21062025-TTC-03.qxd 6/21/2025 12:46 AM Page 1 c m y b 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 9 NO. 170 | 20 PAGES | ~7.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 CHINA, PAKISTAN, B’DESH HOLD MINISTERIAL TRILATERAL WORLD /thetribunechd BJP ACCOUNTS FOR 45% OF 2024 LS POLL EXPENDITURE NATION GOVT TO ASSESS TRADE AXIOM-4 DELAYED SIXTH IMPACT OF ISRAEL-IRAN TIME, NO NEW DATE CONFLICT BUSINESS GIVEN BACK PAGE saturday | 21 june 2025 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Iran lifts airspace curbs to evacuate 1K Indians India’s strikes on airbasesforcedPak to seek truce: Dar Tribune News Service New Delhi, June 20 Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, in a televised interview, has stated that India attacked two important airbases in Pakistan — Nur Khan in Rawalpindi and Shorkot (Rafiqui) — during Operation Sindoor, prompting it to seek a ceasefire. New Delhi ready to bring back nationals from Israel too Tribune News Service NewDelhi, June 20 In a special gesture, Iran has opened up its otherwiseclosed airspace exclusively for chartered flights to evacuate Indian nationals, mostly students, from the Iranian city of Mashhad. An official said one of the flights carrying 290 students, most of them from Jammu and Kashmir, landed at the Delhi airport late Friday. He said two more flights, including one from Ashgabat in Turkmenistan, were scheduled to arrive around 3 am, bringing home nearly 1,000 Indian nationals. India launched Operation Sindhu on Wednesday to bring back its nationals from Iran and Israel in view of the skirmishes between the two nations. The Indians were moved to Mashhad, which is located near the tri-junction of Iran, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, from Tehran following Israeli attacks on the Iranian capital city. The flights from Mashhad were being operated by Mahan Air, a privately owned Iranian airline based in WON’T OVERFLY PAK ■ None of the flights from Iran will be overflying Pakistan, though it’s the shortest route ■ Iran has opened its otherwise-closed airspace exclusively to evacuate Indians ■ Iran flights are being operated from Mashhad, which is located near the tri-junction of Iran, Afghanistan & Turkmenistan Tehran, said sources. India will be reimbursing the airline for the services. The flight coming from Turkmenistan is a chartered plane arranged by India. None of the flights will be overflying Pakistan, which is the shortest air route from Iran. Nasir Khuehami, national convener of the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association, said, “Three Mahan Air flights will bring Indian students back to New Delhi from Mashhad. A total of 1,000 students will be returning on these flights. Despite the closure of airspace, a special exception has been granted for evacuating Indian students. Around 500 Kashmiri students are among those returning.” Air India continues to face disruptions amid enhanced safety checks Ujwal Jalali Tribune News Service New Delhi, June 20 Air India continues to face disruptions across its domestic and international network as the airline stepped up maintenance and operational checks in the aftermath of last week’s crash of its plane in Ahmedabad that left more than 270 dead. An airline spokesperson on Friday confirmed that several flights were cancelled due to “enhanced maintenance and operational reasons”. The move is part of intensified internal scrutiny and fleetwide safety audits initiated after the June 12 crash involving a Boeing 787 aircraft. The airline said ground teams assisted the passengers and offered full refunds or complimentary rescheduling. “We regret the inconvenience caused to our passengers. Our colleagues on the ground made alternative arrangements for them to fly to their respective destinations at the earliest,” the official said. Flight AI2470 from Pune to Delhi was cancelled following a bird-hit incident. Though the aircraft landed safely, it has been grounded for detailed inspection. Passen- Regarding arrangements for travel from Delhi to Srinagar, Khuehami said transportation had been arranged. “Deluxe AC buses are ready at the Delhi airport,” he said. At least 1,000 Indian students who are stranded in conflicthit Iranian cities are expected to land in Delhi over the next two days. On Thursday, 110 Indian students were evacuated from northern Iran and transported to Yerevan in Armenia by road, from where they arrived here on a special flight. These students were enrolled at Urmia Medical University in Iran, close to the border with Turkey, a region that has seen missile activity and troop movement. Also, the government has decided to evacuate Indian nationals from Israel. The Ministry of External Affairs yesterday said Indian nationals who wished to leave Israel will be facilitated through the land borders and, thereafter, by air to India. It asked all Indian nationals to register themselves with the Indian Embassy in Israel at (https://www.indembassyisrael.gov.in/indian_national_reg). Says S Arabia also offered help to end conflict PM Narendra