MONDAY 28 APRIL 2025 www.thestatesman.com Pages 12 |` 5.00| LC SINCE 1818 X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR RBI GOVERNOR EXHORTS US INDUSTRY TO INVEST IN INDIA K’TAKA CM TROLLED FOR ‘NO WAR WITH PAK’ REMARK, BACKTRACKS P8 WEATHER PARTLY CLOUDY SKY TOWARDS AFTERNOON/EVENING. OCCASIONAL SUSTAINED SURFACE WINDS (SPEED 10-20 KMPH). THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 41 AND 26 DEGREES CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. RAINFALL: Nil RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 42 % TEMPERATURE P10 P5 PM vows justice for Pahalgam victims Mann Ki Baat: Modi promises harshest punishment for perpetrators “ PARWINDER SANDHU Min. 17 % Max: 41.3 °C (+2.3) SUN RISES 05:43 hrs MOON RISES 06:29 hrs AIYAR LINKS PAHALGAM ATTACK TO PARTITION LEGACY At a time when peace was returning to Kashmir... the terrorists and the masterminds of terror want Kashmir to be destroyed again, and hence they executed such a big conspiracy. Today, the world is watching. After this terrorist attack, the whole country is speaking in one voice. NEW DELHI, 27 APRIL Min: 27.2 °C (+3.4) SUN SETS 18:55 hrs MOON SETS 19:48 hrs THUMBNAILS Visitors experience the intense heat at Kartavya Path during the scorching summer in New Delhi on Sunday. n SUBRATA DUTTA Eleven of marriage party killed in MP mishap: Nine members of a family were among at least 11 persons killed when a van hit a motorcycle before falling into an open well in a village in the Mandsaur district of Madhya on Sunday afternoon. According to police, the mishap occurred in village Kachariya near Budha-Takarwat Phante. The Maruti Eco Van was carrying about a dozen persons from the Ratlam district to the Antari Mata Temple in Neemuch district after they attended a wedding ceremony in the Mandsaur district. P romising the harshest response to the perpetrators of the Pahalgam terror attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday assured the families of the victims that they would get justice, and justice would be done. Speaking in his monthly Mann ki Baat radio show, Mr Modi said that he was deeply agonised and understood the anger seething within every citizen owing to the attack. “This attack in Pahalgam shows the desperation of the patrons of terrorism; displays their cowardice… At a time when peace was returning to Kashmir, there was a vibrancy in schools and colleges, construction work had gained unprecedented pace, democracy was getting stronger, the number of tourists was increasing at a record rate, people's income was increasing, new opportunities were being created for the youth,” he said. “The enemies of the country, the enemies of NARENDRA MODI PRIME MINISTER Jammu and Kashmir, did not like that. The terrorists and the masterminds of terror want Kashmir to be destroyed again, and hence they executed such a big conspiracy. Today, the world is watching, after this terrorist attack, the whole country is speaking in one voice,” he added. The Prime Minister also paid tributes to scientist Dr K Kasturirangan, who passed away recently. Mr Modi said that the former ISRO chief’s contribution in lending newer heights to science, education, and India's Space Program shall always be remembered. “ISRO attained a new identity under his leadership. The space programmes that moved forward under his guidance gave global recognition to India's efforts. Many of the satellites that India uses today were launched under the supervision of Dr Kasturirangan,” said the PM. He also mentioned Kasturirangan's role in the formulation of the new National Education Policy. Talking about the privatisation in the space sector, the PM said that many youths are attaining new milestones in the field of Space Startups. “Ten years ago, there was only one company, but today, more than 325 Space Startups are working in the country. The times to come are ushering in a lot of new possibilities in Space. India is going to scale new heights. The country is busy preparing for many important missions like Gaganyaan, SpaDeX, and Chandrayaan-4. We are also working on the Venus Orbiter Mission and Mars Lander Mission,” he said. Highlighting the relief measures under Operation Brahma in Myanmar, the Prime Minister mentioned the rescue of an elderly woman by the Indian team, who was buried under the debris for over 18 hours. Flexing maritime muscle: Navy conducts JNUSU elections: ABVP leads central panel race anti-ship missile firings in Arabian Sea AGENCIES STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, APRIL 27 Amidst the heightened tensions between India and Pakistan resulting from the deaths of 26 tourists at the hands of Pakistan sponsored terrorists, multiple anti-ship missile firings were carried out in the Arabian Sea by the Indian Navy. The firings were part of an exercise aiming to demonstrate the combat readiness and capability to safeguard the maritime interests. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, the Indian Navy stated that the firings were done to revalidate and showcase the operational readiness of platforms, systems, and crew for longrange precision offensive strikes. “Indian Navy Ships undertook successful multiple antiship firings to revalidate and demonstrate readiness of platforms, systems and crew for long-range precision offensive strike. Indian Navy stands Combat Ready, Credible and Future Ready in safeguarding the nation's maritime interests Anytime Anywhere Anyhow," the post read. As reported previously, on April 24, two days after the Pahalgam terror attack, guided missile destroyer INS Surat carried out a successful test firing of the Medium range surface-to-air missile (MR-SAM) air defence missile system in the Arabian Sea. “Indian Navy's latest indigenous guided missile destroyer INS Surat successfully carried out a precision cooperative engagement of a sea skimming target, marking another milestone in strengthening our defence capabilities," the Indian Navy wrote on X. Part of the