FRIDAY 25 APRIL 2025 www.thestatesman.com X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 SINCE 1818 Pages 16 |` 5.00 |LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR JUDICIAL HEAT ON DMK PAHALGAM ATTACK: CWC MEET FLAGS INTELLIGENCE FAILURES P5 SENSEX 79,801.43 q315.06 WEATHER Mainly clear sky becoming partly cloudy sky towards night. RAINFALL: 0.0 mm ` vs $ 85.34 GOLD `99,020 Min. 61% SUN SETS 18:00 hrs MOON SETS 14:27 hrs New Moon on 28 April THUMBNAILS IMRAN MOJIB PATNA, 24 APRIL I Priests perform Ganga Aarti for the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack, at Assi Ghat in Varanasi on Thursday. nANI SFIO charge sheet declares Kerala CM's daughter mastermind in CMRL pay-off case: The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), in its prosecution complaint (charge sheet) filed at the Ernakulam Additional Sessions Court, called the Kerala chief minister's daughter Veena T (Veena Vijayan) the mastermind who played a crucial role in the Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL)-Exalogic Solutions case. n his first public address after thePahalgamterrorattack,Prime MinisterNarendraModiassured the nation that terrorists who attackedunarmedtouristsinPahalgam will not go unpunished. He said that thiswasanattacknotjustonunarmed tourists, but on the country’s soul. Every effort will be made to ensure that justice is done. Speaking at the National Panchayati Raj Day programme held in Madhubani, Bihar, on Thursday, the prime minister said that the brutal killing of innocent citizens by terrorists in Pahalgam has deeply saddened the entire nation. The whole country stands with the bereaved families in their time of sorrow. He said: “The enemies of the country have dared to assault the soul of India. I want to say it clearly that those who are responsible for this attack, terrorists who carried out this attack as well as those who conspired for this, will be punished even beyond their imagination. Now the time has come to raze whatever is left of the terror haven." Addressingtheglobalcommunity, he said: “Today from the soil of Bihar, I say it to the whole world India will identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backers. We will pursue them to the ends of the Earth.” “India’s spirit will never be broken by terrorism. Terrorism will not go unpunished, every effort will be made to ensure that justice is done. The entire nation is firm in this resolve. Everyone who believes in humanity is with us. I thank the people of various countries and their leaders who have stood with us during this time,” he said. SHAHID K ABBAS NEW DELHI, 24 APRIL Political leaders of all hues who attended an all-party meeting called by the government on Thursday united in condemning the terror attack in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir and extended support to the government in any action it chose to take in response. The government had called the all-party meeting on Thursday in the aftermath of the terror attack in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, which left 26 people dead and several injured. All political parties condemned the killings and called for efforts to maintain peace in Jammu and Kashmir, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said after Pak says blocking Indus waters would be ‘act of war’; to suspend trade, bilateral pacts DAWN/ANN ISLAMABAD, 24 APRIL and the chiefs of armed forces, among others. According to a statement issued by the Pakistan Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the participants of the meeting discussed the national security environment and the regional situation, particularly in the wake of the Pahalgam attack. “Expressing concern over the loss of tourists’ lives, the committee reviewed the Indian measures announced on 23 April 2025 and termed them unilateral, unjust, politically motivated, extremely irresponsible and devoid of legal merit,” the statement added. The NSC also announced a series of measures in retaliation to the “reckless and irresponsible behaviour of India, which disregards international conventions, UN Security Council Resolutions and international obligations at will”. Most prominently, Pakistan decided to suspend the 1972 Simla Agreement and said it would close the Wagah Border with India. “Pakistan shall exercise the right to hold all bilateral agreements with India including but not limited to Simla Agreement in abeyance, till India desists from its manifested behaviour of fomenting terrorism inside Pakistan; trans-national killings; and non-adherence to international law and UN Resolutions on Kashmir,” the PMO statement said. “Any attempt to stop or divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan as per the Indus Waters Treaty and the usurpation of the rights of lower riparian will be considered as an Act of War,” it said. India suspends visa services to Pakistani nationals STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 24 APRIL In another step against Pakistan in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, India on Thursday decided to suspend visa services to Pakistani nationals with immediate effect. ''The Government of India has decided to suspend visa services to Pakistani nationals with immediate effect. All existing valid visas issued by India to Pakistani nationals stand revoked with effect from 27 April 2025,'' the Ministry of External Affairs said. In addition, the official X account of the Government of Pakistan has been suspended in India following Tuesday's terrorist attack, based on an Indian government request. With Indus Waters Treaty suspension, India strikes at Pakistan’s lifeline STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 24 APRIL The suspension of the Indus Water Treaty by India is going to have a huge impact on Pakistan, which is already grappling with economic challenges, according