FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms Vol. XLII No. 51 | INDORE | TUESDAY | JULY 29, 2025 | Pages 18 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. 38281/83 FREE www.freepressjournal.in Sports Tejaswin smashes decathlon NR in Poland P.16 ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: INDORE UJJAIN WORLD PRESS PUNE BHOPAL NASHIK MUMBAI E-paper Edit The scourge of stampedes P.6 THAILAND, CAMBODIA AGREE TO CEASEFIRE Cinema BIGGEST CONCERTS IN INDIA 2025 P.18 IMPLORING PEACE | Rajnath on why Op Sindoor was halted Pahalgam ‘mastermind’, 2 ‘Pak pleaded Maharaj, ab others killed in encounter rok dijiye, bahut ho gaya’ Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar NEW DELHI Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday initiated the “Special discussion on India’s strong, successful and decisive ‘Operation Sindoor’ in response to terrorist attack in Pahalgam” in Lok Sabha, cautioning Pakistan that the operation would be resumed if another “misadventure occurs” from its side in the future. Singh said India’s approach towards Pakistan changed from “the Lahore bus journey” to the “Balakot strike’ as it looked at “a different path to ensure peace”. “We once spoke the language of the ‘Lahore bus journey’ which Pakistan did not understand; so we now respond with the Balakot strike.” Singh said the Narendra Modi government’s stand was clear that “talks and terror cannot go together”. He claimed that “on May 10, after the Indian Air Force struck multiple airfields in Pakistan, Pakistan admitted defeat and offered to cease hostilities.” “After the strikes, Pakistan’s DGMO reportedly called India’s DGMO requesting a ceasefire, saying ‘Maharaj, ab rok dijiye; bahut ho gaya’ (Sir, please stop now, it’s enough),” Singh said, adding that “this offer was accepted with the condition that Operation Sindoor was only being paused and would be resumed if any misadventure occurred again fp Briefs BHOPAL State to get ‘Mahseer Café’ ‘Congress didn’t act’ Rajnath Singh said the UPA government did not act against Pakistan after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks despite having evidence of its involvement strike. He said the then External Affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee wrote in his memoir: “Amid heated debates within the Cabinet, there was a demand for military intervention, which I rejected." He also cited from a book by an unnamed senior IFS officer that Mukherjee wrapped up a meeting when the then Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon suggested a missile attack on the LeT headquarters in Muridke. from Pakistan’s side.” Besides Pakistan, Singh said, through Operation Sindoor “a clear message has been sent to those who support terrorism that India would defend itself resolutely”. The minister, however, clearly spelt out during his address that the operation was non-escalatory in nature, targeted terrorist sites in Pakistan and POK and was called off once its “political and military objectives” were achieved. Describing the Operation as “historic”, Singh said India’s armed forces were given full freedom to act. He stated that the goal was not war, but to force Pakistan into submission. The debate, for which 16 hours had been set aside, also had some interesting moments like when the Leader of Opposition and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi stood up and interjected him to ask “Why did you stop?”. Singh then calmly stated that the members will get all the answers to their questions if they would listen to his entire address. Describing the operation as a “decisive and effective demonstration” of India’s 's policy against terrorism, he added that it was halted once the “pre-decided political and military objectives were achieved. Operation Sindoor was called off once the "goal of dismantling terror bases and nurseries was achieved”. 4Continued on | P8 xternal Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday clarified there was no conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump between 22 April (Pahalgam attack) —when Trump called to express sympathy—and 17 June (PM’s Canada visit), when he spoke to Modi again during the latter’s visit to Canada. “I want to make two things very clear: at no stage in any conversation with the US was there any linkage with trade and what was going on. Secondly, there was no call between the Prime Minister and President Trump from 22 April to 17 June,” Jaishankar told the Lok Sabha. He added that the request for halting military action came from Pakistan through the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMO) channel, not via American mediation. E Rain continues to batter state, brings temperature down 4,811 doctors, 86k engineers in state looking for job: Minister Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Madhya Pradesh Government will sell mahseer fish at Mahseer Café in the state. The cafes are being started for the first time in Madhya Pradesh. See Pg5 LONDON ‘Do we switch off economy?’ Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami has rejected the West's criticism of India’s oil imports from Russia and said a country can’t “switch off its economy”. He said many of India’s European partners are also continuing to buy rare earth and other energy products from the same countries that they’re “refusing to let us buy from”. Our Staff Reporter Monsoon meter (in mm) BHOPAL SINGRAULI BIAORA SUSNER BHANPURA ZIRAPUR KHILCHIPUR MANASA GAROTH JAWAD NEEMUCH A fresh spell of incessant rainfall brought Bhopal to a standstill on Monday, causing traffic chaos and a sharp drop in temperature. Rainfall continued throughout the day, leaving several parts of the city waterlogged. According to meteorological department, Bhopal recorded 28 mm rainfall during the day, while another 27.1 mm poured overnight, bringing the total to 55.1 mm in the last 24 hours. Areas such as Samantar Road (near Nadra Bus Stand), Sunder Nagar and Alpana Tiraha witnessed waterlogging, posing problems for motorists and commuters. The constant rain led to a noticeable dip in temperature. Bhopal's day temperature settled at 25.5 degrees Celsius, 263.3 186.4 180.4 180.0 177.0 145.6 144.0 142.2 136.0 105.0 down by 2.7 degrees, while night temperature stood at 23.2 degrees Celsius, creating a narrow day-night gap of 2.3 degrees Celsius. In Indore, a similar pattern was observed, with day temperature at 25.4 degrees Celsius and night temperature at 22.2 degrees Celsius, a difference of just 2.2 degrees. 