23102023-TTC-01.qxd 10/23/2023 12:39 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 7 NO. 293 | 16 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2021-2023 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 OPPN CRITICISES USE OF GOVT RESOURCES FOR SHARIF’S RETURN WORLD /thetribunechd INFILTRATION ATTEMPT FOILED IN URI, TWO ULTRAS KILLED J&K NEED TO ACCELERATE TECH-DRIVEN CHANGE IN FOCUS IN SNUB TO INDIA BLOC, AKHILESH INVOKES ‘PDA’ SLOGAN BACK PAGE monday | 23 october 2023 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Canadian meddling behind parity call: EAM DIPLOMATIC ROW Jaishankar says many details not out yet |Visas once situation improves India-US 2+2 meet Sandeep Dikshit STOPPED VISAS AS ENVOYS FELT UNSAFE GOING TO WORK Tribune News Service NewDelhi, October 22 External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that India invoked diplomatic parity as it had concerns about continuous interference in its affairs by Canadian personnel. He also said the government was reviewing the security of its diplomats in Canada before restarting issuance of visas, but indicated any such move shouldn’t be interpreted as softening of India’s stand on the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. which people have visas. ❝ Right now, thewebig concernissuing visas becauseisitaboutno longer Some weeks ago, stopped was safe for our diplomats to go to work to issue visas. S Jaishankar, EAM MEA SHOULD MOVE FATF ON CANADA, SAYS BJP Amid strong buzz that India was mulling options to go to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) with evidence of Khalistani terrorist activity in Canada, BJP spokesperson RP Singh called upon the government to petition the FATF. “Right now, the big concern is issuance of visas, which we stopped recently after it was no longer safe for our diplomats to go to workplace. Their safety was the primary reason we had to temporarily stop the process. My hope, my expectation is that the situation will improve and people will have greater confidence in being able to do their basic duty as diplomats,” Jaishankar said at Kautilya Conclave here today. Even if India begins issuing visas, there will be no let-up in the problem in ties between the two countries, which Jais- in November hankar said “is with certain segments of Canadian politics and the policies which flow from that.” The EAM also pushed back at claims from the foreign offices of Canada, the UK and the US that India’s sending back of 41 Canadian diplomats was a violation of the Vienna Convention. “Parity on how many diplomats of one country with diplomats of another country is very much provided for by the Vienna Convention, which is the relevant international continued on page 9 New Delhi: Amid ongoing global turbulence, India and the US are scheduled to hold the 2+2 meeting in New Delhi around November 9-10. US Secretary of Defence Lloyd J Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken are scheduled to meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh here, government sources said. During the meeting, the leaders are expected to discuss global and regional security issues, including the continued on page 9 1st planeload of Indian aid sent for Palestinians Women pilots likely for manned mission in future, says ISRO Sandeep Dikshit RELIEF MATERIAL IN CONSIGNMENT Tribune News Service Life-saving medicines, surgical items, tents, sleeping bags, tarpaulins, sanitary utilities, water purification tablets among other necessary items 143 FLY OUT OF ISRAEL UNDER ‘OP AJAY’ Medical aid and relief material being loaded on to an IAF C-17 aircraft for Palestinians, in New Delhi. PTI also told Abbas India would continue to send humanitarian aid for the Palestinians. India has supported Palestine and Palestinian refugees through $29.53 million in contributions to the UN IN BRIEF Agniveer from Maha dies in line of duty in Siachen NEW DELHI: An Agniveer from Maharashtra, Gawate Akshay Laxman, died in the line of duty in Siachen, the world’s highest militarised zone, Army’s Leh-headquartered Fire and Fury Corps said. INSIDE Cyclone may form over Bay of Bengal by tomorrow BHUBANESWAR: The depression over Bay of Bengal may become a low-intensity cyclonic storm by October 24, the IMD said on Sunday. District collectors concerned have been told to remain prepared. PTI Live darshan, chatbot for Vaishno Devi pilgrims JAMMU: J&K L-G Manoj Sinha on Sunday launched a bilingual interactive chatbot ‘Shakti’ to resolve the grievances of Vaishno Devi shrine pilgrims as well as ‘live darshan’ facility. INSIDE Actor Dalip Tahil jailed in accident case MUMBAI: A court has sentenced actor Dalip Tahil to two months in jail in a 2018 drunk-driving case as his car hit an autorickshaw, leaving two persons injured. PTI HP village land sinks, 9 of 14 houses develop cracks Dipender Manta Tribune News Service Mandi, October 22 Land has been sinking at Lindur village of Goharama panchayat in Lahaul and Spiti tribal district for the past few months. As a result, around nine houses have developed cracks in the village. In July and August, agricultural land in the village had developed huge cracks, damaging the crops. The villagers had informed