03082022-TT-01.qxd 8/2/2022 11:18 PM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 142 NO. 213 | 16 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2021-2023 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  HIMACHAL PRADESH NO COLLAPSE OF INDIAN RUPEE, SAYS FM BUSINESS /thetribunechd ~700 CR LOSS DUE TO SRINAGAR-LEH POWER PROJECT DELAY J&K 8 MONKEYPOX CASES DETECTED, 5 WITH INT'L TRAVEL HISTORY NATION IMRAN IN DOCK FOR RECEIVING ILLICIT FUNDING WORLD wednesday | 3 august 2022 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Wanted for 9/11, Qaida chief Zawahiri Nancy Pelosi lands in Taiwan, defies Beijing killed in US dronestrike in Afghanistan Targeted on his balcony in Kabul | Hit by Hellfire missiles | Justice delivered: Biden Kabul/Washington, August 2 Al-Qaida chief Ayman alZawahiri (71) was killed in a US drone missile while he stood on a balcony at his home in downtown Kabul, Afghanistan, officials in Washington said, in the biggest blow to the militants since Osama bin Laden was shot dead more than a decade ago. Afghanistan’s Taliban government has not confirmed the death of Zawahiri, an Egyptian surgeon who had a $25 million bounty on his head and helped to coordinate the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US that killed nearly 3,000 people. US officials said Zawahiri was killed when he came out on the balcony of his safe house in Kabul at 6.18 am (0148 GMT) on Sunday morning and was hit by Hellfire missiles from a US drone. “Now justice has been delivered, and this terrorist leader is no more,” US President Joe Biden said in televised remarks from the White House on Monday. “No matter how long it takes, no continued on page 12 edit: End of al-zawahiri $25 3,000 million bounty on his head were killed in US 9/11 WAS AMONG MOST THE DREADED TERRORISTS HELLFIRE MISSILE — NO BLAST, PRECISE ATTACK ■ Coordinated the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US that left nearly 3,000 dead ■ Plotted the October 12, 2000, LIVED IN POSH KABUL attack on US naval vessel in Yemen, killing 17 US sailors NEIGHBOURHOOD ■ Indicted in the US for the Zawahiri was living with his famAugust 7, 1998, bombings of ily in a house in Sherpoor, which US embassies in Kenya, Tanis an upscale residential neighzania; 224 killed, 5,000 hurt bourhood in central Kabul ■ Hellfire has no explo- sive warhead ■ Deploys 6 blades Ayman al-Zawahri. FILE PHOTO that fly in at high speed; crush and slice the target ■ ‘Hellfire R9X’ is a little over five feet long, weighs 100 pounds ■ Doesn’t leave behind burnt-out shells or mangled marks US FORCES KEPT TRACK OF HIS MOVEMENTS FOR SEVERAL MONTHS ■ The seeds of the audacious US operation were SHERPOOR Qaida-Taliban nexus tofore,Indiacautious New Delhi, August 2 Though Ayman alZawahiri’s death has dealt a severe blow to Al-Qaida affiliates in India, officials in the country’s security set-up have expressed concern over Taliban sheltering terror outfits that have been mainly continued on page 12 planted over several months ■ President Biden was updated in May, June, briefed on July 1. On July 25, he authorised the strike ■ US officials built a scale model of the safe house where Zawahiri had been located. Brought it to White House to show Biden ■ Zawahiri was partial to sitting on the home’s balcony. US officials constructed ‘a pattern of life’ and killed Zawahiri by missile fired by drone India negotiating for drone used in attack New Delhi, August 2 When Al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed by US forces in a drone strike in Afghanistan capital Kabul, the development was watched keenly in India. For, New Delhi has been negotiating with Washington for the sale of similar drones — Predator — that can launch the Hellfire missile, which was used to kill Zawahiri. The Ministry of Defence is processing a case to get 30 such drones, 10 each for the Navy, Air Force and the Army. Pictures from the Kabul home where Zawahiri was killed showed no signs of an explosion, pointing to the use of the secret weapon called the ‘Hellfire R9X’. The weapon has no explosive warhead, but deploys six blades which fly in at high speed, crushing and slicing the targeted person. Officially, the US Department of Defence or the CIA have never acknowledged the use of the ‘Hellfire R9X’. continued on page 12 FIRST-EVERLAWN BOWLS GOLD Banks lost ~10 lakh cr in LIFTER HARJINDER WINS BRONZE (71KG) MEN’S TT TEAM RETAINS GOLD, The Indian quartet of Rupa Rani Tirkey, Pinki, Nayanmoni Saikia and Lovely Choubey created history by beating South Africa for gold in the women’s lawn bowls team event. Lawn bowls, a British sport, is a blend of ten-pin bowling and curling She is daughter of a landless farmer of Mehas village in Patiala BEATS SINGAPORE 3-1 VIKAS THAKUR GETS SILVER IN WEIGHTLIFTING (96KG) IN BRIEF Four labourers fall to death at Gurugram site GURUGRAM: Four labourers died after a tower crane broke and they fell from the 17th floor of an under-construction building here on Tuesday. Another worker sustained critical injuries. TNS Congress MLA Bishnoi to join BJP tomorrow DEEP NEXUS Bijendra Ahlawat expelled from all party positions by the Congress after he cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha polls in June, will join the BJP on Thursday. TNS Tribune News Service NEW DELHI: Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and PM Narendra Modi inked six agreements to expand cooperation between the two nations in several key areas on Tuesday. TNS Go First car goes under IndiGo plane, probe on NEW DELHI: A car belonging to Go First airline went under an IndiGo aircraft at the Delhi airport on Tuesday, narrowly avoiding collision with plane’s nose wheel. A probe has been ordered. TNS HP apple growers to gherao sectt Shimla, August 2 Apple growers will gherao the Secretariat on August 5 despite the government accepting a few demands raised by them. Sanjay Chauhan, co-convener of the Kisan Sanyukt Manch, alleged, “The government has made certain announcements, but nothing changed on ground. Our other demands are equally important.” INSIDE New Delhi, August 2 Banks have written off loans worth