04032026-TTC-01.qxd 3/4/2026 12:21 AM Page 1 c m y b 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 10 NO. 62 | 14 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 STATE’S OUTSTANDING DEBT CROSSES ~4 LAKH CRORE PUNJAB /thetribunechd SHARAD PAWAR PUTS OPPN IN A BIND IN MAHA RS POLL NATION 67 TALIBAN TROOPS KILLED IN OVERNIGHT OPS BY PAK WORLD INDIA INKS ~2K-CR MISSILE DEAL WITH RUSSIA DESPITE US SANCTIONS BACK PAGE wednesday | 4 march 2026 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Trump says ready for long haul |Doesn’t rule out use of foot soldiers |US prepares to evacuate citizens in charter flights Israeli troops enter Lebanon; US Embassy struck OP EPIC FURY Tribune News Service Graves being prepared for over 150 schoolgirls who were killed in an alleged Israeli strike on a school in Minab, Iran, on the first day of the US-led attack. Thousands of people took to the streets in a solemn funeral procession on Tuesday. The UN human rights office also called for an impartial probe into the circumstances leading to the attack. REUTERS Indian students in Tehran relocated to safer places Tribune News Service PM Modi speaks to more Gulf leaders The Indian Embassy in Iran said, “Due to the heightened risk perception in Tehran, most Indian students who were in the city have been relocated to safer locations.” The Embassy has arranged transportation, food and accommodation for them. Only a small number of students who declined the offer remained in Tehran. Around 9,000 Indians including students are learnt to be stuck in Iran. The exact number of Indian students in Iran is not immediately known. Meanwhile, PM Modi spoke with key leaders from the Gulf region this afternoon. He held a phone call continued on page 8 3 INDIANS DEAD At least three Indian seafarers on board foreignflagged vessels were killed and one was injured in West Asia, the Directorate General of Shipping said, advising operators to assess risks. A total of 37 Indian-flagged ships with 1,109 sailors are stuck in the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and adjoining areas. OIL PRICES SOAR The benchmark Brent crude oil contract gained nearly 8% on Tuesday to $83 per barrel, the highest since July 2024, taking gains since Friday to more than 15%. With traffic in the Strait of Hormuz shut for a fourth day, Saudi oil giant Aramco is looking to reroute some of its crude to its western Red Sea port. GAS SUPPLIES CUT Qatar, India’s largest supplier of imported natural gas, has declared force majeure on deliveries in the wake of a drone strike, snapping supplies to Indian industry by up to 40%, sources said. Qatar supplies 40% of the 27 mn tonnes of LNG that India imports annually to meet demand across sectors. Govt silence not neutral, Prolonged Gulf oil supply disruption can 24 flights back home, economy: must clarify stance on threaten energy security,existing terms, sayMEA 58moretolandtoday Russian crude import continuing as per sources Khamenei:Sonia,Rahul 80 FLIGHTS CANCELLED CENTRE FORMS PANEL Ajay Banerjee New Delhi, March 3 India has relocated students from the Iranian capital, Tehran, to safer locations outside the city even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken with leaders of several West Asian countries to ensure the safety of nearly one crore Indians in the region. New Delhi, March 3 Israel sent troops into southern Lebanon on Tuesday and warned residents of more than 80 villages to evacuate as the Iran-backed militant Hezbollah group said it was ready for an “open war” with Israel in the wake of the USIsraeli war on Iran. As the war in West Asia intensified, President Donald Trump said the US had “the capability to go far longer” than its projected four-fiveweek time frame for its military operations against Iran and didn’t rule out the possibility of putting troops on the ground. The US State Department said it was preparing military and charter flights for Americans who wanted to leave West Asia. The US and Israel battered Iran with airstrikes in what President Trump suggested was just the start of a war that had severely disrupted the world’s supply of oil and gas, shipping, and air travel. Across Tehran, the sound of explosions rang out through the night and into the early hours on Tuesday, as the US and Israel have continued to pound Iran since killing its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday. Tehran and its allies have hit back against Israel, neighbouring Gulf states, and targets critical to the world’s production of oil and natural gas. The Iranian Red Crescent Society said the US-Israeli operation had killed at least 555 people. In Israel, where several locations were hit by Iranian missiles, 11 people were killed. Israel’s retaliatory strikes against Hezbollah killed 52 people in Lebanon. Iranian state TV said strikes caused two explosions early Tuesday at a broadcasting facility in Tehran, but said no one was injured. Responding to queries on sending ground troops, Trump said, “Like every President says ‘there will be no boots on the ground’, I don’t say it. Ground troops will probably not be necessary, but can be used, if required.” “Boots on the ground” is a military expression for deploying combat troops on foreign soil rather than relying solely on continued on page 8 Tribune News Service Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 3 Congress parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday questioned the Centre’s response to the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, stating that the government’s silence is “not neutral but an abdication”, and warning that it risks signalling tacit approval of the incident. In an opinion piece, Sonia said India’s lack of a clear response to what she termed a “targeted assassination” reflected poorly on its commitment to sovereignty and international law. She noted that Tehran confirmed on March 1 that Khamenei had been killed in coordinated strikes carried out a day earlier by the US and Israel, calling the development a grave rupture in contemporary international relations. “The killing of a sitting head of state in the midst of ongoing negotiations marks a grave rupture… Yet, beyond the shock of the event, what stands out equally starkly is New Delhi’s silence,” she WHO GAVE US, ISRAEL AUTHORITY TO KILL? Displaying military power to overthrow governments is not permitted under international law. The brutal killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader raises a serious question... which law gave the US or Israel the authority to do this? Omar Abdullah, J&K CM ❝ wrote, adding that such silence “signals tacit endorsement of this tragedy”. Sonia said Prime Minister Narendra