26102024-TT-01.qxd 10/25/2024 11:34 PM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 144 NO. 297 | 18 PAGES | ~7.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  HIMACHAL PRADESH HURRIYAT READY FOR DIALOGUE WITH NEW DELHI: MIRWAIZ J&K /thetribunechd ONE DEAD IN WB AFTER CYCLONE DANA MAKES LANDFALL NATION TRUMP TAKES NARROW INDIA, GERMANY AGREE LEAD OVER HARRIS IN TO WORK TOGETHER IN POLL SURVEY WORLD TECH, AI BACK PAGE saturday | 26 october 2024 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com India, China to resume patrols at 2 friction points by Oct-end To dismantle LAC infra in three days; no move to cut troop strength Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service Former Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh at the grain market in Khanna on Friday. PHOTO: RAJESH SACHAR BJP never seeks my advice, didn’t join party for fun: Capt Ruchika M Khanna Tribune News Service Chandigarh, October 25 Former Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh has said he won’t give his advice to the BJP on matters concerning Punjab’s politics or the ongoing farm crisis “till the party asks for it”. In an interview with The Tribune, the former CM, who joined the BJP in September 2022, said, “They have not sought my views. I am not disillusioned with the BJP but certainly think , that they should understand that a lot of us (former Congress men) did not join the party for fun. We joined them because we are all serious and experienced politicians. Can someone else give them a better advice on Punjab crises than us?” “I have been in politics since 1967. I have been a CM twice, a minister once, an MP twice and an MLA seven times. They have not asked for my REACHES OUT TO PROTESTING FARMERS ■ Former Punjab Chief Minis- ter Capt Amarinder on Friday visited the Asia’s largest grain market in Khanna ■ Amarinder met farmers and gave them a patient hearing over their paddy procurement woes ■ He lashed out at CM Mann, alleging he turned his back on the farmers facing hardships in mandis CM MANN NOT DOING HIS BIT Farmers had sown PR-126 at his (Mann) behest. Has he visited any mandi in Punjab yet? It’s his duty to go to Delhi. If there’s any problem, he should meet the PM, Agriculture Minister and Home Minister. Capt Amarinder ❝ views even during the Lok Sabha elections. You should have asked me about Patiala, Sangrur, Mansa or any other seat before taking your own decision. A team working in Punjab with Shekhawat (Gajendra Shekhawat) came to see me, but nobody ever asked me about my views on any seat,” he said. With bypoll to Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal, Barnala and Gidderbaha due on November 13, Capt Amarinder said he would campaign for the BJP “…if they list me as one of the star campaigners, and if the candidates want me to campaign for them”. Asked why has the paddy procurement become a challenging task for the ruling Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab, the former CM said the main problem was the lack of experience of CM Bhagwant Mann and his cabinet colleagues and the state government’s continued on page 6 Punjab Police sent Goldy Brar’s exact location, Canada didn’t act Removal from ‘wanted list’ by Ottawa raises questions Jupinderjit Singh Tribune News Service Chandigarh, October 25 The whereabouts of Goldy Brar, one of Punjab’s ‘category-A’ gangsters and the prime accused in the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala, have become a subject of renewed interest, particularly as Canada has been giving contradictory signals on it. After Moosewala’s murder in May 2022, the Punjab Police claimed to have, through the Government of India, shared Goldy’s “pinpointed location”, but the Canadian security agencies “didn’t give any encouraging response”. Goldy Brar, wanted gangster Punjab Police officials have now questioned Canada’s double standards on the matter. They said Canada, on the one hand, had removed Goldy from their “most wanted list” and, on the other, was accusing him and his aide Lawrence Bishnoi of being involved in the killing of proKhalistan terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey in June 2023. A section of officials believe that Goldy could be in the “safe custody” of some Canadian agency or any other group in that country. India’s former High Commissioner to Canada, Sanjay Verma, too has questioned Ottawa’s role in the Goldy case. In an interview to a news agency on Thursday, Verma confirmed that Goldy was in Canada. “Goldy Brar was living in Canada. On our request, continued on page 6 New Delhi, October 25 India and China have agreed to restart patrolling by their troops at Depsang and Demchok along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh at the end of this month. The process follows an agreement firmed up between the two countries on Monday on patrolling and disengagement along the LAC, a breakthrough to end the over four-year standoff. The patrolling is expected to restart on October 30 after the two sides remove all temporary structures like tents, vehicles, cameras, sensors and weapons to prevent patrolling along the LAC by October 28-29. The process to remove temporary structures had started on Wednesday at Demchok and on Thursday at Depsang, as reported by The Tribune yesterday. Army sources said only the reopening of patrolling routes at Depsang and