to experts. The treaty survived two wars - the 1965 and 1971 India-Pakistan wars - and several military standoffs between the two neighbours, including the 1999 Kargil war, but has now been indefinitely suspended. Following the Pahalgam terror attack, India has suspended the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan. This was among the decisions taken by the Narendra Modi government after the dastardly attack which claimed at least 26 lives. SILVER `1,00,900 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 66.73 Political parties extend support to govt at all-party meet Max: 35.4˚C (-0.5) Min: 29.0˚C (+2.8) Pakistan on Thursday announced the suspension of trade, bilateral accords and airspaces with India, among other moves, as it retaliated to New Delhi’s slew of measures against Islamabad in the wake of the deadly attack in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir. Among India’s actions was the unilateral move to suspend the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, which was brokered by the World Bank and has endured through wars and decades of hostility. Pakistan made the retaliatory decisions during a meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) in Islamabad today, convened to formulate a response to India. Chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the meeting was attended by top government and military officials, including the defence minister, foreign minister, interior minister, national security adviser, P16 ‘Terrorists will be punished beyond their imagination’ TEMPERATURE SUN RISES 05:09 hrs MOON RISES 02:30 hrs P7 India will pursue every terrorist to the ends of the earth, punish them, their backers: PM Modi RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 88% P6 NIFTY 24,246.70 q82.25 CSK, SRH BATTLE FOR SURVIVAL ‘IN TOUCH WITH OTHER CMS OVER SAFETY OF KASHMIRI STUDENTS’ The Indus River system starts in Tibet and flows through India and Pakistan, also touching parts of Afghanistan and China. Division of the waters of the Indus river system, which spans both countries, is governed by a 56-year-old treaty, which are regarded as one of the most successful agreements of its kind. The Indus Water Treaty (IWT) was brokered by the World Bank after nine years of talks and signed by India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Pakistan’s President Ayub Khan to manage shared rivers. According to the treaty, India has control over the eastern rivers Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej, while Pakistan gets the waters of western rivers Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab. Both countries are allowed limited use of the rivers and their tributaries assigned to the other for specific purposes including irrigation and power generation. Pakistan benefits the most from the treaty as it receives 80 per cent of the total water flow from these rivers, which is utilised for agriculture, mainly in its Punjab and Sindh provinces. The country is heavily dependent on it to avoid a full-blown water crisis. Major cities like Karachi, Lahore, and Multan draw their water directly from these rivers, vital for irrigation, farming and drinking. The treaty's suspension would definitely affect Pakistan's water requirements and agicultural sector. The Indus River network ~ comprising the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej rivers ~ serves as Pakistan's principal water resource, supporting its major population. For Pakistan, the Indus river system is not just vital ~ it is existential. India cannot physically stop the flow of water from the western rivers, but it has ways to reduce it. By using dams and smaller infrastructure built along these rivers, India can attempt to cripple Pakistan’s water supply. attending the all-party meeting. The government, at the meeting chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, conceded that there was a security lapse, a participant who was not willing to go on record said. Talking to reporters after the meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said that the Pahalgam attack was carried out to “vitiate the atmosphere when the economy of Jammu and Kashmir was on upswing and tourism was booming.” Mr Rijiju said that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh briefed the meeting on how the Pahalgam attack took place and the subsequent decisions being taken by the government. IB and MHA officials briefed the meeting on the “lapses” and the steps being taken to prevent recurrence of such attacks, he said. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that everyone uniformly condemned the attack and offered full support to the government to take any action. “The Opposition has given the Centre full support to take any action,” he said. India briefs envoys of friendly nations on Pahalgam, response STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 24 APRIL In a diplomatic offensive against Pakistan, India on Thursday briefed envoys of G20 countries, including China and Canada, on the Pahalgam terror attack and the role of the neighbouring country in the assault. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri led a series of briefings forforeigndiplomatsandambassadors stationed in New Delhi. Diplomats from key nations, including the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, China, Qatar, UAE,Oman,Indonesia,Malaysia, and Norway, were called to the foreignofficeandgivenadetailed account of the terror attack and India's response. Significantly, Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong also attended the special briefing at the South Block. This engagement is being viewed as part of India's broader effort to impress upon all regional stakeholders the gravity of the terror threat in Jammu and Kashmir and the imperative for international support in countering terrorism, sources said.