FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. XLI No. 319 | INDORE | SUNDAY | APRIL 27, 2025 | Pages 18 ` 4 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. 38281/83 www.freepressjournal.in ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: Sports WORLD Thunderstorm steals the show P.16 INDORE Pak says ready for neutral and transparent probe UJJAIN PUNE BHOPAL NASHIK Cinema WAVES musical magic P.15 JITTERY PAK PM OFFERS TO JOIN NEUTRAL PROBE PTI Pakistan on Saturday offered to join any "neutral and transparent" probe into the Pahalgam terrorist attack that killed 26 people. "The recent tragedy in Pahalgam is yet another example of this perpetual blame game, which must come to a grinding halt. Continuing with its role as a responsible country, Pakistan is open to participating in any neutral, transparent and credible investigation," Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said while addressing the army-cadets passing-out parade at the Pakistan Military Academy in K h y b e r-Pa k h t u n k h w a ' s Kakul. Echoing his views, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi in a press conference in Lahore said, "If neutral people of any third country carry out a probe into this incident, we are ready to cooperate with them." Talking about the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty by India, Sharif said any attempt to stop, reduce or divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan would be responded to with full force and might. Sharif threatened to use all options if the water of its share was stopped by India. 4Continued on | P8 fp Briefs NEW DELHI Mansarovar Yatra from June After a gap of five years, India on Saturday announced the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra from June. The resumption of the Yatra is seen as a part of efforts by India and China to improve ties after the two countries completed the disengagement of troops. MUSCAT Iran blast: 4 dead, 700 hurt A massive explosion and fire rocked a port Saturday in southern Iran purportedly linked to a shipment of a chemical ingredient used to make missile propellant, killing five people and injuring more than 700 others. The previous toll was four dead and 500 others injured. Pak officer’s slit-throat action Pak resorts to firing along LoC A major controversy has erupted after a senior Pakistan Army official made a throat-slitting gesture during a protest at the Pakistan High Commission in London, drawing widespread condemnation. Former Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Director General of Police (DGP), S.P. Vaid, reacted sharply, calling for strong action against those involved. "They know nothing except throat-slitting," Vaid said The Pakistani military resorted to unprovoked firing all across the Line of Control and Indian troops effectively responded to them, military sources said on Saturday. The exchange of fire for a second consecutive night came amid heightened tension between India and Pakistan following Pahalgam terror attack. The Pakistani troops fired at Indian positions along the LoC on Thursday night as well Wife Sahana Ali mourns near the mortal remains of paratrooper Jhantu Ali Sheikh before his funeral at his native village Patharghata in Tehatta of Nadia district, West Bengal on Saturday. Jhantu was killed in an encounter between security forces and terrorists in Jammu and Kashmirs Udhampur district UNSC condemns Pahalgam attack India, Pak will figure it out: Trump The UN Security Council has strongly condemned the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, demanding that the perpetrators, organisers and sponsors of “this reprehensible act of terrorism” be held accountable and brought to justice. In a statement, the 15-nation Security Council reaffirmed that terrorism in all forms remains one of the gravest threats to international peace and security. US President Donald Trump has said there has always been tensions between India and Pakistan and the two countries will figure it out between themselves "one way or the other". "I am very close to India and I'm very close to Pakistan, as you know. And they've had that fight for 1,000 years in Kashmir. Kashmir has been going on for 1,000 years, probably longer than that," Trump said Puri’s ‘no water’ reply to Bhutto’s ‘Blood’ threat Online Report NEW DELHI Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Saturday issued a sharp response to Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chief Bilawal Bhutto- Zardari's recent remarks on India's suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty following the Pahalgam terror attack on Tuesday. Puri's comments come in the wake of Bhutto's inflammatory speech at a public Follow Centre’s guidelines in cases of Pak residents: CM Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Chief Minister Mohan Yadav chaired an important meeting at Police Headquarters and asked senior police officials to follow guidelines of the Centre in cases related to visa holder Pakistani residents in the state. A senior police officer said that after Pulwama attack, Government of India has decided to revoke visas issued to Pakistani residents who came to India. However, long-term visa holders and official passport holders have been exempted. There are total 16 type of visas and two categories have been exempted. Medical visa holders will have to leave the country by April 29. The CM asked to identify such persons and issue notices to them. In Madhya Pradesh, there are no Pak residents who fall in the category wherein he has to leave country by April 26. A case came to the fore wherein a mother is Indian citizen in Indore and her children are Pak nationals. In such case, officers have been asked to take action only after clarification from higher authorities. The number of long term visa holders is high and short term holders are below 15 in the state. The CM also reviewed Naxal operation and gave necessary directions. 