24032026-TTB-01.qxd 3/24/2026 12:26 AM Page 1 c m y b SC: CONDUCT FAIR PROBE AGAINST AMBANI BUSINESS /thetribunechd 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 146 NO. 81 | 12 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  HARYANA LAVROV, EAM PITCH FOR DEEPER TIES BACK PAGE tuesday | 24 march 2026 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com SHANDAAR 4 SAAL, BHAGWANT MANN DE NAAL Punjab’s government schools ranked No.1 in the country DIPR, Punjab As confirmed by Government of India survey For more information, scan here Trump pauses power infra strikes for Modi flags long-term impact of war, urges united response 5 days; ‘backtrack’ by US, mocks Iran Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service Ajay Banerjee Sensexdips2.5%; gold, silver shed $2tnwithinhours Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 23 US President Donald Trump on Monday called for a “pause on all military strikes” against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for five days. Tehran, however, mocked the announcement as a “defeat for the devil”, saying the “US had backed down”. Iran denied talks took place and claimed the pause came after it warned of targeting the energy infrastructure across the Gulf. While Trump announced “talks with Iran were on”, the Israel Defence Forces on Monday hit several Iranian military targets. It said dozens of Israeli fighter jets used over 100 munitions in the strikes that targeted Iran’s military and intelligence infrastructure. Speaking to reporters in Florida, Trump said the US was engaged in “high-level discussions with a top person” within the Iranian leadership in an effort to resolve the West ExplosionoutsideJ&K ex-sarpanch’s home JAMMU: A mysterious blast was reported in the Ghagwal area of Samba on Monday, prompting the police to rush to the spot. The explosion occurred near the main gate of former sarpanch Jai Ram Sharma’s home around 1.10 am. INSIDE PbplansentrytollonHP commercial vehicles ROPAR: Minister for Education and Public Relations Harjot Singh Bains has said that the Punjab Government was planning to impose entry tax on commercial vehicles registered in Himachal. He said the intention was not to tax the common people. INSIDE ‘Insensitive’: SC raps cops in Hry rape case NEW DELHI: Expressing shock over the alleged insensitive handling of the rape of a fouryear-old girl in Gurugram, the Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to the Haryana Police and others on a petition seeking a CBI/SIT probe into the case. INSIDE Aditya Rangroo Tribune News Service Emergency workers at the site of a strike on a residential building in Tehran, Iran, on Monday. REUTERS Asia conflict. He said the negotiations did not involve new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. An Israeli official claimed the US was negotiating with Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf. The Speaker, however, denied talks took place. Trump’s pause announcement saw Brent crude (global oil benchmark) fall more than 7 per cent to around $104 a barrel — it was $65 before the war started on February 28. Trump said in a post on his continued on page 8 edit: Trump’s climbdown Pb ex-minister arrested To fast-track women’s quota, govt in warehousing corpn plans Census delink, delimitation manager suicide case Animesh Singh Tribune News Service Pawan K Jaiswar & Surinder Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Amritsar/Mandi Gobindgarh, March 23 The Punjab Police announced on Monday afternoon that they have arrested former Transport and Jails Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar from Mandi Gobindgarh for allegedly creating circumstances for the suicide of Punjab Warehousing Corporation District Manager Gagandeep Singh Randhawa, who consumed poison on Saturday. However, Bhullar claimed via a Facebook post earlier in the day that he was surrendering to the police. Bhullar said he was doing so after paying obeisance at a gurdwara. He wrote, “I have full faith in the law and have unshakable faith in the justice system. I have not run away anywhere. I am in my Punjab. Believing in truth and justice, I am surrendering at Mandi Gobindgarh.” Bhullar claims he has surrendered Laljit Singh Bhullar READY TO ORDER CBI PROBE, SAYS SHAH Home Minister Amit Shah has said he will order a CBI inquiry into the alleged suicide of Gagandeep Singh Randhawa, a warehousing corporation official, if all Punjab MPs gave him a written request. The issue was raised in the Lok Sabha by Congress MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla. Randhawa had ended his life by consuming poison early Saturday after uploading a continued on page 8 New Delhi, March 23 The government proposes to introduce two Constitution Amendment Bills in the Lok Sabha during the ongoing Budget session to bring key changes to the women’s reservation law. The amendments seek to delink the Census exercise from the law and amend the Delimitation Act, 2002, to enable the formation of a Delimitation Commission by June this year, which will take into account the 2011 Census data. The Tribune had reported last week that the Union Cabinet had cleared the proposed amendments in the women’s reservation law. Deepankar Sharda Tribune News Service Chandigarh, March 23 The search for India’s famous rally driver, Hari Singh, continued for the fourth day in and around the Felidhoo (Vaavu Atoll) island in the Maldives on Monday. Hari was involved in a tragic life threatening speedboat capsize incident near the Felidhoo island on the night of March 19. Till the filing of this report, the search operation for the 59year-old motorsport figure and the others was underway. The continued on page 8 The move is aimed at advancing the implementation of women’s reservation in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies by two years to 2029, ahead of the next General Election. Once the Census is delinked from the law and the Delimitation Commission is constituted, the rollout of reservation can be expedited, sources said. If the amendments are carried out, the total number of seats in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies is likely to increase significantly. The Lok Sabha’s strength could rise from 543 to around 816 seats. Sources said as both are Constitution Amendment Bills, they will require a twothirds majority in both Hous- es of Parliament. The government has begun informal consultations with various parties to secure support. Home Minister Amit Shah held informal discussions with Opposition leaders and NDA allies on Monday regarding the proposal. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had earlier written to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, seeking an all-party meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to deliberate on the issue. Under the provisions of the Nari Shakti Abhinandan Adhiniyam, passed in 2023, 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies is linked to continued on page 8 PM Narendra Modi speaks in the Lok Sabha during the Budget session. ANI JAISHANKAR DISCUSSES W ASIA WITH RUBIO External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday said he held a ‘detailed’ telephonic conversation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, focusing on the W Asia conflict and its implications for the global economy, particularly energy security. The conversation assumes significance as it is likely the first direct engagement between the two sides since the outbreak of hostilities. 2 INDIAN LPG TANKERS CROSS HORMUZ Two more Indian-flagged LPG tankers, carrying roughly a day’s supply of the country’s cooking gas, have navigated through the Strait of Hormuz. They are expected to reach Indian shores between March 26 and 28. LPG tankers ‘Pine Gas’ and ‘Jag Vasant’ are carrying 92,612 tonnes of LPG. With this, 20 vessels, including five LPG carriers, remain on the west side of the strait. focused on reduction of tensions and cessation of war, and informed Parliament of 53 lakh metric tonnes of strategic petroleum reserves along with efforts to expand this to 65 lakh MT. Citing 60 per cent imports to meet domestic LPG needs, Modi said India was naturally facing difficulties but was in continued on page 8 2pilotsdieinNYcrash ■ Two pilots were killed and 41 injured after an Air Canada jet collided with a fire truck while landing at the New York airport. ■ The truck was responding to an incident on another flight when it came in jet’s path. There were 72 fliers & four crew on board. Facing ~50L debt, 2 Pb brothers end life holding hands Kotkapura siblings, both farmers, jump in front of train | Faced repeated crop failure: Villagers Balwant Garg Tribune News Service Days after speedboat mishap, search stepped up for motorsport champ Hari in Maldives Hari Singh New Delhi, March 23 Indian benchmark indices on Monday saw widespread selloff that resulted in a severe decline, as geopolitical tensions in West Asia grew and market anxiety increased. The Sensex declined 1,836.57 points or 2.46 per cent to settle at 72,696.39, while the Nifty plunged 601.85 points or 2.60 per cent to settle at 22,512.65. In a single session, the selloff decimated investor wealth of around Rs 15 lakh crore, and since the conflict in West Asia began, it has wiped out approximately Rs 50 lakh crore. Gold and silver combined shed roughly $2 trillion in market value within hours as geopolitical tensions escalated. continued on page 8 New Delhi, March 23 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said dialogue and diplomacy were the only solutions to the ongoing West Asia crisis even as he urged citizens to stay united and alert, while flagging the likely long-term impacts of the war. Speaking in the Lok Sabha for the first time since February 28 when the crisis began, the Prime Minister cited decade-long focus on energy and fertiliser import diversification, railway electrification and electric mobility to assure people of the resilience of the Indian economy in the wake of the upheaval. He termed the attacks on commercial ships and disruption of the Strait of Hormuz, the route for one-fifth of global energy supplies, as unacceptable and said India was deploying diplomacy to ensure the safe movement of ships. Nearly 22 Indian ships are stranded in the strait. The PM noted that Indian efforts currently were REUTERS Washington bypasses Supreme Leader, ‘talks to Speaker’ | Israel pounds Tehran Jaskaran Singh & Jaswinder Singh. c m y b Faridkot, March 23 Two farmer brothers died after allegedly jumping in front of the Chhindwara Express at Bahmanwala village near Kotkapura town in Punjab’s Faridkot district on Monday. Eyewitnesses said the two, holding each other’s hands, jumped before the train, resulting in their instant death. The deceased were identified as Jaskaran Singh (38) and Jaswinder Singh (34), alias Jora, both residents of Harineau village here. NO PLAN TO FULLY WAIVE FARM LOAN: NIRMALA NEW DELHI: The Centre is not considering any proposal for a complete loan waiver for farmers, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told Parliament on Monday. She, however, said the government had taken steps to strengthen the economic conditions of farmers, including timely credit through Kisan Credit Card, enhancing collateral-free shortterm agricultural loans, crop insurance and direct cash transfer to landholding farmers through PM-KISAN, etc. Government Railway Police (GRP) teams reached the spot soon after receiving information and took the bodies into custody. The bodies were sent for postmortem to Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital in Faridkot. Further proceedings are being carried out based on statements by the bereaved family. According to sources and villagers, the brothers were the youngest among eight siblings and lived together with their families, jointly managing farming activities. Though they owned limited land, they also cultivated additional land taken on lease. However, they had been under severe mental stress for a long time due to mounting debt, which had doubled from Rs 25 lakh to nearly Rs 50 lakh, said villagers. Despite continuous efforts, including cultivating crops like potatoes, they were unable to recover costs as market prices remained low, further aggravating their distress. On the day of the incident, they reportedly reached the continued on page 8