17082025-TTB-01.qxd 8/17/2025 1:13 AM Page 1 123 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 145 NO. 226 | 26 PAGES | ~7.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  DELHI INDIA, SOUTH KOREA DISCUSS INDUSTRIAL COOPERATION NATION /thetribunechd 327 KILLED AFTER FLASHFLOODS HIT NW PAKISTAN WORLD AMRITSAR’S ANEET BASKS IN ‘SAIYAARA’ GLORY SPECTRUM SC COLLEGIUM CAN’T DICTATE NAMES FOR HC JUDGES: CJI BACK PAGE sunday | 17 august 2025 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com No accord at Alaska; US Prez signals he may not levy secondary tariffs on India Says meeting with Putin went very well| Set to meet Zelenskyy on Monday over peace deal Ajay Banerjee US TEAM MAY DEFER AUG 25 INDIA VISIT FOR PACT TALKS Tribune News Service New Delhi, August 16 The world seems to have released half a sigh of relief as the Alaska summit between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin ended with neither a peace agreement, a stalemate or a walkout — but a postponement to the next step with Trump now meeting Putin’s bete noire, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, back in Washington DC on Monday. The carefully orchestrated meetings between the three parties yielded an equally cautious response from New Delhi, among the nations most hurt by Trump’s tariffs, because of its continuing insistence to buy cheap oil from Moscow even as Trump hinted at not levying secondary tariffs on India for now. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) described the Trump-Putin meeting as “commendable”. In a statement, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “India welcomes the summit meeting in Alaska (between Trump and Putin). Their leadership in the pursuit of peace is highly commendable.” Trump took to ■ A US team, which was sched- uled to visit India from August 25, for the next round of negotiations for the proposed bilateral trade agreement, is likely to defer the meeting to a later date, an official said ■ So far, five rounds of talks have been completed for the proposed pact and a US team is scheduled to visit India for the sixth round of talks. The negotiations were scheduled from August 25-29. “This visit is likely to be rescheduled,” the official said TRUMP AT IT AGAIN: I STOPPED INDO-PAK WAR US President Donald Trump with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at a joint base in Anchorage, Alaska. REUTERS ❝ Iwouldliketohopethattheunderstanding we have reached will allow us to get closer to goal and open the way to peace in Ukraine… We expect that Kyiv and EU will not attempt to disrupt the emerging progress. Vladimir Putin social media platform “Truth Social” to say: “A great and very successful day in Alaska! The meeting with Putin went very well.” ❝ The best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a peace agreement, which will end the war, and not a mere ceasefire agreement, which often doesn’t hold up. Donald Trump He called up Zelenskyy, several European leaders, including the Secretary-General of NATO, and said, “It was determined by all that the best way to end this horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly for a peace agreement, which will end the war, and not a mere ceasefire agree- On the day of his meeting with Putin, US President Trump repeated multiple times his claim that he stopped the war between India and Pakistan, while also commenting on New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil. “I’ve negotiated five wars to their end, and the wars that were tough. India, Pakistan...” he said. ment, which often does not hold up.” Trump did not elaborate on his own comments to the US media, including to a continued on page 6 J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah at the flashflood-ravaged Chositi village in Kishtwar district. PTI Hope of finding survivors fades as Kishtwar flashflood toll touches 60 CM Omar visits Chositi village, meets victims’ families Arjun Sharma Jammu, August 16 As hopes of finding persons missing after a flashflood triggered by a cloudburst at Chositi village in Kishtwar district of Jammu & Kashmir began to ebb, the death toll in the August 14 tragedy has risen to 60. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who visited the village on Saturday, said 70-80 persons were still missing. “Some reports say 500 to 1,000 persons may be missing, but I don’t think the number would ~2 LAKH FOR NEXT OF KIN OF THOSE KILLED ■ CM Omar Abdullah said kin of those killed would receive ~2 lakh each, while those severely injured would get ~1 lakh and those with minor injuries ~50,000 ■ He also announced ~1 lakh for fully damaged houses, ~50,000 for severely damaged & ~25,000 for those partially damaged be that much,” the Chief Minister told mediapersons. He said 60 bodies had been recovered from the debris. The rescue operation continued for the third day. A large number of residential and other structures were damaged in the flashflood. A majority of those killed in the tragedy were pilgrims, who had come to pay obeisance at the Machail Mata temple in the area. The victims mostly belonged to the Jammu region. Several families whose members are missing are camping at the village waiting anxiously for some news from the authorities. continued on page 6 Doval, Wang to talk ‘way forward’ Rahul’s Vote Adhikar Yatra in Bihar from today EC says timely complaints would have helped rectify voter list errors on border ahead