India's intelligence apparatus is rapidly zeroing in on its usual suspect Pakistan in the Mumbai attacks. The Times of India reports Dec. 2:

All the 10 terrorists, suspected to have been involved in the Mumbai attacks, were trained by ex-army personnel even as the lone arrested terrorist has admitted to being a Pakistani, the police on Tuesday said.

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi of the right-wing BJP arrived in Mumbai Nov. 28 to pay public last respects to police officers killed fighting the militants who attacked India's financial capital, and announce Rs 1 crore ($2 million) compensation to the families. But the widow of the most senior officer to lose his life in the fighting, Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare, has refused to accept the compensation offer. Karkare was killed by Mohammad Ajmal Mohammad Amin Kasab, the only militant arrested in the three-day terror attack, who has been identified as a Pakistani national. (India Business Standard, Nov. 30; PTI, Nov. 29; IANS, Nov. 28)

The Indian navy seized two Pakistani merchant ships, asserting that they were used to drop off the Mumbai attackers in a series of small boats. According to Indian news agencies, intelligence sources pinpointed one particular cargo vessel that had stopped in Mumbai briefly before leaving for Karachi, Pakistan. Indian navy and coastguard vessels happened to be engaged in routine exercises off the coast of Gujarat and were immediately dispatched to intercept the vessel.

In an e-mail to local news outlets, an organization calling itself the "Deccan Mujahedeen" claimed responsibility for the coordinated shooting attacks in Mumbai that left at least 100 dead Nov. 26. Fighting continued as the e-mail arrived, with army commandos moved into the luxury Oberoi and the Taj Mahal hotels to flush out gunmen holed up on the premises. Attackers hit ten places in Mumbai, including the rail station, mostly targeting foreigners. Hostages are still being held in the hotels and an office bloc, and fighting continues between security forces and militants armed with automatic weapons and grenades. The army has been called in, and residents have been told to remain indoors. Pakistan's ISI has formally denied involvement. (Pakistan Daily Times, Times of India, BBC World Service, Nov. 27)

Defend femicide, get a cabinet position. From The Guardian, Nov. 12:

"Anti-women" cabinet riles Pakistan activists
Two notorious politicians accused of brutal attitudes towards women have been made cabinet ministers in Pakistan, causing outrage among human rights activists.

Days after the arrest of nine by police in India's Maharashtra state as a "terrorist cell" responsible for the September Malegaon attack, the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) announced a campaign for their release. The nine, including Hindu nun Pragya Singh Thakur, is said to be linked to the right-wing Abhinav Bharat. The Congress has also accused the right-opposition BJB of having "direct links" with the blast. (Times of India, Nov. 15; NYT, Nov. 12; The Hindu, Oct. 29)

Eleven near-simultaneous bomb blasts tore through Guwahati and the towns of Barpeta, Kokrajhar and Bongaigaon in India's conflicted northeastern Assam state, killing 40 people and wounding 200 late Oct. 30. Most of the blasts targeted crowded markets. One of the nine bombs in Guwahati also targeted a crowded bus. A state of emergency has been declared throughout Assam. After the blasts in Guwahati, a crowd of angry residents threw rocks at the police, who fired into the air to disperse them. A curfew has been imposed in the city.

Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA), co-chair of the House Bipartisan Task Force on Non-proliferation and a vocal opponent of the recently approved US-India nuclear deal, held President Bush responsible for undermining international arms control efforts. "By destroying the nuclear rules for India, President Bush has weakened the rules for everyone else. Pakistan and China will be the first, but almost certainly not the last, to take advantage of this weakened system," Markey said in reaction to reports that Islamabad will seek nuclear technology from Beijing.