Thursday, May 8, 2025 | 32 Pages | `5 & for State (+6 pages) `6 Reg.No MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 1541/1957 M.p.c.s office Mumbai. PIN 400001 THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL Vol. 68 No. 184 | Leader in E-paper circulation l www.freepressjournal.in ● EDITIONS: ● MUMBAI ● INDORE ● PUNE ● BHOPAL ● NASHIK ● KONKAN ● E-paper ● Member: Audit Bureau of Circulation (July to December 2024) GAMES NATION Cash row: Probe panel confirms allegations against Justice Varma, CJI seeks his reply Cinema Actress Kangana Ranaut lauds ‘Operation Sindoor’ Rohit announces retirement from Test cricket, will continue to play ODIs Edit Retaliation a must, but so is dialogue once calm returns FOCUSSED, MEASURED, NON-ESCALATORY | India strikes nine terror targets linked to Lashkar-e-Tayyeba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen in Pakistan as well as in PoK PAKISTAN PUNISHED Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar NEW DELHI Damage assessment: Pakistani troops inspect destruction wrought by Indian defence forces –AGENCIES WANT IT TO END, CAN MEDIATE: TRUMP Washington: US President Donald Trump said he wants India and Pakistan to stop attacking each other and offered to help the two nations work out differences amid rising tensions. Speaking at the Oval Office, "It is so terrible. I get along with both. I know both very well. I want to see them work it out, I want to see them stop. Hopefully, they can stop now. They have done tit-for-tat. We have a good relationship with both. If I can do anything to help, I will be there." Earlier, Trump said, "It's a shame, he said, adding, "We heard about it just as we were walking in the doors of the Oval (Office). I guess people knew something was going to Opposition unites around response Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar NEW DELHI Opposition parties on Wednesday hailed the Indian Armed forces in one voice after they carried out precision strikes against terrorist organisations in Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. While some of the leaders were brief in their appreciation or just saluted the nation and the forces, others went on to state what they stood for. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi led the Congress in declaring that he was “Proud of our Armed Forces.” He also wrote “Jai Hind!” along with it in his post on “X”. His sister and Congress general secretary and MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was more elaborate and posted: “We are extremely proud of our army. Our brave soldiers protect our freedom and integrity. May God protect them and give them immense courage to face challenges with patience and bravery. Jai Hind.” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who had only recently criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not preventing the Pahalgam attack despite intelligence inputs, stated that “India has an unflinching national policy ALL-PARTY MEET TODAY In the wake of Operation Sindoor, the Centre has convened an all-party meeting on Thursday at 11 a.m. to brief the nation's political leadership on the strategic strikes. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju made the announcement on Wednesday and wrote on X, "Govt has called an All Party leaders meeting at 11 am on 8th May, 2025 at Committee Room: G074, in the Parliament Library Building, Parliament Complex in New Delhi." Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan and formally briefed her on the operation. against all forms of terrorism emanating from Pakistan and PoK. We are extremely proud of our Indian Armed Forces who have stuck terror camps in Pakistan and PoK. 4Contd on | Nation happen based on a little bit of the past." "They've been fighting for a long time. They've been fighting for many, many decades and centuries, actually, if you really think about it." He added, "No, I just hope it ends very quickly." Exactly a fortnight after the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were identified on the basis of religion and killed by terrorist, India launched “Operation Sindoor” early on Thursday morning hitting nine terrorist training camps and launch pads inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir with 24 missile strikes. The missile strikes, which took place within a span of 25 minutes, left a large number of suspected terrorists dead and injured at the nine locations at Muzaffarabad, Kotli, Bahawalpur, Rawalakot, Chakswari, Bhimber, Neelum Valley, Jhelum, and Chakwa in Pakistan and as per unconfirmed reports around 70 terrorists were killed and another 60 were injured in these. Media reports from Pakistan also cited Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar claiming that 10 members of his family and four aides were killed in the attack at Bahawalpur. Besides the JeM, the Indian armed forces had also targeted bases of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen and the Lashkar-eTayyeba, whose offshoot, The Resistance Front, had claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar It was a long night and day for Prime Minister Narendra Modi as after attending a media event on Tuesday evening, he monitored the conduct of Operation Sindoor early on Wednesday morning and then held a number of meetings to both review the operation and sent across a message of it being “business as usual” for Related reports in Mumbai & Nation PM CHOSE CODENAME Agencies Care taken to select non-military targets and to ensure no civilian casualties. Operation was conducted from Indian soil. NEW DELHI Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally chose the codename ‘Operation Sindoor, ’ sources told PTI. It is a reference to ‘sindoor’ (vermilion) that many Hindu women wear as a signifier of marriage. In the Pahalgam attack, Hindu men were singled out and shot dead in front of their wives and children by terrorists. Sources also told ANI that all through the night Prime Min- ister Narendra Modi constantly monitored the Operation Sindoor. Care had also been taken in the choice of targets to exclude military ones. Foreign Secre- tary Vikram Misri was to explain later that, "Our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistani military facilities Sajjad Gul, Lashkar link to Pahalgam PTI NEW DELHI Sheikh Sajjad Gul, a 50-yearold Kashmiri and head of Lashkar-e-Taiba proxy The Resistance Front (TRF), has emerged as the mastermind of the Pahalgam terror attack, officials revealed on Wednesday. Holed up in the Cantonment town of Rawalpindi, Pakistan, under the patronage of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Gul, who also goes by the alias of Sajjad Ahmed Sheikh, has been a planner of a number of terror attacks, including tar- After reviewing Operation Sindoor, Prime Minister Modi takes a number of nonmilitary decisions in Cabinet meetings India as a number of nonstrategic decisions were taken in a Cabinet meeting. Later in the morning Modi first met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval who briefed him about the strikes as also how the 4Contd on | Nation 4Contd on | Nation geted killings between 2020 and 2024 in Central and South Kashmir, grenade attacks in Central Kashmir in 2023, ambush of J&K police personnel in Bijbehra in Anantnag, Gagangir, Z-Morh Tunnel attack in Ganderbal. The NIA had designated him a terrorist in April 2022, with a reward of Rs 10 lakh. The official said that during the investigation into the Pahalgam attack, links and some communications have been traced back to Gul. Used by Pakistan's external snooping agency ISI as a Kashmiri face of the local Punjabi-dominated Lashkar-e-Taiba, Sheikh was educated in Srinagar and did his MBA from Bangalore, later pivoting to a lab technician course in Kerala. 4Contd on | Nation PM in business as usual messaging NEW DELHI attack. The first strike took place around 1 a.m.. The Additional Director General of Public Information of Indian Army posted on “X” about it with “#JusticeServed”. It wrote that “Target 1” was Abbas Terrorist Camp at Kotli at a distance of 13 Km from LoC (POJK). Describing it as the “nerve centre for training suicide bombers of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)”, the Army said this centre that provided “key training infrastructure for over 50 terrorists” was destroyed at 1.04 am. At 1-44 am, the Ministry of Defence announced the armed forces had launched Operation Sindoor hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and PoK. It categorically stated the actions were “focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature” and that “no Pakistani military facilities have been targeted.” In a clear message that India did not desire escalation, the note had also stated that India “demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of targets and method of execution”. The MoD had also specified that a detailed press conference would be held at 10 am. In the morning, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri briefed the media about Operation Sindoor. armed forces were prepared for any kind of response to them from Pakistan. The situation in Jammu and Kashmir, where Pakistan had retaliated by shelling, resulting in loss of lives and 4Contd on | Nation PM cancels trip to Europe Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called off his scheduled three-nation Europe tour in the wake of heightened tensions with Pakistan, sources confirmed on Wednesday. PM Modi was scheduled to travel to Croatia, Norway and the Netherlands starting May 13 and also participate in the 3rd IndiaNordic Summit in Oslo on May 15-16. Last month, PM Modi had cut short his Saudi Arabia visit and returned home immediately after the Pahalgam attack. PM also decided not to travel to Moscow to attend the Victory Day celebrations of Russia. –IANS have been targeted. India has demonstrated considerable restraint in the selection of targets and method of execution," the statement said. For the mission, precision strike weapon systems from the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force, including