FRIDAY 09 MAY 2025 www.thestatesman.com X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 SINCE 1818 Pages 16 |` 5.00 | LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR TOP COURT CASTIGATES NISHIKANT DUBEY OVER REMARKS ON JUDICIARY USA & UK ANNOUNCE TRADE DEAL P5 P10 SENSEX 80,334.81 q411.97 WEATHER Partly cloudy sky. Possibility of thundery development in some areas. RAINFALL: 00.0 mm Min. 46% TEMPERATURE SUN SETS 18:06 hrs MOON SETS 02:17 hrs Full Moon on 12 May THUMBNAILS American prelate Robert Francis Prevost was elected the new Pope on Thursday. The Chicago-born Prevost, 69, a member of the Augustinian order, will take the pontifical name of Leo XIV. (Page 10) 5 women devotees killed in helicopter crash in Uttarkashi: Five women devotees and the pilot of the helicopter carrying them crashed in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi hills on Thursday morning. The victims were visiting the Chardham and the lone surviving pilgrim has been airlifted to AIIMS Rishikesh. (Page 7) I n a major escalation, Pakistan launched aerial attacks targeting Jammu as well as several military stations near the western border tonight in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor. However, all of them were foiled by air defence units, Indian defence sources said. At least eight missiles were reported to have been fired at Satwari, Samba, RS Pura and Arnia in the Jammu region, triggering sirens and blackouts. The defence ministry said military stations at Jammu, Pathankot and Udhampur were targeted by Pakistani-origin drones and missiles along the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir. “No losses. Threat neutralised by #IndianArmedForces as per SoP with kinetic & non-kinetic means," the Integrated Defence Staff said in a post on social media platform X. Blackouts were sounded at several places in Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and Rajasthan. India is said to be undertaking retaliatory action following the attacks. It was reported that India had shot down two JF-17 aircraft of the Pakistani Air Force during the clashes tonight, with Pak- istan’s Lt-General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations, being quoted as saying: “We regret to confirm that two PM reviews nat’l preparation with secretaries of various ministries STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 8 MAY Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday reviewed national preparedness and inter-ministerial coordination with secretaries of various Ministries and departments of the government, the PM’s office said Cash at judge’s residence: CJI forwards panel’s probe report to President, PM PARMOD KUMAR NEW DELHI, 8 MAY The Chief Justice of India (CJI), Justice Sanjiv Khanna has forwarded the report of the inhouse committee that probed allegations of the recovery of burnt remains of unaccounted cash at the residence of erstwhile Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma (photo) to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with Justice Varma’s response to the findings. This was stated in an official statement released today by the Supreme Court. The development comes after reports emerged that the three-member committee, comprising Chief Justice of Punjab & Haryana High Court, Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court, Justice GS Sandhawalia and Justice Anu Sivaraman of Karnataka High Court, had indicted Justice Varma in its report submitted to the CJI. The forwarding of the report to the constitutional authorities now clears the way for possible impeachment proceedings, if necessary. The controversy dates back to 14 March 2025, when a fire at Justice Varma’s official residence in Delhi allegedly led to the discovery of large amounts of unaccounted cash by firefighters. in an official release. The meeting was held in the light of recent developments concerning national security and comes in the aftermath of India's ‘Operation Sindoor’ which targeted nine terror camps across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday. Earlier today National Security Advisor Ajit Doval also briefed the Prime Minister about the prevailing security situation. “PM Modi stressed the need for seamless coordination among ministries and agencies to uphold operational continuity and institutional resilience,” the PMO release said. The Prime Minister further directed the secretaries to undertake a comprehensive review of their respective ministry’s operations and ensure fool-proof functioning of essential systems, with special focus on readiness, emergency response, and internal communication protocols. JF-17 aircraft were lost during active duty.” This was, however, denied by Pakistan’s Information Minister, Attaullah Tarar. Tonight’s attacks came hours after Indian forces struck Pakistani air defence systems in retaliation for Islamabad targeting several locations in northern and western India overnight using drones and missiles. Addressing the media during a briefing during the day, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi of the Indian Army said on Thursday morning Indian forces targeted Pakistan’s air defence radars and systems at a number of locations. It has been reliably learnt that an air defence system at Lahore has been neutralised, she said. She said Pakistan overnight tried to engage a number of military targets including Awantipura, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bhatinda, Chandigarh, Nal, Phalodi, Uttarlai, and Bhuj, using drones and missiles. “These were neutralised by the Integrated Counter UAS Grid and Air Defence systems,” she said. P16 SILVER `99,000 GOLD `1,00,050 Fresh Pak aerial attacks foiled by air defences STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 8 MAY Max: 37.4˚C (+1.7) Min: 27.0˚C (+0.2) SUN RISES 05:00 hrs MOON RISES 14:35 hrs ` vs $ 85.38 LSG FACE TOUGH TASK AGAINST IN-FORM RCB P9 At least 2 Pakistani Air Force jets shot down by Indian forces, say reports RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 90% NIFTY 24,273.80 q140.60 ISHIBA’S FUTURE LINKED TO AMERICAN TARIFFS ‘Choice to de-escalate is with Pakistan’ AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 8 MAY India on Thursday warned Pakistan that any attempt at further escalation of the situation will be responded to in an appropriate manner. “Now if there is an attempt at further escalation by Pakistan, it will be responded to in an appropriate domain and therefore the choice is entirely that of Pakistan to make,” Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said during a media briefing in New Delhi. The foreign secretary also slammed the disinformation directed at India from across the border since the events that started with the barbaric terror attack in Pahalgam, mentioning that the "original escalation" has been from Pakistan on 22 April and the Indian armed forces are only responding to it. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday spoke to foreign minister S Jaishankar and Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif urging "immediate de-escalation" of tensions between the two nations. He also asked Pakistan to end “any support to terrorist groups”. (See Page 5) BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 62.03 100 terrorists killed, Rajnath Singh tells all-party meeting “ We do not wish to escalate the situation. But if Pakistan acts, we will not back down either,” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was quoted as saying while briefing political leaders at the all-party meeting. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 8 MAY Political leaders cutting across party lines hailed the armed forces on Thursday for carrying out 'Operation Sindoor' against terror hideouts in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to avenge the 22 April Pahalgam terror attacks, during an all-party meeting called by the government. “All parties supported the military action… The meeting was positive. All parties hailed the armed forces," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju told newsmen after the meeting. The Centre had called the all-party meeting to brief political leaders on the military strikes carried out by the Indian armed forces targeting the terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who chaired the meeting, informed party leaders that at least 100 terrorists were killed in Indian strikes under Operation Sindoor. “In Operation Sindoor, precise strikes were carried out on 9 terrorist hideouts. Around 100 terrorists were killed,” a leader who attended the meeting said, quoting Rajnath Singh. “We do not wish to escalate the situation. But if Pakistan acts, we will not back down either,” the Defence Minister had reportedly said while briefing the political leaders. Coming out from the meeting, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said: “At this hour of crisis we are with the government. We don’t want to create any controversy at this hour.” The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, said: “We are proud of our armed forces.” All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi complimented the government and the armed forces for carrying out Operation Sindoor.