P15B Guided Missile Destroyer Project, INS Surat stands amongst the largest and most sophisticated destroyers in the world. NEW DELHI, 27 APRIL With around 56 per cent of the votes counted, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) maintained a strong lead across all key posts as counting continued on Sunday for the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) elections 2024-25. By 6:30 pm on Sunday, with 3,125 out of about 5,500 votes counted, ABVP candidates were ahead for all four central panel positions. For President, Shiksha Swaraj (ABVP) led with 922 votes, followed by Nitish Kumar (AISA-DSF) with 846 and Tayyba with 417. For Vice-President, Nittu Gautam (ABVP) was leading with 823 votes, while Manisha had 659 and Rawani 555. Kunal Rai (ABVP) led for General Secretary with 976 votes, ahead of Munteha with 738 and Yari with 662. For Joint Secretary, Vaibhav Meena (ABVP) was ahead with 1,001 votes, with Naresh at 744 and Nigam at 614. Earlier in the day, ABVP had taken an early lead after around 2,475 votes were counted by 1 p.m. Polling for the JNUSU elections concluded on Friday with a turnout of nearly 70 per cent, as approximately 5,500 students cast their votes out of 7,906 eligible voters. In the councillor elections, ABVP has already secured 23 out of 42 seats across various schools and special centres, including a clean sweep in the School of Engineering and significant wins in the Schools of Social Sciences, International Studies, and Sanskrit and Indic Studies. Indian goods worth over $10 billion reaching Pakistan bypassing trade restrictions: Report Massive fire in Rohini slums claims 2 lives STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Pakistani health authorities have initiated "emergency preparedness" measures to secure pharmaceutical supplies after the suspension of trade ties with India. Pakistan relies on India for 30 per cent to 40 per cent of its pharmaceutical raw materials NEW DELHI, 27 APRIL Amid the ongoing India-Pakistan tensions, the economic think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), has said that the Indian goods worth over USD 10 billion are reaching Pakistan every year indirectly through ports such as Dubai, Singapore, and Colombo, bypassing trade restrictions. GTRI said that Indian firms send goods to these ports, where an independent company offloads the consignment and keeps the products in bonded warehouses, where goods can be stored without paying duties while in transit. Speaking further, GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said: "In the bonded warehouse, the labels and documents are modified to show a different country of origin. For example, Indian-made goods may be relabelled as 'Made in UAE'. After this change, they are shipped to countries like Pakistan, where direct trade with India is not allowed.” This method, he said, helps firms to bypass India-Pakistan trade restrictions; sell goods at higher prices, using the third country route; and avoid scrutiny, since the trade appears to come from other countries. In a separate development, reports have said that the Pakistani health authorities have initiated "emergency preparedness" measures to secure pharmaceutical supplies in response to the suspension of trade ties with India. Pakistan relies on India for 30 per cent to 40 per cent of its pharmaceutical raw materials, including Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) and various advanced therapeutic products. The report by Geo News has said that the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has confirmed that while there has been no formal notification regarding the ban's impact on the pharmaceutical sector, contingency plans are already in place. "Following the 2019 crisis, we had started preparing for such contingencies. We are now actively looking at alternative avenues to meet our pharmaceutical needs," the report quoted a senior DRAP official as saying. After the Pulwama terror attack in 2019, the two-way trade between India and Pakistan was already minuscule following steps taken by both sides. In April-January 2024-25, India's exports to Pakistan stood at USD 447.65 million, while imports were meagre USD 0.42 million. Exports and imports in 2023-24 were USD 1.18 billion and USD 2.88 million, respectively. NEW DELHI, 27 APRIL A massive fire that broke out in the slums of North West Delhi’s Rohini claimed the lives of two children and gutted a large number of shanties in an area of 5 acres, the Fire Department said. The bodies of the two children were recovered by Fire personnel during the firefighting operation undertaken to douse the flames that engulfed hundreds of shanties near Shri Niketan Apartment in Rohini’s Sector 17. Soon after the receipt of a call about the blaze at 11.55 am, the department pressed 26 fire tenders into service. At around 2 p.m, a team of the Fire Department recovered the two bodies from the scene. Search was on for more bodies and survivors of the fire. According to an official, the fire was brought under control at around 3.20 p.m. It is being said that the fire originated from one of the shanties before spreading in the entire area. (Details on Page 2) MUMBAI INDIANS PREVAIL AGAINST LUCKNOW GIANTS P12 CDS meets Defence Minister on follow-up to Pahalgam attack STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 27 APRIL Chief of General Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan, met the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at the latter’s residence on Sunday to update him about the decisions taken up by the armed forces following the Pakistan sponsored terror attack in Pahalgam. The meeting came a day after’s Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir again raked up the issue of Hindus and Muslims being “two separate nations” amidst the heightened tensions between the two countries. Days before the Pahalgam terror attack, Gen. Munir had also given a provocative statement while addressing a