the district administration about it and demanded a survey by the Geological Department to find out the reason behind the sinking of land. Despite repeated requests of villagers, no survey so far has been conducted. Recently, villagers noticed cracks in their houses. So they approached continued on page 9 New Delhi, October 22 Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief S Somanath on Sunday said women could join human space missions in the future as astronauts or scientists. Somanath said astronauts for the proposed Gaganyaan mission, India’s first human spaceflight mission, have been selected from among the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) fighter test pilots. Since there is no woman fighter test pilot, no woman could be chosen for this mission, which is expected to take place sometime in 2025. “That would change when women fighter test pilots would be available,” the ISRO chief said. Somanath said the second route for women to go to space would be as scientists. Like foreign continued on page 9 Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) between 2002 and 2023. New Delhi under the Modi government stepped up its annual contribution to the UNRWA from $1.25 million to $5 million in 2018. It has again pledged an annual contribution of $5 million each for the next two fiscals. The announcement of aid comes a day after a small convoy of trucks entered Gaza with humanitarian sup- A special flight carrying 143 persons, including two Nepalese citizens and four infants, wanting to leave Israel amidst the Hamas war, left for India under ‘Operation Ajay’ on Sunday. This is the sixth such flight since October 12, when the operation was launched by India. PTI plies. New Delhi’s position mirrors that of the US. In his first tweet after the brutal Hamas attack on Israel, PM Modi had expressed solidarity with Israel and called continued on page 9 India surge to top Deepankar Sharda CRICKET Tribune News Service Dharamsala, October 22 Virat Kohli fell short of a second consecutive century but his brilliant 95 was enough to power India to a four-wicket win over New Zealand in their ICC World Cup match here tonight. India’s fifth consecutive victory in the tournament — and the first over New Zealand in an ICC event since the 1992 World Cup — took the home favourites to the top of the points table. With four matches remaining in the round-robin stage, India are practically assured of a place in the semifinals. Coming in at 71/1, Kohli steered India right to the end as the team chased New Zealand’s tricky 273. With WORLD CUP NZ: 273 (50); India: 274/6 (48) TODAY’S TIE TEAMS VENUE TIME Pak vs Afghanistan Chennai 2pm India needing just five runs for victory, Kohli tried to complete the job with a six — which would have taken him past 100, too — but was caught by Glenn Phillips at midwicket. Mohammed Shami, the Player of the Match, took 5/54 to put the brakes on the NZ innings after Daryl Mitchell (130) threatened to take the Kiwis well past 300. Shubman Gill became the quickest-ever to the 2,000-run mark in ODIs during his innings of 26 today. Child’s body exhumed, Husbands in jail, women carry on infanticide suspected drug trade in Kapurthala villages Yamunanagar, October 22 The police have dug out the body of a baby girl from her grave at Ghilaur village of Yamunanagar district. The police took this action after an unidentified person, suspecting it to be a case of infanticide, informed the police that an infant had been killed at Ghilaur village and buried in the graveyard. The deceased was reportedly the third girl child of the couple. The girl was born on September 28. She had reportedly been suffering from fever for several days and died on Friday. The next day, the body was dug out by the police after they were informed by an unidentified person about the death. Anant Ram, SHO, Radaur police station, said after the post-mortem examination at Mukand Lal District Civil Hospital, Yamunanagar, on Sunday, the body was handed over to the kin. He added that Was third daughter of Yamunanagar couple further action would be taken only after the arrival of the postmortem examination report. Battling skewed gender ratio, Haryana had suffered a setback by registering a seven-point decline in the sex ratio at birth (SRB) in the first quarter of the year compared to the corresponding period in 2022. As per the civil registration system, the SRB was 921 till March 2022, which dropped to 914 till March 31 this year. In 12 districts, the SRB was below the state average of 914. These are Kaithal (913), Hisar (907), Rewari (907), Faridabad (907), Panchkula (903), Gurugram (902), Karnal (902), Rohtak (898) and Sonepat (885), besides Bhiwani, Mahendragarh and Charkhi Dadri. — TNS Aparna Banerji Mahua Moitra Tribune News Service Subhanpur (Kapurthala), Oct22 Pointing towards increasing role of women in drug trade in Kapurthala’s hinterland, as many as 25 FIRs have been registered against women for peddling of narcotics at the Subhanpur police station over the past one year alone. “Of over 50 drug-related FIRs filed in Subhanpur, 40% are against women belonging to the village. The total figures of the district are much higher,” says