Thursday, 12 August 2004, 1900 hrs

NATION & STATES
Jehadi groups must leave Pakistan if
Kashmir row is settled: Musharaff
In a candid interview, the Pakistani president has said militant groups on his territory would have to "pack up" if India and Pakistan arrived at a resolution to the Kashmir problem...

BUSINESS & ECONOMY
Inflation will settle down by Sept: FM
Without divulging the steps to be taken, the finance minister P Chidambaram said they would work in tandem with the RBI to bring down the spiraling inflation...

FEATURED STORIES

Asia Times
India's damaging deficit
While a number of factors are stalling India's sustainable growth, it is the country's high fiscal deficit that deserves the lion's share of the blame. If the government fails to lower this deficit, the economy will have to bear the consequences, including very high interest rates, writes KUNAL KUMAR KUNDU

Rediff
Not a carat more, Mr Gujral
The former prime minister's idea of autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir is flawed. Linking lasting peace in Kashmir with autonomy for the state is akin to mixing oil with water. Relative peace had reigned in J&K until the Soviet forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989, thereby leaving hordes of CIA-trained Pakistani jihadis unemployed, writes ARVIND LAVAKARE

Deccan Herald
Falling behind collectively
No one would deny that the ongoing process of economic liberalisation has had a far-reaching impact on our economy. If we do not develop appropriate systems, self-centred competitiveness will go wild, creating chaos in society, says CHIRANJIB SEN

The News
Terror of anticipation
Nearly 40 years ago, eminent French director Francois Truffaut made a film in Britain which, sadly, never really gained the recognition it deserved. Loosely based on a novel by Ray Bradbury, the film narrates the transformation of a man engaged in carrying out an official policy of burning books. He slowly realises what treasures he is destroying, and in the end, like-minded people are shown preserving literary masterpieces by committing them to memory. The movie’s title is ‘Fahrenheit 451’, for that is the temperature at which paper burns. By HANS B BREMER

Deccan Chronicle
Muslim husbands and triple talaq
Last week, a popular television channel splashed a news item that a court in UP has granted “interim maintenance” to a divorced woman. In response, a Muslim clergyman commented that courts in India do not have the authority to interfere with Islamic principles. FLAVIA AGNES elaborates on the status of the talaq debate

TOP PICKS

OPINION
Laying POTA to rest (Hindu)
Trade-off on transit (Hindu)
Still short sighted (Hindu)
Pakistan’s ‘strategic depth’ idea (Tribune)
War for minds (Pioneer)
Shadow of Stalin (Statesman)
Taliban Threat ( Statesman)
Scrap the NFTP (Financial Express)
The threats within Pakistan (Deccan Herald)
Bush’s decision-making (Deccan Herald)