From: reddym@Barra.COM (Reddy Mallidi)
Subject: Britain seeks political solution to Kashmir issue
Organization: BARRA, CA
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 93 14:10:09 GMT


     Source : XINHUA, DPA
     Date   : Jan 7, 1992
     Country: India, Pakistan

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    * Britain seeks political solution to Kashmir issue
	
    The British government views a peaceful and political solution of
    Kashmir as "the best answer" to ease tension between India and Pakistan,
    said British Home Secretary Kenneth Clarke in Islamabad today. At the
    end of a day's visit to Pakistan, Clarke said his country stood ready
    to help both major players, India and Pakistan, find a peaceful 
    solution. Underlining the need of a "good dialogue along the mutually
    agreed lines", he pointed out that initiation of the political process
    in the Indian part of Kashmir and a cut-off of what he called
    "material assistance for the militants from Pakistan", were the 
    prerequisites for a political process.
    Clarke, who arrived in Islamabad from India, said he raised the issue
    of alleged human rights violations by the Indian forces in Kashmir 
    and Punjab and had urged New Delhi to allow Amnesty International
    to look into the charges of atrocities. He also noted that Pakistan
    was a major center of narcotics business due to its geographical
    location and said strict measures were needed to curb it.
    (Xin, DPA)

    * Over 60 killed in Kashmir

    More than 60 people have been burned alive in a devastating fire
    that was started in Sopore town of Kashmir, during a clash between
    Kashmiri Muslim militants and Indian security forces, as per reports
    reaching New Delhi Thursday. The blaze that spread from house to 
    house Wednesday gutted 250 shops, 50 houses and three vehicles. As
    per UNI, 45 bodies have been recovered so far and efforts were
    continuing to find the other bodies in the ashes of the district. 
    The situation was quite tense, but under control by the security
    forces. According to reports, clashes began when the militants
    opened fire on a para-military BSF patrol, killing one soldier
    and injuring another. When the BSF soldiers returned fire, an 
    ammuninition cache kept by the militants in  a house caught fire.
    Firemen fought the flames until late Wednesday as they engulfed 
    five localities in Sopore, 30km northwest of Srinagar. Prime Minister
    Rao directed J&K governor G.C. Saxena to visit Sopore and provide
    relief to the victims. (DPA)

     Source : XINHUA, DPA, Wall Street Journal, Tass
     Date   : Jan 6-7, 1992
     Country: India

    * Germany agrees to hlep clean Damodar river

    Germany has agreed to help India clean the Damodar river, one of
    the most polluted rivers in India. German minister for environment 
    and nature protection Klaus Topper mad the offer to India when he 
    met with his Indian counterpart Kamal Nath in New Delhi today. Klaus
    is on a five day visit to India. Damodar river runs in West Bengal.
    (Xin 7)

    * US high-tech companies to set up shop in Bangalore

    US high-tech companies - Texas Instruments, Motorola, Hewlett-Packard,
    Apple, Sun Microsystems, and Intel - have set up shop in Bangalore,
    lured by a high concentration of engineering talent and a more 
    free-market oriented reform program of the Indian government. The
    companies' operations there supply a growing demand for computers and
    software within Indai and increasingly export technologies overseas.
    (Wall Stree Jour. 6)

    * Yeltsin to visit India
    
    Russian President Boris Yeltsin will pay a three day official visit
    to India from Jan 27, as per PTI. Yeltsin will have talks with prime
    minister Rao, president S.D Sharma, and vice-president K.R. Narayanan.
    During the talks with Rao, the two sides thouroughly discuss matters
    related to bilateral relations and exchange views on international
    and regional problems.
    A package of documents, covering a broad spectrum of political, 
    trade, economic, military-and-technical, scientific and cultural 
    contacts, is to be signed during this visit. Analysts believe that 
    a treaty of friendship and cooperation between the two counrties, 
    which is intended to replace the 1971 treaty, will be of basic 
    importance for the future of Russian-Indain relations. (Xin, Tass 7)

    * China, India agree on closer economic cooperation

    Deputy Indian Trade minister P.J.Kurian visited Shanghai on Wednesday
    to look at the Pudong economic zone there, winding up a visit to
    improve Sino-Indian economic ties. Kurien had previosly had led the
    Indian side in the fourth joint economic commission talks in 
    Beijing in which two sides agreed to open two new border crossings.
    Chinese foreign trade minister Li Lanqing expressed confidence that
    bilateral trade - now only about $250m, a year - would quickly
    reach ten times that volume.  He proposed that additional trade 
    promotion offices be established and made an offer to the Indian 
    side to cooperate in aerospace, electronics, machinery and mining 
    industries. (DPA 6)

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