Demchok were discussed with the Chinese. “We will go back to patrolling the areas where we were patrolling Troops during an exercise in eastern Ladakh. FILE COORDINATED ACTION TO PREVENT FACE-OFF ■ The patrolling at Depsang and Demchok along LAC in eastern Ladakh will be done in a coordinated manner ■ The patrolling schedules will be decided and shared in advance by both sides to prevent a face-off ■ The Indian troops will carry hand-held weapons (read rifles), as they did during patrolling before April 2020 before April 2020,” the sources said on Friday. The present “patrolling arrangement” does not mention resumption of patrolling at any other contentious spot in eastern Ladakh where disengagement has already been completed like Gogra, Hot Springs, Pangong Tso and Galwan. The patrolling will be done in a coordinated manner with troops of both sides informing each other about the launch of a patrol party. “This means patrolling schedules will be decided and shared in advance,” the sources said, adding that the coordinated patrols were part of the measures put in place to prevent a face-off. Indian troops will carry hand-held weapons (read rifles), as they did earlier. On being asked if the new patrolling arrangements would Top court doesn’t entertain Sharjeel Imam’s bail plea in Delhi riots case Satya Prakash Tribune News Service New Delhi, October 25 The Supreme Court today refused to entertain a bail plea of Sharjeel Imam, an accused in a terror case related to the 2020 Delhi riots “conspiracy”, but asked the Delhi High Court to consider his request to expeditiously decide it. ASKS DELHI HIGH COURT TO TAKE IT UP EXPEDITIOUSLY “This being the writ petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, we are not inclined to entertain the same. However, the petitioner shall be at liberty to request the high court to hear the bail application as expeditiously as possible, preferably on November 25, as fixed by the high court,” a Bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and SC Sharma said. While clarifying he was not pressing for bail at this stage, senior counsel Siddhartha Dave pointed out on behalf of Imam that his bail plea had been pending since 2022 and there had been 64 hearings since April 29, 2022. continued on page 6 For war-hit Israelis, Dharamkot turns getaway Jewish cuisine, community presence draw them to this tiny HP hamlet Lalit Mohan Tribune News Service Foreign tourists in Dharamkot, near Dharamsala. PHOTO: KAMALJEET Dharamsala, October 25 With their country fighting a war with Hamas-led militant groups for over a year now, a large number of Israeli nationals have converged on the tiny hamlet of Dharamkot. Every year, over 20,000 Israelis visit this picturesque hill station. No wonder, Dharamkot is also known as “Little Israel”. For them, this place is a home away from home. After the armed con- flict between Israel and Palestine-based groups began last year, most of the nationals had left for their country. There is now a sudden influx of Israeli tourists, mostly youth and elderly, which began around two months back. Most of the tourists, who have made Dharamkot their home, are reluctant to talk about the war in their country and reasons for their coming back to India. Sources, however, said continued on page 6 c m y b permit Indian troops to patrol Patrolling Points 10, 11, 12 and 13, to the east of the Bottleneck (the name of a geographical feature on the Depsang plateau in eastern Ladakh), the sources said all the routes “we patrolled before April 2020 will be open”. The last time an Indian patrol went east of the Bottleneck was in January 2020. The second patrolling route to be reopened is at Demchok near Charding La Nalla (also called Demchok Nalla). The Chinese approach the Charding La — a 19,120-foothigh pass — from the southern side. The peak is on the LAC and is patrolled by the Indian Army from the Nalla area on the northern side. Meanwhile, the sources confirmed that there was no military order to reduce the number of troops along the 832-km LAC in eastern Ladakh. The next two steps of the peace process — de-escalation and de-induction of weapons and men — from the area are still to be negotiated. The troops of either side too will be at a specified distance from each other at these two friction points. 27 more flights get bomb threats; 275 hit in 12 days NEW DELHI: As many as 27 domestic and international flights operated by Indian carriers received bomb threats on Friday, according to sources. The sources said seven flights each of IndiGo, Vistara and SpiceJet and six of Air India received the threats. In 12 days, over 275 flights operated by the Indian carriers have received bomb threats. Most of the threats were issued through social media. The government has asked social media platforms to share data on hoax threats. — TNS Kalyan Haryana Speaker, Middha to be his deputy CHANDIGARH: Harvinder Kalyan and Krishan Middha, both three-time MLAs, were unanimously elected Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha on Friday as the ruling BJP tried to get caste and region equations right. Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini moved a resolution proposing Gharaunda MLA Kalyan’s name while BJP MLA Ranbir Gangwa seconded it. Minister Krishan Lal Panwar proposed Jind MLA Middha’s name and ruling party MLA Ganshyam Dass seconded it. INSIDE