Modi, Bihar Governor Arif Mohammad Khan, CM Nitish Kumar & Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi in Siwan district on Friday. PTI Turned down Trump’s US invite to visit land of Lord Jagannath: PM in Odisha Aksheev Thakur Takes ‘jungle raj’ jibe at RJD, Cong in poll-bound Bihar Tribune News Service New Delhi, June 20 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a visit to Odisha today said he had politely turned down US President Donald Trump’s recent invitation to visit Washington because of his prior plans to be in the sacred land of Lord Jagannath. The PM, who also visited poll-bound Bihar, attacked the RJD and Congress for misgov- ernance and accused them of perpetrating “jungle raj”. The PM, at a gathering in Bhubaneswar to mark one year of the BJP government in the state, said: “Just two days ago, I was in Canada for the G7 Summit when US President Donald Trump called me up and invited me to Washington for dinner and TOUCHING GESTURE Won’t share J&K waters with Punjab: Omar junks Centre plan to build canal Punjab AAP spokesperson Neel Garg said the J&K CM couldn’t take a unilateral decision on the matter. He said the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan had been held in abeyance and it was the Centre’s responsibility to proportionately distribute water and give Punjab its due share. divert surplus water from three rivers — the Jhelum, Chenab and Indus — that flow into Pakistan. These are part of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), which has been held in abeyance in the wake of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 persons dead. The project is proposed to link the three rivers with the RaviBeas-Sutlej system in Punjab. “Punjab already has three rivers under the IWT. Did they give us water when we needed it? We required water from the Ujh and Shahpur Kandi projects… we had to fight for years to get water continued on page 7 Sisodia grilled for 3 hours Centre sets up 9-member panel to in Delhi ‘classroom scam’ curb reliance on coaching centres Monsoon reaches north-west, to cover morestatesin2days Arjun Sharma 8 FLIGHTS AFFECTED INTERNATIONAL AI906 (Dubai-Chennai) AI308 (Delhi-Melbourne) AI309 (Melbourne-Delhi) AI2204 (Dubai-Hyderabad) DOMESTIC AI874 (Pune-Delhi) AI456 (Ahmedabad-Delhi) AI2872 (Hyderabad-Mumbai) AI571 (Chennai-Mumbai) President Droupadi Murmu, who turned 67 on Friday, distributes a pair of glasses to a student during an event at the National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Visual Disabilities in Dehradun. PTI gers were provided accommodation and alternate travel options. “Due to continuing enhanced checks on our aircraft, airspace restrictions and inclement weather, we anticipate some disruptions, which will be duly communicated to passengers,” an Air India spokesperson said. The heightened operational caution comes amid increasing regulatory and public scrutiny following the Ahmedabad crash, with both the DGCA and Air India launching parallel investigations into possible mechanical and procedural lapses. Edit: A pause for safety talks. I thanked him saying it was very important for me to be in the land of Mahaprabhu. I politely declined his invitation. Your love and devotion to Mahaprabhu brought me to this land.” On his sixth visit to the state since the BJP ended the 24-year-rule of BJD’s Naveen Patnaik, Modi launched 105 development projects worth over Rs 18,600 crore and unveiled the “Odisha Vision Document”. Earlier in Bihar’s Siwan, the PM accused the RJD of insulting Dr BR Ambedkar. “Bihar will not tolerate the insult to a Dalit icon,” the PM said in reference to a recent incident where Dr Ambedkar’s portrait was placed near the feet of RJD’s ailing continued on page 7 Tribune News Service New Delhi, June 20 Former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Friday appeared before the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) in connection with an ongoing probe into alleged irregularities in the construction of classrooms of government schools across the national capital. A senior official said Sisodia arrived at the ACB office at around 11 am and was questioned for at least three hours in the presence of a witness. He left the office at 2.30 pm following the completion of the day’s questioning. The ACB had summoned AAP leaders Sisodia and Satyendar Jain over alleged corruption in the construction of classrooms in government schools. Jain had appeared before the agency on June 6. continued on page 7 Tribune News Service New Delhi, June 20 The Ministry of Education has constituted a nine-member committee to address growing concerns regarding students’ reliance on coaching centres. The committee has been asked to suggest measures to reduce dependency of students on coaching centres for transition to higher education. It will examine the gaps in Jammu, June 20 In a fiery rebuke to Centre’s plans to construct a 113-km canal project aimed at diverting surplus water from Jammu and Kashmir rivers to Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, UT Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday said that he will not let this happen. “Let us use our waters for ourselves first. There is a draughtlike situation in Jammu. There is no water in taps in Jammu so why should we give our water to Punjab?” he said while addressing mediapersons here. The Centre is planning to J&K CM Omar Abdullah AAP: IT’S FOR CENTRE TO DECIDE, NOT J&K CM WILL STUDY GAPS IN SCHOOLING SYSTEM ■ The panel will examine gaps in schooling system that aid students’ reliance on such centres the current schooling system that contribute to students’ reliance on coaching centres, particularly the limited focus on critical thinking, logical reasoning, analytical skills and innovation, and the prevalence of rote learning practices. ■ It will also examine the rea- sons behind the emergence of “dummy schools” It will also examine the reasons behind the emergence of “dummy schools” and their role in encouraging full-time coaching at the cost of formal schooling and suggest ways to mitigate them. Recently, the continued on page 7 Punjab takes down 106 social media accounts backing influencer’s killers Jupinderjit Singh Tribune News Service Chandigarh, June 20 The Cyber Crime Division of the Punjab Police has shut down 106 social media accounts that supported the killing of social media influencer Kamal Kaur and amplified the justifications offered by her alleged murderers. Police sources said the posts on these accounts had the potential to incite communal tension and disturb the law and order. The crackdown followed reports submitted by district police units monitoring online activity in the aftermath of the murder. Kaur, known online as “Kamal Kaur Bhabhi”, was found strangled in a parked car near Adesh University in Bathinda on June 11. Investigations revealed she had been Dar, who is also the Foreign Minister, in an interview with Geo News, said Saudi Arabia had also offered to intervene to help end the conflict between India and Pakistan. Dar said after India launched the May 9-10 strikes, within 45 minutes, Saudi Prince Faisal bin Salman called up and said he had just learnt about “my conversation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio”. The Saudi Prince asked if he was authorised to talk to (India’s External Affairs Minister) S Jaishankar and convey that “we are ready if they (India) stop. I said yes, brother, you can”. The Prince then called me again within a few minutes, saying “he had conveyed the same to Jaishankar”, Dar said during the continued on page 7 lured from Ludhiana under the pretext of a promotional event and killed allegedly for posting content deemed “vulgar” by a radical fringe group. The main accused, Amritpal Singh Mehron, a selfstyled moral crusader and head of the radical outfit Qaum De Rakhe, fled to the UAE just hours after the crime. Two of his associates, Jaspreet Singh and Nimratjit ONLINE CRACKDOWN The social media accounts were blocked as the posts had the potential to incite Kamal Kaur communal tension and disturb law and order in Punjab, said sources. Singh, have been arrested. Mehron, a resident of Moga district, has a history of online vigilantism. He had previously been booked for threatening a music producer over obscene lyrics in 2021 and for vandalising statues of Punjabi folk dancers near the Golden Temple in 2020. According to the police, Mehron was present at the scene of the crime and allegedly forced Kamal Kaur to reveal her phone passwords before strangling her. He then board- c m y b ed a flight from Amritsar on June 10, just hours after the murder. A look-out circular has been issued and the Punjab Police are preparing an extradition request. The murder has triggered a wave of fear among Punjab’s digital creators. Influencers such as Deepika Luthra, Simarjeet Kaur (aka Preet Jatti), and Chand Singh have reported receiving death threats from extremist elements. Luthra, who was threatened by Babbar Khalsa International, deleted her Instagram account and has been provided police security. Singh, who runs the platform “Jatt Babe Bandra To”, now moves with armed aides and has publicly apologised for his past content. The Punjab Police have responded by treating social media threats as a matter of internal security. CHANDIGARH: The southwest monsoon has hit north-west India. It has advanced into most parts of Uttarakhand, many parts of HP and parts of Ladakh, the India Meteorological Department said on Friday. Conditions are favourable for advance of the monsoon over the remaining parts of J&K, Ladakh and parts of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and New Delhi in the next two days. INSIDE Haryana Chief Secy Rastogi gets 1-year extension in service CHANDIGARH: The Centre has granted a one-year extension to Haryana Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi, from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026, following a request from the BJPled state government. The decision is being seen as a major setback to several senior IAS officers of the 1990 and 1991 batches who were hoping for elevation. INSIDE