FRIDAY 16 MAY 2025 www.thestatesman.com SINCE 1818 Pages 16 |` 5.00 |LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR TRUMP OPPOSES APPLE'S PLAN TO MAKE AND SHIP IPHONES FROM INDIA NEERAJ CHOPRA TARGETS 90M AT DIAMOND LEAGUE P12 P16 EAM spells out terms for talks with Pak, US On trade between India & US, Jaishankar said that any deal must be mutually beneficial NIKHIL VYAS NEW DELHI, 15 MAY E xternal Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Thursday made it clear that all issues between India and Pakistan will be resolved bilaterally, virtually rejecting US President Donald Trump’s offer to mediate between the two countries on the Kashmir issue. Talking to mediapersons after the inauguration of the Embassy of Honduras here, Jaishankar said, "Our relations and dealings with Pakistan will be strictly bilateral. That is a national consensus for years, and there is absolutely no change in that. The prime minister (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) made it very clear that talks with Pakistan will be only on terror." He said Pakistan has a list of terrorists that needs to be handed over, and they have to shut down the terrorists' infrastructure. "They (Pakistan) know what to do. We are prepared to discuss with them (Pakistan) what is to be done about terrorism. Those are the talks which are feasible," Jaishankar said. The External Affairs Minister further asserted that there is no change in its position to keep the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) in abeyance until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism. "The Indus Waters Treaty is held in abeyance and will continue to be held in abeyance until the crossborder terrorism by Pakistan is credibly and irrevocably stopped," he said. "The only thing which remains to be discussed on Kashmir is the vacating of illegally occupied Indian territory in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir; we are open to that discussion," Jaishankar said. Spelling out India's position on a host of issues following the highly-successful Operation Sindoor, Jaishankar highlighted that New Delhi received massive international support after the heinous Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 which resulted in the death of 26 innocent civilians. The Resistance Front (TRF), an international terrorist organisation affiliated to the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), owned responsibility for the killings. "Let me say a few things here. One, we actually got a lot of international support. Many ministers, many leaders called the Prime Minister, and many ministers called me as well. We had a Security Council resolution which very clearly stated that the perpetrators of this attack should be held accountable. On the morning of May 7, we held them accountable through the action that was taken through Operation Sindoor," the EAM said. He also cleared India's stance on cessation of firing and the military action. "We achieved the goals which we set out to do by destroying the terrorist infrastructure. Since key goals were achieved, I think we reasonably took the position, because even at the start of the operation, we had sent a message to Pakistan saying we are striking at terrorist infrastructure, we Pak’s nuclear weapons should be placed under IAEA’s supervision, says Rajnath S P SHARMA JAMMU, 15 MAY Calling Pakistan a "rogue nation", Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday wondered if nuclear weapons are safe in the hands of such a country and that nuclear watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should take control of the same. Daysafterthenuclear-armed neighbours ended their worst military conflict in the past nearly three decades, Singh said “Today, from the soil of Srinagar, I want to raise this question before the entire world -- are nuclear weapons safe in thehandsofsuchanirresponsible and rogue nation?" He made these remarks while addressing troops of the Chinar Corps at the Badami Bagh Cantonment in Srinagar during his first visit to Jammu andKashmirafterthe“Operation Sindoor”. Rajnath Singh was accompanied by Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Army Chief Upendra Dwivedi. “I believe that Pakistan's nuclear weapons should be placed under the supervision of the IAEA”, he said. “The extent of India's resolve against terrorism today can be gauged from the fact that we have not even cared about their nuclear blackmail. The whole worldhasseenhowirresponsibly Pakistan has repeatedly issued nuclear threats to India”, he said. The Defence inspected Pakistani shells that were dropped in J&K. Some debris were displayed at the Badami Bagh Cantonment. He also visited the Srinagar IAF station and interacted with the soldiers. Referring to the recent IMF loan to Pakistan, the Defence Minister said “India falls in the category of those countries which give funds to the IMF so that the organisation can further give loans to poor countries, but Pakistan has reached the situation from where the line of