Convention for Overseas Pakistanis in Islamabad. Speaking about Kashmir, the General said: “Our stance is very clear, it was our jugular vein, it will be our jugular vein, and we will not forget it. We will not leave our Kashmiri brothers in their heroic struggle.” Top retired officers of the Indian Army had stated that the Pahalgam attack targeting Hindus was certainly in response to the provocative statement. Following the Pahalgam terror attack, a massive operation has been launched in Kashmir by the security forces. On Friday, Army Chief Upender Dwivedi visited Srinagar where he reviewed the security situation following the deadly massacre of 26 tourists in Pahalgam. The terror attack was carried out by the Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of the Lashkar-e-Taiyyaba. Earlier, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had promised a ‘loud and clear response’ to the Pahalgam attack. “I want to repeat India's resolve against terrorism. We have a policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism. I want to assure the countrymen that the government will take every necessary step. We will not only reach the perpetrators of this act but also the actors behind the scenes. The accused will soon see a loud and clear response, I want to assure the country," he had said. NIA takes over investigation into Pahalgam massacre STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 27 APRIL Five days after terrorists shot dead 26 tourists in Pahalgam, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken over the case from the Jammu and Kashmir Police. As per media reports, acting on an order issued by the Counter Terrorism and Counter Radicalisation (CTCR) division of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the investigation agency has filed a fresh FIR in the case. As reported previously, following the massacre, security forces had launched massive counter-insurgency operations in the valley, which also included doorto-door search operations. There were reports that hundreds of people have been detained for questioning. A list of local terrorists is said to have been compiled by the intelligence agencies, amidst the ongoing escalation in the region. The list of the terrorists actively operating in Jammu and Kashmir includes men in the age group of 20 to 40 years. Those on the list are said to have links with Pakistan-backed terror outfits like Hizbul Mujahideen, Lashkar-eTaiyyaba (LeT), and Jaishe-Mohammed (JeM) to whom they are providing logistical and ground-level support to the terrorists from Pakistan. Security forces, meanwhile, demolished the house of an active JeM terrorist Amir Nazir Wani in South Kashmir’s Tral. For the third day running, Pakistan army posts resorted to unprovoked small arms fire across the Line of Control (LoC) in the areas opposite Tutmari and Rampur Sectors. Indian troops responded effectively, offfcials said. Social activist gunned down in Kupwara JAMMU, 27 APRIL Amid the high security alert in J&K after the Pahalgam killings, terrorists shot dead a social activist Ghulam Rasool Magray in North Kashmir’s Kupwara district, officials said on Sunday. A group of terrorists reportedly barged into the house of Magray in the Kandi Khas village on Saturday night and opened fire at him from close range. The badly injured Magray was taken to SMHS Hospital Srinagar, where he succumbed to his injuries. Magray was earlier engaged in the cross-LoC trade and was running a provision store. His house was raided by the NIA about five years ago. SNS 537 Pakistani nationals leave India through Attari in 3 days AGENCIES AMRITSAR, 27 APRIL A total of 537 Pakistani nationals have left India through the Attari border over the past three days after the deadline for short-term visa holders ended on Sunday, according to an official. Speaking to ANI, Arun Pal, a protocol officer at the Attari border, stated that 850 Indian nationals have returned to India in the past three days. He added that on Sunday alone, 237 Pakistani nationals returned to their country, while 116 Indian nationals came back. “Custom immigration counters opened at 10 am. Before the counters closed, 237 Pakistani Nationals returned to Pakistan from India, and 116 Indian Nationals returned from Pakistan. From April 24, 537 Pakistani Nationals have returned to Pakistan, and 850 Indian Nationals have returned to India. As per the latest information, Pakistani passport holders have until 29 April to cross the border. The same applies to Indian passport holders,” Mr Pal said. The Indian government on Friday revoked all categories of visas issued to Pak- istani citizens, except longterm, diplomatic, and official visas, with immediate effect from 27 April. The Union government's decision to suspend visa services for Pakistani nationals followed the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people, mostly tourists, including one Nepalese national. At the Attari crossing on Sunday, a long queue of vehicles formed as Pakistanis waited for clearance from the Border Security Force (BSF) to cross over. Many expressed sadness over the abrupt end to their visits, emphasising that innocent people with family ties across the border are often caught in the crossfire of political and security tensions. One Pakistani woman returning after visiting Jodhpur said: “I was here for a month. I got married in Pakistan 15 years ago. It feels strange to leave like this.” Another Pakistani national, visibly emotional, said: “Yes, we heard about the attack initially, and of course, all this is happening because of that. It’s unfortunate we have to leave for such a reason. It's hard to believe that we’re reallygoingback.Suchincidents should not happen. Both governments should take precautions so innocent people like us aren’t affected.” A man who had come to India to meet his sons remarked: “I had come to see my children who live here. They told me about the incident. What happened in Pahalgam was very wrong.”