about Rs 10 lakh crore in the last five financial years, Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat K Karad said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha. The write-off amount was Rs 1.57 lakh crore in 2021-22, Rs 2.02 lakh crore in 2020-21, Rs 2.34 lakh crore in 2019-20, Rs 2.36 lakh crore in 2018-19, and Rs 1.61 lakh crore in 2017-18. This amounted to Rs. 9.91 lakh crore written off in the last five years. The total number of wilful WRITE OFF LOANS OF 10,306 DEFAULTERS Non-payer Gitanjali Gems Era Infra Engineering Concast Steel & Power REI Agro ABG Shipyard Amount ~7,110 cr ~5,879 cr ~4,107 cr ~3,984 cr ~3,708 cr defaulters, maintained from 2018-19 onwards in the last four years stood at 10,306. The highest number of 2,840 wilful defaulters were reported during 2020-21, followed continued on page 12 Illegal mining scars Aravalli tail-end, flattens several hillocks in Faridabad HISAR: Haryana's Adampur MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi, who was India, Maldives sign six pacts in key sectors 5 yrs, Choksi top debtor Faridabad, August 2 Deep gorges, craters and flattening of several hills and hillocks of the Aravalli range have scarred the tail-end of the oldest mountain chain irreparably as illegal mining goes on with impunity despite a ban. Unlike Nuh where mining is usually carried out after it SPREAD OVER 79,316 HA ■ Anangpur, Pali, Mohabtabad, Mangar, Sirohi and Khori villages mining hotspots ■ Mafia uses tractors & camels ■ 3,500 camels in vicinity of Anangpur village alone ■ Illegal mining spread over 79,316 hectares gets dark, the difficult terrain and alleged lack of checks have made carrying out covert operations easy for locals even in the day in the home district of Haryana Mines Minister Mool Chand Sharma. He said his department was committed to curbing the menace. As many as 38 cases had been registered continued on page 12 Dues unpaid, PGI halts treatment of Punjab patients Ayushman scheme Govt fails to clear 7-month bills amounting to ~16 crore Naina Mishra Tribune News Service Chandigarh, August 2 After the Punjab Government failed to clear dues of seven months amounting to Rs 16 crore under Ayushman Bharat Yojana, a health insurance scheme, the PGI has stopped treatment under the scheme for patients hail- WILL CLEAR PAYMENTS IN A WEEK The government owes ~300 crore under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana. The matter is with the Finance Department and the dues are expected to be cleared within a week. Ajoy Sharma, PRINCIPAL SECY, HEALTH, PUNJAB ❝ ing from the state. Every month, the institute sees around 1,200-1,400 patients from Punjab seeking treatment under the insurance scheme. With the PGI halting the treatment due to non-reimbursement of funds and no government hospital in Punjab offering treatment under the scheme, the patients will be at the receiving end. Manjinder Singh from Fazilka district said, “For the past four months, we have been denied continued on page 12 Taipei, August 2 US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday night despite threats from Beijing of serious consequences, becoming the highest-ranking American official to visit the selfruled island claimed by China in 25 years. Pelosi’s visit has triggered increased tension between China and the US. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory, to be annexed by force, if necessary, and views visits by foreign government officials as recognition of the island’s sovereignty. China had warned of “resolute and strong measures” if Pelosi went ahead with the trip, but has given no details on what these might be. Speculation has centered on threatening military exercises and possible incursions by Chinese planes and ships into areas under Taiwanese control. The Biden administration did not explicitly urge Pelosi to call off the visit, while China announces drills near Taiwan VOICES SUPPORT The US delegation’s visit honours America’s unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan’s vibrant democracy. ❝ Nancy Pelosi, US HOUSE SPEAKER seeking to assure Beijing it would not signal any change in the US policy on Taiwan. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Washington’s betrayal “on the Taiwan issue is bankrupting its national credibility”. “Some American politicians are playing with fire on the issue of Taiwan,” Wang said in a statement. “This will definitely not have a good outcome... continued on page 12 CAA rules after Covid booster drill ends, says Shah New Delhi, August 2 West Bengal Assembly Leader of Opposition and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari today met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and urged him to implement the citizenship law CAA at the earliest. The framing of rules for the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) will pave the way for its implementation. Passed by Parliament in December 2019, the Act is yet to be rolled out due to the absence of rules. The continued on page 12 On fund trail, ED raids Herald office New Delhi, August 2 Days after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) questioned Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi, the agency today conducted raids at the head office of the Congressowned National Herald newspaper here and 11 other locations as part of its probe under criminal provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Condemning the ED action, the Congress said it was nothing but “vendetta politics” and the ruling party had turned the agency into VENDETTA, SAYS CONG Congress says the action is nothing but political vendetta and the BJP has turned the ED into its puppet << The National Herald House in New Delhi. its “election department”. The BJP however, claimed , “law will take its own course”. The National Herald is published by the Associated Journals Ltd (AJL), and its holding company is Young Indian—both owned by the Congress. The ED is probing a money laundering case against the AJL and Young Indian. ED officials said the searches were being carried out under the criminal sections of the PMLA to “gather continued on page 12