28052025-TTB-01.qxd 5/28/2025 12:34 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 9 NO. 146 | 16 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 ASEAN, CHINA, GULF NATIONS TALK TARIFF RESPONSE WORLD /thetribunechd CM OMAR ANNOUNCES MEMORIAL TO PAHALGAM VICTIMS J&K JIO GETS REGULATOR APPROVAL FOR MF TRADING BUSINESS WILL FIGHT TERROR, SAY ALL-PARTY PANELS BACK PAGE wednesday | 28 may 2025 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com BSF razed 70 Pak posts, 3 terror launch pads during Op Sindoor Owaisi calls Sharif, Asim ‘jokers’ , leads charge in Muslim nations Says thwarted attempts to infiltrate 40-50 terrorists via Jammu border Tribune News Service Arjun Sharma Jammu, May 27 The Border Security Force on Tuesday said it destroyed over 70 Pakistani posts and three terrorist launch pads in retaliation to unprovoked firing and shelling by Pakistan Rangers along the International Border in the Jammu frontier during Operation Sindoor. Shashank Anand, Inspector General, BSF said infiltra, tion attempts by 40-50 terrorists were thwarted with pre-emptive strikes during the conflict. “When India launched Operation Sindoor, it was expected that Pakistan will retaliate. They opened unprovoked fire and we retaliated effectively, damaging their over 70 border outposts and three terror launch pads. Our strikes inflicted heavy losses on the enemy troops, forcing them to retreat. Their soldiers and terrorists suffered casualties,” he said. Addressing the media here, the IG said intelligence agencies had been receiving inputs that Pakistan was planning to facilitate the infiltration of terrorists, for which the Rangers were targeting Indian outposts. A grab of a video released by the BSF shows precision strikes in Pakistan’s territory during Op Sindoor. WOMEN PERSONNEL CHOSE TO STAY BACK, ENGAGED ENEMY BSF IG praised women personnel for their courage, specifically mentioning Assistant Commandant Neha Bhandari. “Our women troops had the option to relocate to battalion headquarters, but they chose to remain at forward posts. Assistant Commandant Neha and women constables engaged enemy fire with bravery.” Anand said Operation Sindoor was still on as Pakistan could not be trusted. “The BSF will not let its guard down as there are apprehensions of more infiltration attempts. We are maintaining the highest-possible vigil,” the IG said. “We are also in the process of naming a post in the Samba sector as ‘Sindoor’ and two others after martyrs.” He said terror launch pads had been destroyed with targeted strikes from the Akhnoor, Samba and RS Pura sectors of the Jammu frontier. “On May 9-10, Pakistan opened unprovoked fire in the Akhnoor sector, targeting BSF posts. In response, we hit the Loni launch pad linked to the Lashkar-e-Toiba and caused significant damage,” said Anand. He said Pakistan IMD:Above-normal monsoon likely, to boost agriculture Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved the execution model for the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft programme. PTI 5th-gen stealth fighter jet project takes wing Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 27 The Ministry of Defence has invited bids to develop a prototype of the fifth-generation stealth fighter jet, a step that is set to boost India’s indigenous defence capabilities and strengthen the domestic aerospace industry. The private industry has been invited to participate in the project — a first for the military aviation sector — and will involve development of new technology. The ministry said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had approved the “programme execution model” for the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA). The Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), Bids invited for prototype, private players allowed ~15K-CR AMCA PROJECT NEW DELHI: The southwest monsoon, which entered Kerala last week, will be above normal from June to September, the IMD said on Tuesday. The seasonal rainfall over the country as a whole is likely to be 106 per cent of the longperiod average (LPA), which is 870 mm. The LPA is the rainfall recorded over a particular region for a given interval (such as month or season) averaged over a long period like 30 years. IMD Director General Mrutyunjaya Mohapatra said the early monsoon would boost agriculture. BACK PAGE used low-flying drones to drop payloads on BSF posts, resulting in three casualties. Chiter Pal, DIG, BSF said , Pakistan started firing on the Indian posts on May 9. He said a key terror launch pad run by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence near the Sunderbani sector was destroyed. “There is no movement seen from that area now,” he said. Slams Pak army chief for gifting wrong ‘victory’ photo to PM Aditi Tandon New Delhi, May 27 All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday tore into Pakistan for using cheap emulation tactics to claim military superiority over India and said “nakal karne ke liye bhi akal chahiye aur inke paas akal bhi nahi hai (need brains to cheat, they lack it)”. Speaking to the Indian diaspora in Kuwait, Owaisi, who has been leading the anti-Pakistan charge in the Muslim world, asked the Indian community to “take everything Pakistan says not even with a pinch of salt”. continued on page 6 edit: owaisi shows the way An all-party delegation led by BJP MP Baijayant Jay Panda in Kuwait. ANI OPPN DEFENDING INDIA BETTER THAN GOVT: CONG With India’s diplomatic delegations fanning across the globe, the Congress claimed on Tuesday that opposition MPs were conveying the country’s stand much more effectively than their counterparts in the government. The opposition party also alleged that this government was being “run, inspired and operated by trolls”. under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), will execute the continued on page 6 The Centre has asserted that the NGOs engaged in publicationrelated activities and receiving foreign contribution will not be able to publish any newsletter and must get a certificate from the Registrar of Newspapers for India that it does not circulate any news content. — PTI Trump admn halts new student visa interviews Washington, May27 President Donald Trump has ordered US missions abroad to stop scheduling new appointments for student and exchange visitor visa applicants as the State Department prepares to expand social media vetting of foreign students, as per an internal cable seen by Reuters on Tuesday. Skip classes, lose visa, US warns students BACK PAGE US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in the cable that the department planned to issue updated guidance on social media vetting of student and exchange visitor applicants after a review was completed and advised con- OMAR BECKONS TOURISTS sular sections to halt the scheduling of such visa appointments. The move came as the Trump administration has sought to ramp up deportations and revoke student visas as part of wideranging efforts to fulfil hard- line immigration agenda. Rubio said appointments that had already been scheduled could proceed under the current guidelines, but available appointments not already taken should be pulled down. Last week, Trump moved to revoke Harvard’s ability to enrol international students. — Reuters Man killed in Amritsar blast, police link him to ISI-backed terror outfit Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah rides a bicycle after chairing a Cabinet meeting at Pahalgam on Tuesday. Expressing solidarity with residents of the tourist town, he said the state won’t be intimidated by terror. PTI Satya Prakash New Delhi, May 27 In a major shake-up in the higher judiciary, the Supreme Court has recommended the transfer of 21 judges of 10 high courts, including three judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, to different high courts. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Supreme Court Collegium, led by CJI BR Gavai, on Monday, the The Income Tax Department on Tuesday extended the due date for filing ITRs for assessment year 2025-26 by individuals and entities who do not have to get their accounts audited to September 15. The extension from the current deadline of July 31 was on account of “structural and content revisions” in the ITR forms. INSIDE NEW DELHI: SC recommends transfer of 21 HC judges Tribune News Service NEW DELHI: Foreign-aided NGOs can’t publish news ■ Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft will have 2 variants — Mark 1 with 98 kN engine & Mark 2 with more powerful 110 kN engine ■ It will have latest avionics and indigenous active electronically scanned array radar & can carry weapons internally and externally ■ Only the US (F-22, F-35), Russia (Su-57) and China (J20) have developed fifthgeneration fighter jets Now, file income tax returns by Sept 15 3 of them from Punjab & Haryana High Court Supreme Court announced on Tuesday. Though the Supreme Court did not assign any reasons for the en masse transfers, sources said these had been recommended by the Collegium “in the interest of justice”. Three judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court — Justice San- jeev Prakash Sharma, Justice Sudhir Singh and Justice Anil Kshetarpal — have been transferred to the Rajasthan High Court, the Patna High Court and the Delhi High Court, respectively. Justice Sharma has been recommended to be transferred back to the Rajasthan High Court while Justice Singh is being repatriated to the Patna High Court. Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra has been recommended to be transferred from the Allahabad High Court to the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The other judges recommended to be transferred are: Justice Sujoy Paul, from the Telangana High Court to the Calcutta High Court; Justice V Kameswar Rao, back to the Delhi High Court from the Karnataka High Court; continued on page 6 Amritsar, May 27 A powerful blast at a vacant plot along the Majitha Road Bypass in Amritsar claimed the life of a man on Tuesday morning, with the police suspecting him to be a terrorist who had come to retrieve explosives when the incident occurred. The police said both arms of the man, identified as Nitin of Chheharta in Amritsar, were blown off in the explosion, which took place around 9.30 am. Locals reported hearing a loud blast, which triggered panic in the area. Senior police officials, including DIG (Border Range) Satinder Singh and SSP (Rural) Maninder Singh, visited the site and claimed that Nitin had come to collect a consignment containing an explosive device. They claimed the blast was triggered due to mishandling of the device. The DIG said preliminary investigations pointed to the involvement of Pakistan spy agency ISI-backed terror outfit Babbar Khalsa International. “These elements use such Nitin, who died in the blast. AISSF PRESIDENT SHOT IN NEIGHBOUR’S HOUSE Parminder Singh Dhingra, a lawyer and president of the All India Sikh Students Federation, died after he was shot under mysterious circumstances at a neighbour’s house in Jalandhar on Tuesday. INSIDE tactics of dropping grenades at isolated places and marking the spot with identifiable objects like electric poles. They then share photographs of the site with operatives for collection,” said Satinder. The SSP claimed they had strong evidence linking Nitin to the terror group and that he had been under surveillance for some time. continued on page 6 Himachal DGP, Addl CS, Shimla SP See ability, not disability: HP’s Everest conqueror relieved of duties over indiscipline Angmo of Kinnaur is the first visually impaired woman to scale the world’s highest peak Subhash Rajta Tribune News Service NEGI DEATH CASE Shimla, May 27 The Himachal Government on Tuesday cracked the whip against officers accused of indiscipline in the handling of the Vimal Negi death case by divesting DGP Atul Verma, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Onkar Sharma and Shimla SP Sanjeev Gandhi of their present responsibilities. They may be issued showcause notices. While Gandhi May get show-cause notices has proceeded on medical leave, both Verma and Sharma will also remain on leave. Verma is due to retire on May 31 and the additional charge of the DGP has been given to 1993-batch IPS officer Ashok Tiwari, currently posted as DGP (Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau). The High Court had recently handed over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on a petition filed by Negi’s family. Negi, HP Power Corporation Limited chief engineer, had gone missing on March 10 and his body was found in the Gobind Sagar Lake in Bilaspur on March 18. The leave orders may spell trouble for Verma, who in his affidavit before the High Court, had made the revelation continued on page 6 Tribune News Service Chhonzin Angmo Shimla, May 27 Chhonzin Angmo spoke in an exhausted voice from New Delhi, her words carrying the weight of an extraordinary achievement. She had just fulfilled the biggest dream of her life. For many, it was hard to believe that Angmo, who hails from a small village in Kinnaur district, had become the first visually impaired woman to conquer Mount Everest. “It’s a life-changing experi- c m y b ence for me. I now hope the feat will inspire society to see ability beyond disability,” Angmo told The Tribune, her voice filled with quiet triumph. Back from Nepal and recovering from the gruelling historic expedition, Angmo focused less on her personal struggles and reflected more on how her achievement might shift society’s perception of differently-abled individuals. “I climbed Mount Everest on behalf of the differently-abled community and I am incredibly proud to have proven that we can achieve what others can. I hope this feat changes how society views and treats people with disabilities,” she said. “Too often, the assumption is that differently-abled individuals can’t accomplish much. People should focus on their abilities, not limitations. With the right support, they can pursue and fulfil their dreams.” Angmo expressed deep gratitude to her employer, Union Bank of India, New Delhi, for their encouragement and financial support. “Scaling Mount Everest was my lifelong dream. I knocked on many doors to seek help but found none until the bank believed in me. Their trust made this possible and I can’t thank them enough,” she said. Talking about her climb to the top of thw world’s highest peak, Angmo said the mental challenge outweighed the physical one. “The physical toll was brutal, continued on page 6