08092024-TT-01.qxd 07-09-2024 23:08 Page 1 123 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 144 NO. 249 | 22 PAGES | ~7.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  HIMACHAL PRADESH BOEING STARLINER RETURNS TO EARTH SANS SUNITA, BUTCH WORLD /thetribunechd SHAH: TERRORISM WILL RETURN TO UT IF NC, CONG WIN J&K SARDARJI’S TAXI IN CALCUTTA: CARING, DEPENDABLE SPECTRUM ASSAM MANDATES NRC RECEIPT NO. FOR AADHAAR APPLICANTS NATION sunday | 8 september 2024 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com FLYING COLOURS PTI May go solo: AAP as pact talks with Cong hit seat-sharing wall Both sides bargain hard ahead of nomination deadline HARYANA ASSEMBLY POLL 2024 Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service Cadets celebrate during their passing out parade at the Officers Training Academy in Chennai. BACK PAGE General Munir acknowledges Pak army’s role in Kargil misadventure Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service New Delhi, September 7 Pakistan army chief General Asim Munir has acknowledged direct role of his country’s military in the 1999 Kargil war against India. The rare admission came at an event to commemorate “Defence Day” at Rawalpindi on Friday. This may not be the first such admission by the Pak- SOLDIERS DIED IN WAR Be it the wars of 1948, 1965, 1971, Kargil or the Siachen conflict, thousands of soldiers sacrificed their lives for the country (Pak). ❝ General Asim Munir, PAKISTAN ARMY CHIEF istan army, but is significant enough as it comes 25 years after the war that led to fur- ther militarisation along the Line of Control (LoC). The Pakistan army had initially distanced itself from its role in the conflict, claiming “freedom fighters” were involved. “Pakistan is a brave nation, which understands the importance of freedom and how to pay for it. Be it the wars of 1948, 1965, 1971, Kargil or the Siachen conflict, continued on page 6 New Delhi, September 7 The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday flexed its muscle in the midst of ongoing talks over a pre-poll alliance with the Congress in Haryana, saying it was ready to contest all seats on its own. Both sides appeared to be bargaining hard ahead of the September 12 nomination deadline. Hours before AAP’s Raghav Chadha met AICC general secretary Deepak Babaria on Saturday for negotiations over seats, AAP leaders said no one should underestimate the party’s strength in Haryana. “We are ready to fight on our own on every seat. Those who are assessing us as weak are bound to repent in future,” AAP’s national general secretary organisation Sandeep Pathak said, indicating a hardening of the party’s stance a day after the Congress released its first list of 32 candidates. This list, The Tribune has learnt, included some seats 7 killed in fresh Manipur In Phogat family, wrestling violence, CM briefs Guv & politics go hand in hand Animesh Singh Tribune News Service New Delhi, September 7 Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh met Governor L. Acharya amid a spurt in violence in the state that left seven persons dead on Saturday, said officials. The CM’s meeting with Acharya was preceded by marathon high-level discussions between the state police authorities and the BSF over the recent killings. Biren Singh also held an emergency meeting with the MLAs of the ruling coalition to discuss the law and order situation in the state, sources said. Among the seven persons killed in Manipur’s Jiribam district on Saturday, four were Kukis and three Meiteis, said the sources. Apart from the seven deaths on Saturday, an equal number of people have been killed in various incidents in the past seven days. During a high-level meeting between police and BSF officials, the use of drones Deepender Deswal Police deploy anti-drone systems in state and rockets by extremists was also discussed threadbare, said the sources. On Friday, a 70-year-old man was killed and five were injured when a rocket-like object fell on the house of late Mairembam Koireng Singh, Manipur’s first Chief Minister, in Bishnupur district. The violence has increased in the state since the September 1 incident, when drones were used to drop bombs at a village bordering a Meiteidominated area. Rockets and improvised guns have been increasingly used by extremists to attack each other. Even makeshift bunkers have been discovered by the police. The police on Saturday said it had deployed anti-drone systems in response to recent drone and rocket attacks on civilians. Briefing reporters in Imphal, Inspector General of continued on page 6 Tribune News Service Hisar, September 7 Sports and politics go hand in hand in the Phogat family of Balali village in Haryana’s Charkhi Dadri, known for producing internationally renowned women wrestlers such as Vinesh, Geeta and Babita. Vinesh Phogat (30) is the latest member of the family to step into politics. She joined the Congress on Friday afternoon and was hours later nominated the party candidate from Julana Assembly seat in Jind district. Her brother-in-law, Olympic medallist Bajrang Punia, who is married to Vinesh’s cousin Sangeeta (sister of Geeta and Babita, all daughters of Mahavir Phogat) too joined the Congress and was appointed the working president of the All India Kisan Congress. However, Vinesh’s political foray, particularly her decision to join the Congress, didn’t go down well with her uncle Mahavir, a Dronacharya Vinesh in Cong , Babita BJPtheir uncle JJP , VINESH, PUNIA PAWNS They (Punia and Vinesh) were faces... they were mohrey(pawns). They were used like pawns by the Cong. ❝ Brij Bhushan S Singh, FORMER WFI CHIEF awardee who has coached the