 1948, the effort was a well-hidden part of the military's pursuit of a "new concept of warfare. " Targeting public figures in such attacks is not unheard of; just last year an unknown assailant used a tiny amount of radioactive polonium-210 to kill Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko in London.

President Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hope to usher in a new era in U.S.-India relations when they meet today in New Delhi. Singh has been steering India toward closer ties with the United States, breaking with the approach of the last half-century, when India had an outlook that was often anti-American and frequently was aligned with the Soviet Union. The new course, supporters said, is laying the groundwork for the emergence of India as an economic and global power in the 21st century.

Wali Mohammed Khan fell to his knees on the unmarked grave where he believes Indian authorities buried his eldest son. "My son, why did the cruel and barbarous forces kill you?" the impoverished farmer wailed as he prayed over the earthen mound one recent morning. His son Farooq, 22, was arrested by Indian security forces in August. A few weeks later, authorities claimed they had killed a "foreign terrorist" and published a photo of Farooq's corpse in the newspaper. Khan said his son was a baker, not a foreign militant.