4Continued on | P8 Puri remarked, "I heard his statement. Tell him to jump somewhere in water. Well, how will he when there will be no water? Do not dignify such statements. They will get to understand that." Refrain from live coverage of defence ops: Govt to media PTI NEW DELHI The government asked media outlets on Saturday to refrain from live coverage of defence operations and movement of security forces, contending that such reportage may inadvertently help hostile elements. The advisory comes in the wake of reporting on defence matters following the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. "In the interest of national security, all media platforms, news agencies, and social media users are advised to exercise utmost responsibility and adhere strictly to existing laws and regulations while reporting on matters concerning defence and other security-related operations," said the advisory by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. "Specifically: No real-time coverage, dissemination of visuals, or reporting based on 'sources-based' information related to defence operations or movement should be undertaken," it stated. The advisory also said that premature disclosure of sensitive information may inadvertently assist hostile elements and endanger operational effectiveness and the safety of personnel. The advisory cited past incidents such as the Kargil war, the Mumbai terror attacks of 2008, and the Kandahar hijacking. MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin told US envoy Steve Witkoff that Russia is ready to hold talks with Ukraine "without preconditions", the Kremlin said on Saturday. "During yesterday's talks with Trump's envoy Witkoff, Vladimir Putin reiterated that Russia is ready to resume negotiations with Ukraine without any preconditions," said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, who also added that Putin has repeated the same several times. This comes in the midst of US President Donald Trump's talks with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Rome, at the funeral of Pope Francis. INDIA WILL OVERTAKE JAPAN, GERMANY Palazhi Ashok Kumar MUMBAI already the third-largest economy with a global GDP share of 8.23%. The growth is fueled by core sectors such as IT, services, agriculture, and manufacturing. India capitalizes on its broad domestic market, a youthful and skilled workforce, and an expanding middle-class. The IMF estimated India’s GDP growth at 6.2% and 6.3% for FY25 and FY26, respectively. Early April, the Reserve Tigress carcass found buried in sand Unknown persons chopped its four paws, made away with 3 canine teeth Top 10 economies 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Country GDP (2025) United States $30.34 tn China $19.53 tn Germany $4.92 tn Japan $4.39 tn India $4.27 tn UK $3.73 tn France $3.28 tn Italy $2.46 tn Canada $2.33 tn Brazil $2.31 tn Bank estimated the county’s growth forecast for FY26 at exposed and two-third body was buried in sand. Though the tigress died a natural death, someone had chopped all four paws and made away with its three canine teeth. A cash reward of Rs 10k has been declared on the head of the ac- cused. Sources in Pench Tiger Reserve said that the patrolling team in Rukad beat confronted smell coming out from a deep pit. 4Continued on | P8 Nitendra Sharma BHOPAL An order issued by the Director General of Police asking the police officers to salute the MPs and MLAs has kicked up a controversy. Resentment is brewing among the policemen against the order. The Congress is also opposed to this order. According to ADR reports, after the 2023 assembly election and the 2024 Lok Sabha election, criminal cases have been slapped against nine MPs and 90 MLAs. Some of them are facing serious charges. According to the DGP’s order, the police officers have to salute those who are facing the charges of murder, attempt-to-murder, committing fraud, kidnapping, whipping up communal clashes and cheque bouncing. The courts have awarded punishments to some legislators. Appeals are pending in higher courts these cases. Because they are public representatives, the police officers should salute them. The police headquarters issued such an order for the first time that the police officers would salute the MPs and MLAs. A senior police officer said the order would intensify resentment in the districts. 