4Continued on | P8 The state’s list of job seekers runs long, if the data revealed in the assembly on Monday is anything to go by. And these are only the candidates registered with the employment office. In a written reply to Congress legislator Bala Bachchan, Technical Education Minister Gautam Tetwal disclosed that among the job seekers, or ‘Akankshi Yuva’, are 86,535 engineering graduates, 18,889 MBA degree holders, and 4,811 MBBS degree holders. Then, there are 17,354 pharmacy degree holders, 20,496 polytechnic degree holders, 74,831 ITI degree holders, 8,30,618 graduates, 6,22,587 12th pass, and 1,76,683 10th pass candidates. When contacted, Minister Tetwalstated that any youth registered with the employment office who wants to advance in their employment is considered an ‘Akankshi Yuva’.     Int’l Tiger Day State loses 28 big cats till July Experts call for urgent revival of corridors to curb deaths, ensure gene flow Rajan Raikwar BHOPAL Madhya Pradesh, home to largest tiger population in the country with 785 big cats, has also recorded the highest tiger mortality this year. By July 2025, the state has lost 28 tigers, including M Saleem Pandit SRINAGAR Three Pakistani terrorists belonging to the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) outfit were killed in an intense encounter with security forces in the Harwan area near Dachigam National Park, Srinagar, on Monday afternoon. The operation, named Op Mahadev, took place in the dense forests near the foothills of the 13,000-foot-high Mahadev mountain. Among the slain terrorists was Suleiman Shah, identified as the mastermind behind the Pahalgam terror attack at Baisaran Valley. Suleiman, also known as Hashim Moosa, had served in the Pakistan Army. The Jammu and Kashmir Police had earlier announced a ₹20 lakh reward for information leading to his capture. The two other terrorists were identified as Abu Hamza and Yasir, both Pakistani nationals. 25 tigers roam Bhopal’s fringes adults, semi-adults and cubs. Wildlife experts fear the number could rise by yearend. They cite overcrowding in reserves as a major reason behind increasing territorial fights, which often turn fatal. “Most reserves are saturated, but there’s scope to improve tiger density in San- Bhopal isn’t just bordered by forests; it’s also increasingly shared with urban tigers. As per rough estimates, around 25 tigers frequently move in and out of the Ratapani forest, skirting outskirts of Bhopal before retreating into the jungle.This movement is fluid and seasonal, but currently, five tigers are reported to be actively roaming the forest edges near the city.Experts say this growing urban-wild interface requires close monitoring to prevent conflict and ensure both human safety and wildlife conservation. jay Dubri, Nauradehi, Ratapani, and to some extent in Madhav National Park.Authorities also need to look beyond protected areas and focus on buffer zones and forests outside reserves,” said JS Chouhan, former Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife). 4Continued on | P8 Agencies BATUMI Yasir is also believed to have been involved in the Pahalgam killings. The operation was launched following specific intelligence input about terrorist movement in the Mulnar area of Harwan. A joint team of the Indian Army, CRPF, and Jammu and Kashmir Police cordoned off the area and began a search operation. During the operation, the terrorists opened fire on the security forces, leading to a fierce gunfight. A top police officer confirmed that the encounter began when the terrorists, holed up in the forest, fired upon the advancing forces. Reinforcements were rushed to the spot, and the area was sealed off completely. SSP Srinagar, GV Sundeep Chakravarty, confirmed that the slain men were all Pakistani nationals and members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba. 4Continued on | P8 India's young sensation Divya Deshmukh conquers the FIDE Women's World Cup 2025. Divya created history as she became the first Indian to win the Women's World Cup 2025, beating Koneru Humpy with a score of 2.5-1.5 in the tiebreaks on Monday in Batumi. 4See also | Sports SC raps Vijay Shah over public apology PTI NEW DELHI No Modi, Trump call: Jaishankar DIVYA WINS FIDE WOMEN’S WORLD CUP The Supreme Court on Monday pulled up Madhya Pradesh Minister Kunwar Vijay Shah for not issuing a public apology over his remarks against Indian Army officer Col Sofiya Qureshi, saying he was "testing the court's patience". A bench of Justice Surya REMARKS AGAINST COL SOFIYA QURESHI Kant and Joymalya Bagchi pointed out the minister's conduct was prompting it to doubt his intentions and bonafide. "What do you mean by an apology like this? He made the statement on the first date itself. We are talking about a public apology. Where is it on record? He is testing our patience," the bench said. Senior advocate K Parmeshwar, appearing for Shah, said he had issued a public apology, which was shared online, and would be placed on court's record. "What is an online apology? We are starting to have doubts about his intentions and bonafide. You place the apology on record. We will have to see it," the bench said. It asked the special investigation team (SIT) constituted to probe the statements made by the minister to submit its report by August 13. 4Continued on | P8