FRIDAY 07 MARCH 2025 www.thestatesman.com X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 SINCE 1818 Pages 12 |` 5.00 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR SC ORDERS NO MORE FIRS AGAINST UDAYNIDHI IN SANATAN DHARMA ROW TRUMP ISSUES ‘LAST WARNING’ TO HAMAS TO RELEASE HOSTAGES P9 SENSEX 74,340.09p609.87 WEATHER Generally clear. Hazy in the evening. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 31°C and 20°C respectively. NIFTY P4 22,544.70p207.40 NZ SKIPPER SANTNER WARNS INDIA AHEAD OF CT 2025 FINAL FADNAVIS CLARIFIES AMID ROW OVER RSS LEADER’S REMARKS ` vs $ 87.12 P5 SILVER 1,08,000 GOLD 88,385.00 India slams heckling of Jaishankar in London RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY Randhir Jaiswal said New Delhi expects the host govt to live up to its diplomatic obligations Max. 66% STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Min. 39% TEMPERATURE Max: 36.2˚C SUN RISES 05:52 hrs MOON RISES 11:16 hrs NEW DELHI, 6 MARCH Min: 29.3˚C SUN SETS 17:42 hrs MOON SETS 00:32 hrs Full Moon on 14 March THUMBNAILS Cadets of Uttar Pradesh’s 15 Battalion NCC conduct a cleanliness drive on the bank of the river Ganga after the culmination of Mahakumbh, in Prayagraj. n ANI Judicial panel blames UP police, organizers for Hathras stampede: The judicial commission formed to investigate the stampede during the 'satsang' (religious programme) of Suraj Pal alias Bhole Baba on 2 July last year in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras has blamed the organisers along with the police and administration officials for the incident. At least 121 people were killed in the stampede in Phulera Mughal Sarai village of Sikandra tehsil of Hathras on 2 July last year. (Page 8) I ndia on Thursday strongly condemned the heckling of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar by Khalistani extremists in London, saying it "deplores the misuse of democratic freedoms by such elements". In a statement, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India expects the host government to live up to its diplomatic obligations. "We have seen the footage of a breach of security during the visit of EAM to the UK. We condemn the provocative activities of this small group of separatists and extremists. We deplore the misuse of democratic freedoms by such elements. We expect the host government in such cases to fully live up to their diplomatic obligations," he said. Hours later, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) spokesperson said: "We strongly condemn the Kashmir issue will be resolved when PoK is returned to India: Jaishankar STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 6 MARCH External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said the final resolution of the Kashmir issue will come when the "stolen part" under illegal Pakistani occupation is returned to India. He made the remarks during a discussion with Bronwen Maddox, Director and CEO of think tank Chatham House in London on Wednesday. He was responding to a question by a journalist reportedly from Pakistan on steps taken by India to resolve the Kashmir issue. "Removing Article 370 was step number one; restoring growth and economic activity and social justice in Kashmir was step number two; and holding elections with a very high turnout was step number three,” the minister said. "I think the part we are waiting for is the return of the stolen part of Kashmir which is under illegal Pakistani occupation. When that is done, I assure you Kashmir will be solved," he added. Mr Jaishankar also rejected the idea of any third party involvement when asked if Prime Min- ister Narendra Modi could use his friendly ties with US President Donald Trump to resolve the issue. When Maddox raised the issue of alleged human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir, the external affairs minister dismissed them, saying "I think any sort of sweeping concern on human rights is really misplaced. I do not see justification for it at all." incident that took place outside Chatham House yesterday during the Exter- nal Affairs Minister’s visit to the UK. While the UK upholds the right to peaceful protest, any attempts to intimidate, threaten, or disrupt public events are P12 completely unacceptable.'' The UK said the Metropolitan Police acted swiftly to address the situation, and London remains fully committed to ensuring the security of all diplomatic visitors, in line with the nation's international obligations. The statements from the two countries came after Mr Jaishankar was heckled by Khalistani extremists on Wednesday when he was leaving Chatham House after attending an exclusive event. In a purported video of the incident that is doing rounds on social media, pro-Khalistani protesters are seen heckling the external affairs minister. One of the protesters comes in front of the minister's convoy and tears up an Indian flag before being taken away by the police. On the other side of the road, several protesters holding pro-Khalistani flags shouted slogans against India. The man was briefly detained by the local police. No harm was caused to the Indian minister in the incident. BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 69.61p0.31 Govt closely watching ongoing trade negotiations with USA: Finance Minister Sitharaman STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 6 MARCH With a 2 April deadline approaching for the reciprocal tariffs initiated by President Donald Trump, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday that the government was closely watching the ongoing trade negotiations with the United States. “We will have to see how the Commerce Ministry handles the negotiations in the US,” Mrs Sitharaman said. She reassured that the interests of Indian exporters have been effectively communicated to US counterparts, and key actions taken by the government, such as conducting stakeholder consultations prior to negotiations, facilitating active discussions led by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal in the USA, and maintaining ongoing data-sharing with relevant industry groups, to ensure that exporters' concerns are addressed and protected. Mrs Sitharaman’s comments came at a time when Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal is on a visit to the US for discussions aimed at safeguarding Indian exporters' interests. The finance minister was speaking at the launch of the book 'The Glimpses of World History' in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. A couple of days ago, the US president set 2 April for reciprocal tariffs to take effect, adding that India would not receive any concessions. Addressing a joint session of Congress, he said: “India charges us 100 per cent tariffs; the system is not fair to the US, it never was. On April 2, reciprocal tariffs kick in. Whatever they tax us, we will tax them. If they use nonmonetary tariffs to keep us out of their market, then we will use non-monetary barriers to keep them out of our market.” The finance minister had earlier said that India would need to play a crucial role in the "global reset" as the new world order will not be determined by the developed nations.