4Continued on | P8 MLAs facing serious criminal cases Preetam Lodhi: The issue of respecting the public representatives came up immediately after a dispute between BJP legislator, Preetam Singh Lodhi, and the Shivpuri SP Aman Singh Rathore. Lodhi is facing nine criminal cases, including murder and attempt-tomurder. Kameleshwar Dodiyar: Legislator of the Bharat Adiwasi Party, Kamleshwar Dotiyar, is facing 15 criminal cases, including whipping up religious passion, trespassing and engineering riots. Hemant Katare: There are two cases against Congress legislator Hemant Katare. They include extortion and kidnapping. Vikram Singh: There are charges of murder, attempt to murder and trespassing against BJP legislator Vikram Singh. Saheb Singh Gurjar: There are cases of engineering riots, breaching peace and threatening others against Congress legislator Saheb Singh Gurjar. Yadvendra Singh: Congress legislator Yadvendra Singh is facing the cases of murder, attempt to murder, keeping illegal arms and engineering riots. Arif Masood: Congress legislator Arif Masood is facing the cases of committing murder, attempt to murder, breaching peace and orchestrating riots. adios President Droupadi Murmu pays homage to Pope Francis at the Saint Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City n Saturday (See world) Rape, blackmail case investigation includes human trafficking angle Our Staff Reporter 6.5%. This outlook can be attributed to increased household spending, particularly in rural areas, driven by higher agricultural incomes and government support programmes. Interestingly, though the GDP growth rate is lower at 2.2%, the share of global GDP of the US (adjusted for purchasing power parity) stands higher at 14.99%, which is lower than China’s 19.05%. 4Continued on | P8 The angle of investigation in rape and blackmailing case at Bag Sewania also includes possibilities of human trafficking. Moreover, the accused were planning to leak obscene videos of victims, police officials investigating into the three cases registered at Bag Sewania, Jehangirabad and Ashoka Garden police stations said. Police investigations have revealed that the accused not only exploited victims individually but even passed them on to others in the group. Police officials are also investigating NHRC issues notice to CP Taking cognisance of rape and blackmailing racket in the state capital, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notice to the Commissioner of Police on Saturday while demanding a report of the action taken into the case within two weeks. The notice states that NHRC has learned about an organised crime being committed against female students of a private college in Bhopal. The accused befriended female students, trapped them on pretext of love, raped them and even made their obscene videos. if the victims were forced into sexual exploitation by persons who are yet to be named in the FIRs. A police official said that there may be possibilities of human trafficking in the case though evidences in this regard were still to be found. The accused have shot multiple obscene videos of victims which they shared with each other on their smartphones. 4Continued on | P8 Job growth faster than working-age population Agencies BHOPAL Criminal cases against 90 MLAs and nine MPs World Bank report NEW DELHI Our Staff Reporter Policemen have to salute MLAs facing heinous charges Russia ready for talks with Ukraine without preconditions BHOPAL India will soon be the world’s third-largest economy, overtaking Japan and Germany, driven by macroeconomic stability and purchasing power parity (PPP), according to the IMF data, and analyses by Forbes and The Free Press Journal. India ranks fifth in the world’s GDP rankings for 2025. In terms of PPP, India is A carcass of a twelve-year-old tigress was found buried in sand near Masoor nullah of Rukad area in Pench Tiger Reserve, Seoni on Saturday. The one-third body part of the tigress, aged twelve years was rally in Sukkur, Sindh province. Addressing supporters, the PPP chairman said, "The Indus is ours and will remain ours - either our water will flow through it, or their blood." Responding to Bhutto, E-paper Readers’ Corner Enough is Enough P.10 PAHALGAM TERRORIST ATTACK | Shehbaz Sharif says armed forces remain fully prepared to defend territorial integrity against any misadventure ISLAMABAD/LAHORE MUMBAI India is witnessing a positive trend in job growth, according to the latest World Bank report. Since the 2021-22 fiscal year, employment in the country has grown at a faster pace than the working-age population, the report highlighted. A significant aspect of this growth is the rising participation of women in the workforce. "Employment growth has outpaced the working-age population since 2021-22. Employment rates, especially among women, are rising, and urban unemployment fell to 6.6 per cent in Q1 FY24/25, the lowest since 2017-18," the World Bank report said. The report also noted a sharp fall in urban unemployment. In the first quarter of the 2024-25 financial year, urban unemployment dropped to 6.6 per cent--the lowest level recorded since 2017-18. Another major trend observed is the shift in worker movement. For the first time since 2018-19, more men are migrating from rural areas to cities in search of employment. At the same time, rural women are increasingly taking up jobs in agriculture, indicating a shift in employment patterns across the country. However, the report also flagged persisting challenges. Youth unemployment stands at 13.3 per cent, with the rate even higher among those who have completed higher education--29 per cent of them are still seeking jobs. "Only 23 per cent of nonfarm paid jobs are formal, and most agricultural employment remains informal," the World Bank report said.