beggars begins”. Digital arrest: IFSO cracks case, returns 92-year-old’s `2 crore lost to fraudsters STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 15 MAY For a 92-year-old retired surgeon, IFSO proves to be a boon as after a crackdown by it on two suspects involved in a digital arrest scam, the senior citizens got his Rs 2.2 crore back after losing them to fraudsters, police said on Thursday. The action was followed by a complaint from the senior citizen who alleged of receiving multiple unsolicited calls from various numbers and the callers impersonated themselves as the officials from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the Maharashtra Police, falsely claiming that several FIRs had been registered against the victim, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (IFSO Special cell) Dr Hemant Tiwari. The victim was subjected to digital arrest, was shown The Cop mentioned that the syndicate impersonated as officials from the Police, CBI, Customs, and other government bodies would inform victims that multiple FIRs were registered against them. forged court orders and coerced into participating in what the accused termed as virtual hearing which was actually an overwhelming fake and manipulative series of incidents, Tiwari said. The cop mentioned that after the complaint, a case under section 308(2), 318(4), 319(2), 61(2), and 3(5), related to cheating, extortion and criminal conspiracy of BNS was registered and investigation was taken up. Based on the digital footprints and technical analysis, the accused Amit (42) and Hari (27), who were operating fraudulent bank accounts were arrested from Ghaziabad and Guwahati. The Cop mentioned that the syndicate impersonated as officials from the Police, CBI, Customs, and other government bodies would inform victims that multiple FIRs were registered against them. Initially, they threatened the victims with arrest and severe penalties, but later shifted to a more sympathetic tone, suggesting it could be a case of mistaken identity and to resolve the issue, they instructed the victims to lodge a formal complaint and transfer their savings into specified accounts for "verification," falsely promising that the funds would be refunded after the verification process. are not striking at the military and the military has an option of standing out and not interfering in this process. They chose not to take that good advice. Once they got badly hit on the morning of May 10. Today, the satellite pictures which actually bring out graphically how much damage we did and how little damage they did," Jaishankar said. At the inauguration of the Honduras embassy, the EAM said, "For us, it was very good that we have a new Embassy of Honduras. They are one of the countries that expressed strong solidarity when the Pahalgam terrorist attack took place." On trade between India and the United States, Jaishankar said talks were ongoing, with negotiations still underway. Talking to mediapersons here, the External Affairs Minister stressed any trade deal must be mutually beneficial and work for both countries. "On the trade remarks. Let me say this that look between India and US trade talks have been going on, negotiations have been going on. In fact, we have, I think our team is just going at this point. These are very complicated negotiations. They are very intricate, intricate," he said. Jaishankar added that no decision has been made yet and cautioned against premature judgments. 10 militants killed by Assam Rifles in Manipur’s Chandel STATES NEWS SERVICE IMPHAL, 15 MAY The Assam Rifles, operating under the Indian Army's Spear Corps, launched a significant counter-insurgency operation in Manipur's Chandel district, near the Indo-Myanmar border. Acting on specific intelligenceregardingthemovement of armed militants near New Samtal village in Khengjoy Tehsil, the troops engaged in a firefight resulting in the neutralization of at least 10 militants. A substantial cache of arms and ammunition was recovered during the operation, which remains ongoing as of 15 May. This operation is part of a broader crackdown on insurgent groups across Manipur. Just days earlier, on May 10, security forces arrested 13 individuals allegedly affiliated with banned outfits such as the Kangleipak Communist Party – People’s War Group (KCP-PWG), who were reportedly involved in extortion activities. Manipur's Chandel district, sharing a porous border with Myanmar, has long been a hotspot for insurgent activities, with militants oftenexploitingthechallenging terrain and cross-border routes for movement and operations. The region has witnessed several high-profile attacks in the past, including the 2021 ambush that claimed the lives of Colonel Viplav Tripathi, his family, and four Assam Rifles personnel, an incident that led to a NIA probe. The recent operation underscores the Indian Army's intensified efforts to curb insurgency in the Northeast, aiming to restore peace and stability in the region. X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875