12032025-TTB-01.qxd 3/12/2025 12:01 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 145 NO. 70 | 16 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  DELHI US-UKRAINE MEET IN SAUDI ARABIA TO RESET TIES WORLD /thetribunechd WILL FORM PANEL FOR REGULARISATION OF DAILY WAGERS: CM J&K CYBER FRAUD CASES JUMPED FOUR-FOLD IN FY2024 BUSINESS US INTEL CHIEF TULSI GABBARD TO VISIT INDIA BACK PAGE wednesday | 12 march 2025 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Stringent Bill on visit of foreigners tabled in LS Prez-tige Oppn seeks review, says violates right to freedom Tribune News Service President Droupadi Murmu awards a degree to a student at the convocation of the Central University of Punjab in Bathinda. Governor Gulab Chand Kataria, Cabinet minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian and Chancellor Prof Jagbir Singh are also seen. PAWAN SHARMA INSIDE Musk’s Starlink set for India debut, ties up with Airtel to offer high-speed Net Pact inked; world-class broadband to be available even in remote areas Nitin Jain Tribune News Service USES LOW-ORBIT SATELLITE CONSTELLATION Airtel and SpaceX will explore offering Starlink equipment at Airtel’s retail stores, Starlink services via Airtel to business customers, opportunities to connect communities, schools and health centres, among many others, in even the most rural parts of India, the stock filing said. It informed that Airtel and SpaceX would also explore how Starlink could help expand and enhance the Airtel network, as well as SpaceX’s ability to utilise and benefit from Airtel’s ground network infrastructure and other capabilities in India. By adding Starlink (in addition to its existing alliance with Eutelsat continued on page 8 New Delhi/Chandigarh, March 11 A Bill seeking to streamline various services related to immigration and foreigners, including their entry, exit and stay in the country, was tabled in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday even as the Opposition alleged its provisions violated the fundamental right to freedom and demanded it be first reviewed by a parliamentary select committee. The Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025, was introduced in the House by Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai, who said it “sought to correct overlapping and duplicate provisions” in prevailing laws governing immigration and foreigners in the country. Rejecting the Opposition’s charge that the Bill violated the Constitution, Rai asserted the Centre was well within its rights under the Union list to bring in legislations on immigration. He said though tourists were welcome to visit the country, it was the gov- Ludhiana, March 11 Elon Musk-owned SpaceX has joined hands with Bharti Airtel to provide Starlink’s high-speed Internet services to its customers in India. The information regarding Starlink’s debut in India was provided by the telecom operator to stock exchanges in a filing on Tuesday. The announcement comes weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Musk in Washington where they discussed several issues, including space, mobility, technology and innovation. With this, the satellite telecom joint venture will provide the much-needed services in ■ Joint venture to provide Six get life term for armsdropinPunjab Wrestling federation Rebels hijack train in suspension revoked Pak, take 100 captive NEW DELHI: A special NIA court in Mohali has sentenced nine persons to imprisonment in a 2019 case of smuggling of explosives and arms via drones. While six of the accused have been sentenced to life, three have been awarded rigorous imprisonment of 10 years each. The accused are linked with designated terrorists Gurmeet Singh and Ranjeet Singh. INSIDE Chandigarh house of Khaira attached JALANDHAR: In fresh trouble for Congress’ Bholath legislator Sukhpal Khaira, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Delhi office, has provisionally attached his house located in Sector 5, Chandigarh, under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED took action by declaring the house as the “proceeds of crime”. INSIDE Starlink’s high-speed Internet services in India ■ Starlink uses satellite constellation in a low Earth orbit and delivers highspeed, low-latency Internet to users across the world ■ Joint venture subject to SpaceX receiving authorisations to sell Starlink’s remote interior places of India, where conventional telecom services tend to be costly. This is the first agreement to be signed in India, which is subject to SpaceX receiving its own authorisations to sell Starlink in India, the stock exchanges were informed. NEW DELHI: A senior Pakistan diplomat was denied entry into the US despite having a valid visa and necessary documents, the country’s media reported on Tuesday. Pakistani media outlet The News reported that KK Wagan, ambassador of Pakistan to Turkmenistan, was stopped by the US immigration on his arrival in Los Angeles and deported. BACK PAGE The partnership will enable Airtel and SpaceX to explore how Starlink can complement and expand Airtel’s offerings, and how Airtel’s expertise in the Indian market complements SpaceX’s direct offerings to consumers and businesses. Vinayak Padmadeo Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 11 The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has revoked the suspension of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), allowing it to select and send teams for all international tournaments. The WFI was suspended on December 24, 2023, days after the Sanjay Singh-led team won its elections amid allegations of misgovernance and procedural lapses. After the results, former president and then BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and his supporters had mocked the protesting wrestlers, saying continued on page 8 edit: lifeline for wfi ❝ Many conspiracies were hatched... but they could not succeed. Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, EX-WFI CHIEF WRESTLERS CAN CHALLENGE MOVE: HC The Delhi High Court has said wrestlers Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik among others can challenge the Centre’s decision to revoke the WFI’s suspension. Karachi/Islamabad, March 11 Suspected Baloch gunmen opened fire on a passenger train in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan on Tuesday, injuring several passengers, and claimed to have taken over 100 people hostage. The Jaffar Express, with around 500 passengers on board in nine coaches, was on its way from Quetta to Peshawar in KhyberPakhtunkhwa when it was fired upon between Gudalar and Piru Koneri, according to officials. The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed that it seized control of the train by derailing it. The group said it had killed six security per- New Delhi, March 11 Thirteen of the world’s top 20 most polluted cities are in India, with Byrnihat in Meghalaya topping the list, according to the World Air Quality Report 2024 published on Tuesday. Punjab’s Mullanpur, Delhi, New Delhi, Faridabad, Loni, Gurugram, Ganganagar, Greater Noida, Bhiwadi, Muzaffarnagar, Hanumangarh and Noida are the other Indian cities in the world’s top 20 most polluted cities. MEGHALAYA’S BYRNIHAT TOPS LIST ■ The 13 cities are Megha- laya’s Byrnihat, Punjab’s Mullanpur, Delhi, New Delhi, Haryana’s Faridabad, Loni, Gurugram (Haryana), Ganganagar, Greater Noida, Bhiwadi, Muzaffarnagar, Hanumangarh and Noida, as per Swiss firm IQAir The Swiss air quality technology company IQAir, which published the report, said Delhi remains the most polluted capital city globally, COUNTRY WITH FIFTH WORST AIR QUALITY ■ India is the world’s fifth most polluted country in 2024, down from third in 2023 ■ Delhi remains the most polluted capital city globally ■ Stubble burning cited as the major cause of pollution in Punjab and Haryana while India is the world’s fifth most polluted country in 2024, down from third in 2023. Elaborating on the challenges which India faces, the KHARGE APOLOGISES AFTER ROW OVER REMARKS Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge apologised in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday after uproar in the House over his ‘dictatorship’ remarks aimed at the government IMMIGRATION OFFICERS HAVE POWERS OF ARREST ■ Onus of proving citizenship lies on individual ■ Seven-year jail, ~10 lakh fine for those with fake passport ■ Forged documents can invite five-year jail and ~5 lakh fine ■ Entry can be denied over national interest concerns ernment’s responsibility to ensure peace and sovereignty remained intact. Opposing the Bill, Congress MP from Chandigarh Manish Tewari said it “violat- ■ 3-yr jail, ~3L fine for overstay- ing, entry in restricted areas ■ Immigration officers will have power to arrest individuals without a warrant ■ Departures can be restricted if a person’s presence needed by an authorised agency ed the principle of fundamental rights” and expressed fear the government may use the provisions of the proposed law to deny continued on page 8 EC invites parties amid voter list row Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 11 Days after saying that it will resolve the “decades-old” issue of duplication of voter ID cards within three months and amid pressure from opposition parties over Kill six security personnel sonnel and taken over 100 people in custody, including security personnel. However, the Pakistani authorities did not comment on the group’s claim. The fate of passengers, including women and children, was not immediately known. In a statement, the BLA warned that if the Pakistan military launched an operation, “all hostages will be executed”. The group is banned in Pakistan, the UK and the US. Official data on continued on page 8 13 of world’s 20 most polluted cities in India Tribune News Service Senior Pak envoy denied entry to US satellite communicationbased services in India ■ Will enable Airtel and SpaceX to explore how Starlink can complement and expand Airtel’s offerings ■ Will offer Starlink equipment at Airtel retail stores and Starlink services via Airtel to customers Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh conducts proceedings as LoP Mallikarjun Kharge speaks on Tuesday. PTI report said, “India faces significant air quality challenges, with major pollution sources, including vehicular emissions, industrial discharge, construction dust and the burning of crop residue. In urban hubs like Delhi, vehicular emissions are a leading contributor to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), exacerbated by traffic congestion and fuel adulteration.” It also cited stubble burning as one of the issues for deteriorating air quality in the states of Punjab and continued on page 8 edit: smogged out Today’s issue is of 16 pages, including four-page Delhi Tribune. c m y b the voter list issue, the Election Commission (EC) has invited heads of all political parties for an interaction “to further strengthen electoral processes in accordance with the established law”. It has also sought suggestions from all national and state parties by April 30 on any unresolved issues. Meanwhile, TMC leaders met the EC today over the duplicate voter ID-card issue and later told the media that the poll panel had not revealed the exact number of continued on page 8 Court orders FIR against Kejri in defacement case Ujwal Jalali Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 11 A Delhi local court has directed the police to book AAP national convener and former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and others in a 2019 defacement of public property case. The court has sought a compliance report by March 18. Kejriwal and others, in a complaint, had been accused of violating Section 3 of the Delhi Prevention of Defacement of Property (DPDP) Act, 2007, by illegally putting up hoardings in the Dwarka area. “The seriousness of the offence punishable under Section 3 of the DPDP Act, 2007, can be gauged from the fact that it is not only an eyesore and public nuisance… but is also hazardous and dangerous to the smooth flow of traffic by distracting traffic. It poses a safety challenge to the pedestrians and continued on page 8 5-yr ban on JKIM, Mirwaiz-led AAC New Delhi, March 11 The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Tuesday declared two Jammu and Kashmirbased outfits —Awami Action Committee of Hurriyat Conference chairman and cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Jammu and Kashmir Ittihadul Muslimeen (JKIM) led by Masroor Abbas Ansari — as unlawful associations and banned these for five years. “The JKIM and Awami Action Committee have been declared unlawful associations under UAPA,” Union Home Minister Amit Shah posted on X. INSIDE