Phogat sisters. Talking to The Tribune over the phone, Mahavir said during her recent visit to Balali, he told Vinesh to stay focused on wrestling. “She should have aimed for an Olympics medal four years from now. I believe she still had a lot of wrestling left in her and continued on page 6 ‘Divine intervention’ stalls century-old church’s sale Lid off after anonymous tip; ~200 cr shrine’s land was going for ~5 cr Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 7 A timely complaint by a Christian outfit saved the historic Golaknath Memorial Church, located at Mission Compound in Jalandhar’s Adarsh Nagar, from being sold off. And that too at an amount that wasn’t even 5 per cent of its true value. The lid went off the illegal sale when pastor Sarwan Masih, a member of the association managing the church, received an anonymous call about the property’s sale. The deal is learnt to have been struck by the real estate mafia for Rs 5 crore and a token The Golaknath Memorial Church in Jalandhar. SARABJIT SINGH amount of Rs 5 lakh had already exchanged hands. Realtors estimate that the 24kanal church land, situated on a prime commercial road near Football Chowk, could be worth more than Rs 200 crore. The church is managed by the United Church of Northern India Trust Association. Today’s issue is of 22 pages, including six-page Spectrum. Pastor Sarwan, the property in-charge of the association, was the first to approach the police. He alleged that a resident of Mohyal Nagar (Jalandhar) had signed a sale agreement with one Jordan Masih of Ludhiana while claiming himself to be the association treasurer. The complainant alleged that Jordan had no connection with the church. He also provided evidence that the token amount of Rs 5 lakh had been transferred through a private bank, and that even the land registry was planned in a few days. An FIR was lodged on the basis of a preliminary continued on page 6 CAN’T SEE US AS WEAK We are ready to fight on our own on every seat. Those who are assessing us as weak are bound to repent in future. Sandeep Pathak, AAP LEADER CLARITY SOON Negotiations are being held over sharing of seats. Nothing has been finalised yet. We will have clarity in a dayortwo.Deepak Babaria, AICC GEN SECY ❝ ❝ CONG IN A FIX OVER 24 TRICKY SEATS After the CEC failed to reach consensus on 24 tricky seats on Friday, it tasked the Congress sub-committee for Haryana poll with picking names for these segments. The Tribune learnt there are too many claimants on these seats, posing a challenge to the party. AAP had sought. A Congress source said they could not have parted with winnable seats at any cost. On the outcome of the third round of talks (the first two were held between Chadha and AICC general secretary KC Venugopal, who speaks directly for Rahul Gandhi), Babaria said, “Negotiations are being held over the sharing of seats. Nothing has been finalised yet. We will have clarity in a day or two.” Congress sources said AAP was demanding “too many seats and was not being reasonable”. Asked how many seats AAP was seeking, a Congress source said, “Around 20.” Though the Haryana Congress unit is not keen on the alliance, the AICC leadership, especially Rahul, wants to honour the unity of INDIA bloc in which AAP and the Congress are partners. “The success of pre-poll alliance talks hinges on equal commitment on both sides. Talks have to be reasonable,” a Congress CEC member told The Tribune. AAP sources, meanwhile, said they were preparing to contest at least 50 of 90 seats and might release their first list of candidates by Sunday. Some even said the talks with the Congress were on the brink of collapse. On the prospects of the pact, a CEC member said, “We are talking. It may happen or it may not.” AAP has no base: Haryana Cong opposes tie-up Bhartesh Singh Thakur Tribune News Service Chandigarh, September 7 Haryana Congress leaders today objected to the ongoing alliance talks with AAP and said any pact with a party that had no base won’t benefit them. They conveyed their displeasure over the matter to the party top brass. Former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda said, “Though the Congress is capable of going it alone, the decision has to be taken at the top level.” Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala, in a media interview, said, “We can fight on our own and be successful. But the leadership wants that as part of the INDIA bloc, all partners must be accommodated, whether needed or not.” The Congress, which is seeking to return to power in Haryana after 10 years, faces several challenges. It needs to strike a balance between different factions within the party continued on page 6 Centredischarges Khedkar from IAS NEW DELHI: The Centre has discharged Puja Khedkar from the IAS with immediate effect, official sources said on Saturday. The decision came over a month after the UPSC cancelled her selection. Khedkar, who was a trainee officer from the 2023 batch, has been accused of cheating and wrongly availing OBC and disability quota benefits to ensure her selection in the government service. The UPSC had barred her from taking the entrance exam for life after cancelling her selection. INSIDE Afzal’sbrother: Will contest pollin J&K SRINAGAR: Aijaz Ahmad Guru, brother of Parliament attack convict Mohammad Afzal Guru, on Saturday said he would contest the J&K Assembly elections from Sopore. “I have decided to contest the elections as an Independent candidate,” Aijaz said on Saturday. He said one of the main reasons for his contesting the poll was that his son had been “framed by the police in false case and was now in jail for the last few months”. INSIDE