18062026-TTC-01.qxd 6/18/2026 12:37 AM Page 1 13 RAHUL LAUNCHES STUDENTS’ DRIVE FROM KOTA NATION /thetribunechd CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 10 NO. 167 | 14 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 PUTIN HOSTS LEADERS OF SOUTHEAST ASIA WORLD thursday | 18 june 2026 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com US to defend India if it’s attacked: Prez Trump Now, Uddhav Sena stares at warms up to PM after chill over sailor deaths split; SP next, says NDA ally 6 of 9 MPs meet Birla, seek merger with Shinde faction Asserts both sides ‘very close’ to finalising trade deal, terms Modi ‘one of the toughest negotiators’ Aditi Tandon Ujwal Jalali Tribune News Service US DROPS ‘INDO’ FROM PACIFIC COMMAND Tribune News Service New Delhi, June 17 US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the US would come to India’s aid in the event of an attack, as he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi held wide-ranging talks on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in France and praised each other’s efforts to deepen strategic and economic cooperation. “If they (India) are attacked, we will be there to help them.... If anybody attacks that man (Modi), we’re going to be there,” Trump said during a joint press interaction with Modi. The remarks, among the clearest expressions of support by an American President towards India, came amid growing strategic convergence between the two countries and renewed con- Sikhcaretakercouple killed in firing inside gurdwarainPak’sKPK PESHAWAR: A Sikh caretaker couple was shot dead inside a gurdwara in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province on Wednesday. The incident occurred in Babu Mohallah locality of Mardan, 60 km northwest of Peshawar. Mardan police officer Masood Ahmed said unidentified assailants opened fire inside the gurdwara, resulting in the death of Jagannath and his wife Asma Wanti. — PTI Four Nihang pilgrims from Mohali held for clash in Uttarakhand GOPESHWAR: The Uttarakhand Police have arrested four Nihang pilgrims for assaulting and injuring locals with swords following an argument over vehicle parking in the Karnaprayag market area, police officials said on Wednesday. The police said the arrested pilgrims, Mantri Singh (21), Jasanpreet Singh (23), Ajay Singh (23) and Satwinder Singh (21), were from Mohali in Punjab. SHO Vinod Thapliyal said the incident occurred on Tuesday. INSIDE ■ The US Department of War Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a meeting with US President Donald Trump in Evian-les-Bains, France. PTI cerns over security in the Indo-Pacific and West Asia. The two leaders also indicated that a bilateral trade agreement was nearing completion. Asked about the progress of negotiations, Trump said the two sides were “very close” to finalising a deal and described Modi as “one of the toughest negotiators”. “I’ll give you a lesson. He’s the most beautiful looking man. He looks so nice. He’s like an angel, but actually he’s as tough, as he’s a killer. He is as tough as they come, but he looks so good. So, he gets you has announced a change of name for its largest military command and removed a reference to the Indian Ocean ■ The US Indo-Pacific Command (US Indo-Pacom) will officially revert to its original name — the US Pacific Command (US Pacom) ■ However, it is unlikely to impact the Quad grouping, its maritime cooperation and the planned expansion in several sectors ■ There is no change in the nature of operations or the area of responsibility, the Department of War said by surprise. But there are few people like him,” Trump said in a lighter vein. The Prime Minister, in his remarks, praised Trump’s efforts to continued on page 8 New Delhi, June 17 After the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, Maharashtra’s Shiv Sena (UBT) led by Uddhav Thackeray is facing a split, with a key NDA ally signalling a similar fate for the Samajwadi Party in UP . Wednesday witnessed an unravelling of the Uddhav Sena with six out of nine Lok Sabha MPs meeting Speaker Om Birla to seek a merger with the Eknath Shinde faction of the party and shifting of the seats from the opposition to the treasury benches, backing the BJP-led NDA. Rebel Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs Sanjay Haribhau (Parbhani), Sanjay Patil (Mumbai North East), Bhausaheb Rajaram (Shirdi), Nagesh Patil (Hingoli), Sanjay Deshmukh (Yavatmal Washim) and Om Prakash Rajenimbalkar (Dharashiv), in a four-page SP chief Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow SP STRONG: AKHILESH ■ NDA ally Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party chief OP Rajbhar said a split in the SP was imminent ■ He said Ram Gopal Yadav had submitted a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah ■ SP chief Akhilesh Yadav rejected the claims saying the party remains strong and won’t be affected by BJP’s ‘inducements’ letter to Birla, said they had no faith in the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and India-UK trade deal in effect from July 15, no tariff on key exports CBIarrestsformer CREST CEO in ~83-cr bank scam Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Aditya Rangroo Tribune News Service New Delhi, June 17 India and the UK on Wednesday announced that the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) would come into force on July 15, ushering in a new phase in bilateral economic ties. Simultaneously, the Social Security Agreement, also referred to as the Double Contribution Convention (DCC), will also come into effect on July 15, reinforcing the mobility and competitiveness of Indian professionals in the UK. The period of exemption under the DCC has also been increased from three to five years, marking a major gain for Indian professionals on temporary overseas assignments. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a post on X, said: “A historic milestone for IndiaUK relations. This agreement will significantly boost our bilateral trade and invest- More than 75,000 Indian professionals to benefit ment. It will also unlock numerous opportunities for Indian farmers, workers, MSMEs, startups and innovators, and contribute meaningfully to the realisation of Viksit Bharat 2047,” he said. Indian exporters will benefit from the complete elimination of UK tariffs across several key sectors. Tariffs of up to 70 per cent on processed food products, up to 21.5 per cent on marine products, up to 18 per cent on engineering goods and auto components, up to 16 per cent on leather and footwear products, up to 12 per cent on textiles and clothing, and up to 8 per cent on chemicals and pharmaceutical products will be reduced to zero. The immediate duty-free access secured under CETA is expected to continued on page 8 feared it would merge with the Congress, which was a deviation from the ideology of Balasaheb Thackeray. The rebels said the Shiv Sena was not created to merge with the Congress. They will make a formal announcement regarding the merger with the Shinde faction on June 21. “We have taken seriously Sanjay Raut’s suggestion that the TMC should merge with the Congress. Tomorrow, the Shiv Sena (UBT) may do the same,” said one of the rebels. The rebels also sent a letter to the EC saying that since they were a twothirds of the Shiv Sena (UBT) strength in the Lok Sabha, the anti-defection law would not apply. Earlier today, Sena (UBT) leaders too shot a letter to Birla forewarning him against permitting any “unlawful continued on page 8 edit: defection spree Officials transfer sealed NEET-UG question paper packets from an IAF helicopter to a bank locker van in Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli on Wednesday. PTI HC seeks govt response on Telegram ban Access blocked amid NEET-UG paper leak row, app calls action ‘arbitrary’ Shekhar Singh Tribune News Service New Delhi, June 17 The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought the Centre’s response after Telegram approached it against the government’s decision to temporarily block access to the messaging app in the country till June 22, a move aimed at “protecting the ‘I’M A BURDEN’: NEET ASPIRANT DIES BY SUICIDE A 23-year-old medical aspirant allegedly died by suicide in her room in the Patel Nagar area in Dehradun, leaving behind a note apologising to her parents for her “incompetence”. “I am sorry for being a burden. It’s nobody’s fault but my own incompetence. The best option is to end it, I love you, I’m sorry,” she wrote. integrity” of the NEET reexamination on June 21. Justice Tejas Karia issued a notice on Telegram’s plea and granted the Centre time till Thursday to file its reply. The matter has been listed for further hearing at 2.30 pm. The court did not grant any interim relief to Telegram after the Centre assured that no immediate irreversible consequences would follow from the impugned action. The court questioned whether the decision to block the platform was proportionate to the objective sought to be achieved. Appearing for continued on page 8 Chandigarh, June 17 The CBI has arrested Navneet Kumar Srivastava, then Chief Executive Officer of the Chandigarh Renewable Energy and Science & Technology Promotion Society (CREST), for his alleged role in the diversion of Rs 83 crore from the society’s accounts maintained with IDFC First Bank’s branch in Sector 32 here. A senior Indian Forest Service officer, Srivastava, who was earlier suspended by the Centre on the recommendation of Punjab Governor and Chandigarh Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria, was on Wednesday evening produced before the Special CBI Court here, which remanded him in three-day custody for further interrogation. The arrest marks the first action against a senior Chandigarh Administration officer in the case and comes amid the CBI’s probe into what investigators believe is part of a larger network continued on page 8 Punjab protesters take a leaf out of Sholay, climb tanks 100-year-old London restaurant that Aman Sood Tribune News Service Protesters atop a water tank to press for demands in Patiala. RAJESH SACHAR Patiala, June 17 Taking a cue from the 1975 blockbuster movie “Sholay”, where Dharmendra climbed atop a water tank to woo his beloved and threatened to jump if she refused, protesters in Punjab appear to be turning reel into real life. Security agencies are on their toes as unions and organisations increasingly resort to climbing towers and water tanks to press for their demands. Be it unemployed linemen, job-seeking teachers, employees or other agitating groups, all insist their demands are genuine and Agitating linemen, nurses, teachers go ‘sky high’ to press for their demands must be addressed by the state government. The spike in such protests comes days after the Samana agitation, where Army assistance was sought to safely bring down Gurjeet Singh Khalsa after the government accepted his long-pending demand. At present, around nine members of the Apprentice Linemen Union have been perched atop a high-tension transmission tower on the Patiala-Sangrur highway for c m y b nearly a week. They have threatened to remain there until their demands are met. A few kilometres away, Covid “warrior” nurses protesting outside the residence of Health Minister Balbir Singh in Patiala decided to intensify their agitation by climbing a water tank to demand regularisation of their services. Those atop the tank announced they would not come down until Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann personally arrived and accepted their demands. Last week, ETT teacher Harjit Singh climbed a telephone exchange tower in CM continued on page 8 once hosted Mahatma faces eviction London, June 17 Veeraswamy, one of the world’s oldest Indian restaurants, which once hosted Mahatma Gandhi, has appealed to the Indian Government to intervene against its forced removal from its iconic London location. The Michelin-starred diner, which recently celebrated 100 years since it first opened its doors at Victory House on Regent Street in March 1926, is set for a legal battle over its lease at the end of the month. The building landlord, the Crown Estate, has maintained that “comprehensive refur- Employees protest outside the Buckingham Palace in London. PTI bishment” requirements mean it is unable to renew the historic restaurant’s lease. “Even at this late stage, we would urge the Government of India to consider intervening on behalf of Indian cuisine — the country’s soft power in the UK,” said Ranjit Mathrani continued on page 8