of Modi-Xi meet Animesh Singh Tribune News Service Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service ShubhanshuShukla to return to India today, will meet PM New Delhi, August 16 Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who became the first Indian to travel to the International Space Station (ISS), will return back home on Sunday. Shukla, who had been training in the US for the past one year for the Axiom-4 mission to the ISS, is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and travel to his hometown Lucknow to meet his family soon after. He is expected to be back in the capital to participate in the National Space Day celebrations on August 22-23. Shukla posted on social media a smiling photograph of himself sitting in an aeroplane, and said in its caption that he was filled with mixed emotions as he left the US and could not wait to return to India. “As I sit on the plane to come back to India, I have a mix of emotions running through my heart. I feel sad leaving a fantastic group of people behind who were my friends and family for the past one year during this mission. I am also excited about meeting all my friends, family and everyone in the country for the first time post mission. I guess this is what life is—everything all at once,” he said in the post. Sukhla also said he was eager to share his experiences with the nation after his return. The Indian astronaut was part of the Axiom-4 private space mission that lifted off from Florida on June 25 and docked at the ISS on June 26. He returned to Earth on July 15. — TNS New Delhi, August 16 Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is set to begin his twoday India visit on Monday to hold talks with National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval on the pending boundary issue, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Saturday. During the 24th round of the Special Representatives (SRs) dialogue, the two are expected to lay the groundwork for a “way forward” on the border issue as Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets President Xi Jinping in China in a fortnight. Wang will also meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. Over the past few months, India has twice — in June and July this year — pressed upon China to de-escalate from the present positions and resolve “friction” along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the de-facto boundary between the two neighbours. Jaishankar, at a July meeting with his counterpart Wang in Beijing, had stressed the need to work towards addressing the border issue as well as troop build-up along the LAC. “It is now Chinese Foreign Minister arrives tomorrow for Special Representatives’ dialogue China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi. MISRI IN NEPAL TODAY Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri will arrive in Kathmandu on Sunday on a two-day official visit to Nepal to discuss connectivity, development cooperation and other matters of mutual interest, it was announced on Saturday. Misri, who is visiting Nepal at the invitation of his Nepalese counterpart Amrit Bahadur Rai, is scheduled to call on high-level dignitaries in the Himalayan nation. incumbent upon us to address other aspects related to the border, including deescalation,” the minister had told Wang. In June, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had met his Chinese counterpart Admiral Dong Jun and underscored the need for the two countries to have a “permanent solution” to the border demarcation problem. He had also suggested a roadmap for a permanent de-escalation of troops along the LAC. The issue of de-escalation of troops has been pending since October last year, when the two sides agreed on disengagement from two friction points along the LAC. India had suggested a “three Ds” — disengagement, de-escalation and deinduction — step-wise approach to cool down tempers. While disengagement was completed in October 2024, which entailed pulling back troops from an eyeballto-eyeball deployment, both de-escalation and deinduction remain a challenge. Thousands of troops, backed by drones, guns, tanks, missiles, aircraft, helicopters, etc., are positioned on both sides of the LAC. At a meeting in October last year, PM Modi and President Xi had resumed their stalled bilateral relationship by tasking the SRs with overseeing continued on page 6 NewDelhi, August16 With Congress leader Rahul Gandhi all set to launch the “Vote Adhikar Yatra” in Bihar on Sunday, highlighting the alleged assault on the people’s right to vote through the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the poll-bound state, the Election Commission (EC) on Saturday claimed that “some political parties” had been raising issues about errors in electoral rolls, including those prepared in the past, adding that timely complaints would have led to rectifications in the voter list. The EC’s clarification came on a day when it announced a press conference on August 17, which coincides with Rahul’s planned yatra in Bihar. At the press conference, the poll panel is likely to reiterate its stand of having initiated the SIR to strengthen democracy. The main allegation of the Congress-led Opposition has been that through the SIR, lakhs of Dalit, migrant and poor voters are to be systematically removed from the state’s voter list. According to the draft electoral roll released by the EC on August 1, around 65 lakh voters face the possibility of being removed from the voter list in Bihar. It is in this context that the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha is launching the yatra in the state. Congress leader Akhilesh Prasad Singh told reporters in BJP meet to finalise V-P nominee today; J&K L-G Sinha, Saxena in the running Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service New Delhi, August 16 The ruling BJP is intensifying its search for a vice presidential nominee, with its top decisionmaking body, the 11-member parliamentary board, scheduled to meet on Sunday evening to finalise a candidate. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president JP Nadda, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah are among key members of the board. An official announcement is expected by Monday, it is learnt. The vice presidential election, slated for September 9, has August 21 as the last date for filing nominations. It is learnt CMs and deputy CMs of the BJP and NDA-ruled states will be in Delhi on August 20 and are likely to accompany the PM and alliance partners for the nomination filing. Several names are under consideration, including RSS ideologue Seshadri Chari, Bihar Governor Arif Mohammad Khan, Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat, Sikkim Governor Om Mathur, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, and Delhi L-G VK Saxena. Sources said Sinha was a strong contender since he had a long experience in J&K and belonged to Bihar where elections were due. continued on page 6 Sisodia’s Saam, Daam, Dand, Bhedremark sparks political storm in Pb Jupinderjit Singh Tribune News Service Chandigarh, August 16 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab in-charge Manish Sisodia has landed in controversy over remarks made during a workshop of the party’s women volunteers on Thursday evening, where he allegedly urged workers to use “all means” to win the 2027 Assembly elections. Sisodia’s speech, captured on video and widely circulat- ed online, has drawn sharp criticism from opposition parties, who accuse him of promoting undemocratic and unethical election tactics. In the viral clip, Sisodia is heard exhorting party workers in Hindi: “2027 Assembly election jeetne ke liye Saam, Daam, Dand, Bhed, Sach, Jhooth, question, answer, ladai, jhagda jo bhi karna pada karenge. Bolo tayar hein. Josh se bolo.” The phrase “Saam, Daam, Dand, Oppn demands FIR after viral clip shows AAP leader advocating ‘all means’ to win 2027 Assembly elections Bhed” originates from used to achieve politithe ancient Indian cal and strategic goals. treatise Arthashastra, Chief Minister Bhagauthored by want Mann, AAP state Chanakya, a master unit president Aman strategist and adviser Arora and other senior to emperor Chanleaders were present at dragupta Maurya. It Manish Sisodia the workshop where the refers to a fourfold strategy — remarks were made. Opposition persuasion, inducement, parties have condemned Sisopunishment and division — dia’s statement as a blatant Today’s issue is of 26 pages, including six-page Spectrum and four page Delhi Tribune. admission of intent to use unfair and unconstitutional means to retain power. The Aam Aadmi Party or Sisodia has not responded to the charges. The BJP and the SAD have written to the Election Commission demanding registration of an FIR against Sisodia and his disqualification from contesting elections. BJP state president Sunil Jakhar, in a letter to the EC, alleged: “In the video, the AAP leader openly advocates winning elections ‘by hook or by crook’, promoting undemocratic methods and violating laws. The remarks mock the values of peace, freedom and integrity and clearly indicate AAP’s intention to undermine the democratic process.” Jakhar urged the EC to take immediate cognisance, initiate a swift investigation and take strict legal action against Sisodia and the party. Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa continued on page 6 Patna that Rahul was likely to be in the state for over a fortnight till the yatra concluded with a rally in Patna on September 1. Rahul would launch the yatra from Sasaram on Sunday, he said. “The yatra will build a tempo in favour of the INDIA bloc ahead of the Assembly poll,” the Rajya Sabha MP said. “At Sasaram, Rahul is likely to be joined by Tejashwi Yadav, the Leader of the Opposition in Bihar, besides our other continued on page 6 RowasNCERTputs Partition blame on Congress, Jinnah NEW DELHI: The NCERT has released a special module on the Partition, blaming Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Congress and Lord Mountbatten for the division of the nation. The module has also sparked a row as the BJP and the Congress traded barbs over the issue. Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera demanded that the module be burnt. He accused the Hindu Mahasabha and the Muslim League of “collaborating” for division of the nation. BACK PAGE IndiGo aircraft’s tail strikes runway at Mumbai airport NEW DELHI: An IndiGo Airbus A321 aircraft operating from Bangkok experienced a tail strike at the Mumbai airport on Saturday while “executing a low-altitude go-around due to unfavourable weather conditions”. Despite the occurrence, the aircraft later made a safe landing on a subsequent approach, the airline said in a statement. The airline officials said that all passengers and crew on board the plane were safe. BACK PAGE