loitering munitions, were deployed, sources confirmed to ANI. A loitering munition is a type of precision weapon that hovers over a target area to locate 4Contd on | Nation Misri focus on TRF FPJ News Service NEW DELHI In explaining New Delhi's re- Our intelligence has sponse to the Pahalgam at- developed an accurate tack, Foreign Secretary picture of the planners and Vikram Misri brought focus backers of this team on the terrorist group calling itself the The Resistance Front, Vikram Misri a Lashkar-e-Taiba proxy. He elaborated:” A group ment was notable. calling itself The Resistance Minsri said that probe into Front (TRF) has claimed re- the attack had “brought out sponsibility for the attack. the communication nodes of This group is a front for the terrorists in and to Pakistan. UN-proscribed Pakistani ter- The claims made by The Rerorist group, Lashkar-e- sistance Front and their reTayyeba. It is notable posting by known social media handles that India had given inputs about the TRF of the Lashkar-ein the half-yearly reTayyeba speak for port to the Monitorthemselves. Identifiing Team of the UN's cation of the at1267 Sanctions Comtackers, based on mittee in May and eyewitness accounts, November 2024, as well as other inSajid Mir bringing out its role formation available as a cover for Pakistan-based to law enforcement agencies, terrorist groups. Earlier too, has also progressed. Our intelin December 2023, India had ligence has developed an acinformed the monitoring curate picture of the planners team about Lashkar and and backers of this team.” He Jaish-e-Mohammad oper- said, “The features of this atating through small terror tack also tie in with Pakistan's groups such as the TRF. long track record of perpetIt was in this context, Misri rating cross-border terror in pointed out, that Pakistan’s India, which is well docupressure to remove references mented, and beyond question. to TRF in the April 25 UN Se4Contd on | Nation curity Council Press State- 18 airports India tells the world shut for now of ‘measured action’ PTI Agencies NEW DELHI/ MUMBAI NEW DELHI More than 200 flights have been cancelled and at least 18 airports, including Srinagar, have been temporarily shut for operations amid restrictions in the wake of the armed forces launching missile attacks on terror targets in Pakistan on Wednesday morning. Air India, IndiGo, SpiceJet, Air India Express, Akasa Air, and a few foreign airlines have cancelled their services to and from various airports. Sources said that at least 18 airports in the northern and western parts of the country have been temporarily shut. These airports include Srinagar, Leh, Jammu, Amritsar, Pathankot, Chandigarh, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Gwalior, Shimla, Dharamshala, Bhuj, Jamnagar, Hindon, Nanded, Adampur, they added. According to one of the sources, more than 200 flights to and from various airports have been cancelled by airlines. The affected passengers can opt for a full refund or an alternate flight as per availability. At least 35 flights to and from the Delhi airport have been cancelled. Senior Indian officials held conversations with their counterparts in key countries to apprise them of Op Sindoor. External Affairs minister S Jaishankar spoke to his counterparts from Japan, Germany, France and Spain. “Had a telecon with FM Takeshi Iwaya of Japan. Appreciate the strong condemnation of the April 22 terrorist attack. Discussed India’s action against the cross-border terrorist infrastructure this morning,” he said on X. Jaishankar said he had a joint call with French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot and Germany’s Johann Wadephul. “Appreciated their solidarity and support in the wake of the Pahalgam terrorist attack. Discussed ensuring zero tolerance for terrorism,” he said. On his talks with Spanish foreign minister Jose Manuel Albares, Jaishankar said: “Discussed India’s firm and measured response to crossborder terrorism.” He spoke to Qatar’s PM and foreign minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, over phone, discussing India’s stance in the fight against cross-border terrorism. NSA Ajit Doval also told his counterparts in countries India has no intent to escalate tensions but is prepared to “retaliate resolutely” if Pakistan does so, officials said. “NSA briefed his counterparts on actions taken and method of execution, which was measured, non-escalatory and restrained,” an official said. He spoke to US NSA and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, UK’s Jonathan Powell, Saudi Arabia’s Musaid Al Aiban, UAE's Sheikh Tahnoon, and Japan’s Masataka Okano. Contact was established with Russian NSA Sergei Shoigu, member of Political Bureau of CPC central committee and minister of foreign affairs of PRC, Wang Yi. Meanwhile, Indian Army’s 16 Corps said its jawan, L/Nk Dinesh Kumar of 5 Fd Regt, was killed in Pakistan’s cross-border shelling along the LoC in J&K. Earlier, 15 Indians were killed and 43 hurt in Pak shelling in the Poonch and Tangdhar regions.