FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session | India’s National Newspaper since 1818 Pages 16 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA LC | Hold Pak accountable: MEA after PoK protests | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR Mamata upset after DVC unilaterally releases water STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Kolkata, 3 October STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Yunus govt should probe acts of violence: MEA New Delhi, 3 October I n a sharp reaction to the ongoing civilian protests in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), India on Friday said the unrest is a natural consequence of Pakistan's oppressive approach and its systemic plundering of resources from these territories, which remain under its forcible and illegal occupation. The government further said that the neighbouring country must be held accountable for its horrific human rights violations. During his weekly media briefing in New Delhi, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said: “We have seen reports on protests in several areas of Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, including brutalities NEW DELHI AGENCIES New Delhi, 3 October People protest in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. by Pakistani forces on innocent civilians...We believe that it is a natural consequence of Pakistan’s oppressive approach and systemic plundering of resources from these territories, which remain under its forcible and illegal occupation. Pakistan must be held accountable for its horrific human rights violations.” “Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are inalienable parts of India, will remain and have FILE PHOTO always been part of India. Those territories (PoK) are our inalienable part,” he added. The statement comes after several people, including police personnel, were killed and dozens injured during the ongoing violent clashes in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir that began during the strike called by the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) for reforms and public facilities in the region. India on Friday slammed the recent remarks made by Bangladesh’s Home Advisor Jahangir Alam Chowdhury alleging New Delhi’s hand in recent violence in Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tracts. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government has a habit of routinely diverting attention from internal failures, and it should investigate the actions of local extremists committing atrocities against the minorities in the country. Coming down heavily on the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) for releasing water without the state government’s consent, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said no conspiracy against Bengal will be tolerated. The DVC has released 65,000 cusec of water without any prior notice, she alleged. Miss Banerjee wrote on the X platform: “Such unilateral action is shameful and absolutely unacceptable. By releasing water without intimation, the DVC has placed millions of lives in Bengal in immediate peril. This is not a natural calamity, it is a disaster manufactured by the DVC. Let me be clear: I will not allow anyone to carry out a Bisarjan of Bengal.” • Details on Page 3 | Saturday, 04 October 2025 IAF chief: Radars, runways, hangars hit, Pakistan forced to seek ceasefire PARWINDER SANDHU New Delhi, 3 October The chief of staff of the Indian Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, tore into Islamabad on Friday with a blunt reminder of India’s military might, declaring that during Operation Sindoor the enemy was “brought to their knees in just one night”. He asserted that the strike left Pakistan so battered that it was forced to seek a ceasefire after suffering extensive damage. Addressing the annual press conference held here on Friday, the Air Chief said that the Indian Air Force struck a large number of Pakistan’s airfields and installations in the strikes carried out during Op Sindoor. Outlining the damage inflicted on Pakistan, the IAF chief said: “As far as Pakistan’s losses are concerned, we have struck a large number of their airfields and we struck a large number of installations. Because of these strikes, radars at at least four places, command and control centres at two places, runways of course damaged at two places, then three of their hangars in three different stations have been damaged. We have signs of one C-130 class of aircraft…and at least 4 to 5 fighter aircraft, most likely F-16, because that place happened to be F-16 with whatever was under maintenance at that time.” “Along with that, one SAM system has been destroyed. We have clear evidence of one long-range strike, which I talked about, more than 300 km, which happened to be either an AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) or a SIGINT aircraft, along with those five high-tech fighters between F-16 and JF 17 class, this is what our system tells us,” Air Chief Marshal Singh added. On the ceasefire announced on 10 May following four days of cross border action, the IAF chief said: “A clear directive, clear mandate was given to the Indian Armed Forces. It stands as a lesson which will go down in history that this is one war that was started with a very clear objective and it was terminated in a quick time without just prolonging it.” “We are seeing what is happening in the world, the two wars that are going on, there’s no talk about termination. But we could make them reach a stage where they ask for a ceasefire, ask for termination of hostilities. 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