a senior police official. “Women have been indulging in drug trade for long, but cases have started surfacing in the recent times, ever since videos of them selling drugs began doing the rounds on the social media,” says Hardeep Singh, Subhanpur SHO. In September, a video of a teenage girl from Badshahpur selling drugs had gone viral in Kapurthala. Her father is facing five cases TMC waiting for Parl panel probe report on Mahua: Derek MALKIAT SINGH New Delhi, October 22 Even as Palestinian casualties continue to mount in the war between Israel and Hamas, an IAF C-17 flight carrying nearly 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material for the people of Palestine departed on Sunday for the El-Arish airport in Egypt. The material includes essential life-saving medicines, surgical items, tents, sleeping bags, tarpaulins, sanitary utilities, water purification tablets among other necessary items, said MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi. The aid comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas. While conveying his condolences at the loss of civilian lives at the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza, PM Modi Mohammed Shami claimed 5/54 to put the brakes on the NZ innings, restricting the Kiwis to 273 in the World Cup match in Dharamsala. PTI Most women are reluctant to give up drug trade due to lucrative returns. 25 CASES IN SUBHANPUR ALONE ■ Of 50 drug cases filed in Subhan- pur PS in past year, 25 are against women from village; dist figures are much higher, says a cop ■ As many as 50 women from Dogranwal, Boot, Lakkhan Khole and Hamira villages in dist have been booked in past 6 years ■ While women have been in trade for long, cases have emerged recently after their videos selling drugs got viral on social media under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, while her mother and brother are in jail for similar charges. Some other villages in the dis- trict that have earned notoriety include Dogranwal, Boot, Lakkhan Khole and Hamira. Police sources say at least 50 women have been booked continued on page 9 Kolkata/new delhi, Oct 22 The Trinamool Congress on Sunday said since its MP Mahua Moitra has already clarified her stand on allegations of bribe for questions raised, the party would now await the probe by the parliamentary ethics committee as the matter has to do with “her rights and privileges”. ‘CEASEFIRE’ TILL OCTOBER 24, SAYS BJP MP DUBEY The TMC has distanced itself from the controversy over the allegation against its Lok Sabha MP BJP MP . Nishikant Dubey and lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai have alleged that Moitra had accepted favours from businessman continued on page 9 SC orders sale of NRI groom’s share in ancestral property to pay maintenance Satya Prakash Tribune News Service Cracks in a house at Lindur village in Lahaul & Spiti. PHOTO: JAI KUMAR NO SURVEY YET ■ In July-August, agricultural land had developed huge cracks, damaging crops ■ Despite repeated requests by villagers, no survey has been conducted by experts so far New Delhi, October 22 Amid rising instances of NRIs dumping their wives in India after marriage, the Supreme Court has ordered sale of an Australia-based man’s share in his ancestral property here after he abandoned his wife and refused to pay the arrears of maintenance to her. Fed up with the “utter obdu- racy” and “persistent defiant conduct” displayed by the NRI, a Bench led by Justice S Ravindra Bhat (since retired) directed the Registrar of the Delhi High Court to put to sale his six shops and “ensure that the best prices are realised.” “The amounts realised from the sale shall be deposited in a fixed deposit receipt, initially for six months, and its interest, disbursed to the second respondent/applicant (his TO AID OF ABANDONED WIFE ■ SC orders sale of Australia-based NRI’s property as he abandoned wife, refused to pay maintenance ■ The order came on woman’s plea seeking recovery of monthly maintenance of ~1.27 lakh as well as arrears of maintenance ■ NRI got a decree of divorce in Australia, didn’t participate in proceedings in India divorced wife). In the event of no sale, the attachment of property shall continue in favour of the applicant,” the Bench said Today’s issue is of 16 pages, including four-page Jalandhar Tribune. c m y b in its October 20 order. “The attachment of rents of M/s Fitness Factory Gym & Spa on the First Floor shall be continued, till the petitioner (NRI’s father), and his son, pay the amount constituting the balance between the amount realised by direction (1) and Rs 1.25 crore,” it ordered. “To my knowledge, this is the first such order in which the Supreme Court ordered the sale of an NRI’s share in his ancestral property in India after he abandoned his wife and refused to pay maintenance,” advocate Jaspreet Gogia, who assisted the top court as Amicus Curiae (friend of the court), told The Tribune. The Bench appreciated her “valuable contribution and efforts” in getting justice to the woman. The order came on the woman’s plea seeking recovery of both arrears of maintenance and her monthly maintenance of Rs 1,27,500. The woman — who hailed from continued on page 9