Modi initially condemned Iran’s retaliatory strike on the UAE but did not address the sequence of events leading to it. She said subsequent remarks expressing “deep concern” and calls for “dialogue and diplomacy” overlooked the fact that diplomatic engagement had been underway before the strikes. Raising concerns over the direction of India’s foreign policy, Sonia said the absence of a clear stance on the killing of a foreign leader continued on page 8 New Delhi, March 3 India on Tuesday expressed grief over the loss of lives in the raging West Asia conflict and warned that prolonged disruption of oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz could have “serious consequences” for the country’s economy. Nearly 40 per cent of The Centre has set up an inter-ministerial group, which is meeting daily, to monitor the West Asia situation, said Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal. This comes amid concerns by exporters of tensions hitting trade. India’s crude imports pass through the narrow Strait of Hormuz—shut since March 1—while the remaining 60 per cent are sourced through other routes. “As of now, the country is in a comfortable position in terms of energy security, LPG and LNG supplies. India continued to import Russian crude as per existing contracts,” government sources said. India’s strategic petroleum reserves— continued on page 8 Students celebrate Holi at Panjab University in Chandigarh on Tuesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: RAVI KUMAR HAPPY HOLI TO OUR READERS HOLIDAY NOTICE: The offices of The Tribune will remain closed today on account of Holi. There will, therefore, be no issue of the paper tomorrow (March 5). Shekhar Singh Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 3 Limited flight operations between India and parts of West Asia resumed on Tuesday, even as multiple flights were forced to return mid-air, widespread cancellations continued and thousands of passengers remained stranded, with airlines operating restricted services due to the ongoing airspace closures triggered by the Iran-US conflict. The Ministry of Civil Aviation is continuously monitoring the evolving airspace situation and its impact on international flight operations. So far, 1,221 flights by Indian carriers and 388 flights by foreign carriers have been cancelled due to the ongoing situation. A total of 24 flights were operated by Indian carriers on Tuesday. In addition, Emirates and Etihad operated nine flights from the Gulf in the past 24 hours. Indian carriers are planning 58 flights on March 4, including 30 by IndiGo and 23 by Air India and Air India Express. Indian carriers have initiated a phased evacuation of passengers. Air India operat- As many as 80 international flights were cancelled at the Delhi airport on Tuesday due to operational disruptions for airlines. An official said 36 departures and 44 arrivals were cancelled at the airport. Over the past three days, Indian airlines have cancelled 1,221 overseas flights due to the crisis. ed a flight, AI916D, bringing back 149 stranded passengers from Dubai to Delhi at 10.58 am IST, the first Indian-operated repatriation flight since the crisis escalated. Another flight, AI918D, returned with 143 cockpit and cabin crew members who had been stranded in Dubai. The airlines indicated that the services would resume gradually based on real-time security assessments. “Air India is deploying its widebody aircraft with higher capacity on its services to Jeddah and Dubai to facilitate the return of passengers impacted by the ongoing situation in West Asia. All flights are expected to operate at full capacity on their return sectors on March 4, continued on page 8 China help sought to trace After schools & hospitals, Punjab buses don AAP colours; Oppn livid device used in Pahalgam Rajmeet Singh Tribune News Service Adil Akhzer Srinagar, March 3 A Special NIA Court in Jammu has issued a Letter Rogatory to the competent judicial authority in China seeking “assistance in tracing the buyer, end user and associated technical records” of a “GoPro Hero 12” black camera linked to last year’s Pahalgam attack, in which 26 persons were killed. NIA court in Jammu issues Letter Rogatory An order issued by a Special Judge under the NIA Act in Jammu on Monday said Deputy Inspector General, NIA, Sandeep Choudhary, had filed an application under Section 112 of the BNSS for issuance of the Letter Rogatory to the competent judicial continued on page 8 Chandigarh, March 3 After state-run schools and government hospitals, now nearly 250 buses of the PRTC and the Punjab Roadways are being painted in yellow and blue. The opposition Congress has alleged that the move is part of the ruling AAP’s attempt to use public funds for publicity, as the colours are closely associated with the ruling party. Run under the kilometre scheme, the recently procured buses are being painted in yellow and blue at a body fabrication workshop in Rajasthan. Sources said the new buses were originally painted in the blue/silver and red/silver pattern. Transport Minister Laljit Bhullar did not respond to calls. Defending the move, a senior government functionary said there was nothing new. “During the AkaliBJP government, everything c m y b A bus painted in blue and yellow colour scheme. TRIBUNE PHOTO from seva kendras to buses to bicycles were painted in blue and yellow,” said the official. Shamsher Singh, general secretary of the Punjab Roadways and PRTC Union, said first the government forcibly allowed the buses under the kilometre scheme and now the operators were being asked to paint these in blue and yellow. “The buses painted in the original blue/silver and red/silver pattern were returned to the fabricator in Rajasthan. It is sheer wastage of public money,” he said. Questioning the move, Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa and Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said AAP had turned governance into a full-time publicity campaign. “First they painted schools in the party colours, then hospitals and now even public buses are being splashed with the same colours as if Punjab’s treasury exists to fund AAP’s advertising drive. Schools are meant for teaching, hospitals for healing and buses for serve commuters — not to serve as moving hoardings for a political party desperate to manufacture perception,” said Bajwa. SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal objected to the change in colours of PRTC buses, accusing the ruling AAP government of politicising public assets. “After pushing Punjab into debt, weakening law and order and damaging the economy, AAP is now focusing on repainting government institutions in continued on page 8