NEW DELHI 27 APRIL 2025 SUNDAY `12 PAGES 24  facebook/TheMorningStandard  X.com/TheMornStandard https://epaper.morningstandard.in TAKE A BITE OF EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE Sunscreen PLUS: 12 PAGES MAGAZINE EXCLUSIVE VOICES Anand Neelakantan S Vaidhyasubramaniam Ravi Shankar Anu Aggarwal The Good Doctors U.N. BODY CALLS FOR ACTION AGAINST TERROR BACKERS The Mystique of the Masons Debashis Chatterjee Prabhu Chawla Shankkar Aiyar Namrata Joshi Floored by Naughty and Chic IRAN PREZ DIALS MODI TO CONDEMN ATTACK Massacre draws UNSC’s strong condemnation THE United Nations Security Council has “condemned in the strongest terms” the brutal terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, calling it ‘a reprehensible act of terrorism’ and stressing the urgent need to bring the “perpetrators, organisers, financiers, and sponsors” of the April 22 massacre to justice. In a press statement, the 15-member body expressed deep condolences to the families of the victims. “Terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security the statement read. ,” The UNSC reiterated that such acts are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of the motive, location, or identity of those responsible adding that the per petrators must be brought to book. The members called on all countries to fulfil their obligations under international law and Security Council resolutions by cooperating with relevant authorities to hold those involved accountable. The statement, delivered by the rotating president of the UNSC on behalf of all members—including Pakistan, currently a non-permanent member—highlighted the need to “combat by all means” threats to global peace arising from terrorism, in line with the UN Charter. India has directly linked the Pahalgam attack to Pakistan stressing on the cross-border linkages to the assault and announced a series of punitive diplomatic and strategic measures. These include suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty the expulsion of , Pakistani military attachés, the immediate closure of the Attari land-transit post and stopping visas to Pakistani nationals. Reacting swiftly, Pakistan closed its airspace to Indian airlines and halted all trade with India, including through third countries and announced putting on all bilateral agreements in abeyance. Islamabad also termed India’s move to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty as a “grave provocation,” warning that attempts to disrupt water flows to Pakistan under the 1960 pact would be considered an “act of war.” After the Pahalgam terror strike that killed 26 people—25 tourists and one local—tensions between the two nucleararmed neighbours have spiked, drawing both international attention and concern. While the UNSC did not call out Pakistan, the firm language came as a signal of intolerance for cross-border terrorism. Meanwhile, President of Iran Masoud Pezeshkian dialled PM Narendra Modi on Saturday and condemned the terror attack in Pahalgam. MORE REPORTS ON P 7 & 8 PAK PM SAYS OPEN TO JOIN NEUTRAL PROBE OMAR ABDULLAH QUESTIONS PAK BILAWAL ISSUES THREAT TO INDIA TRUMP SAYS INDIA, PAK DISPUTE 1,500 YR OLD MORE HOUSES OF TERRORISTS RAZED Lahore: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday offered to join any ‘neutral and transparent’ probe into the Pahalgam terrorist attack that killed 26 people Ramban: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday questioned Pakistan’s offer to join a ‘neutral’ probe, and said it’s difficult to say anything about Pakistan Islamabad: PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has threatened that blood would flow in rivers if Indus water is stopped, in response to India’s decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty New York: US President Donald Trump on Saturday said tensions between India and Pakistan have been there for 1,500 years and that the two sides will figure it out among themselves Srinagar: A day after demolishing houses of two Lashkar militants linked to the Pahalgam attack, security forces on Saturday blew up houses of four more militants linked to the attack J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi Free tea, biscuits, water bottles being distributed in Lal Chowk | ZAHOOR PUNJABI KASHMIRIYAT MAKES TOURISTS FEEL SAFE F AYA Z W A N I @ Srinagar WHILE the Pahalgam terror attack has created a sense of insecurity among tourists, several people visiting the Kashmir Valley said they were moved by the support and solidarity extended by the locals, adding that they feel safe in J&K. Vaishali, a tourist from Delhi, said she is not feeling any tension or fear. “Initially there was fear after the Pahalgam attack. But now we are moving freely without any fear or threat. We visited Gulmarg, Sonamarg and Lal Chowk. People here are very hospitable and helpful,” she said. Her family members are also set to visit Kashmir. “We told them that there is no need to worry and the situation is good here. People should not cancel their scheduled visits to Kashmir,” she said. Another tourist, Hemant, said the hoteliers, cab drivers, horse riders all have been very supportive. Meanwhile, traders in Lal Chowk distributed free refreshments and food to tourists as a goodwill gesture. E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Kochi REST IN PEACE EXPRESS READ Indian tigers likely to roar in Cambodia soon CBSE recruitment exam racket busted, 4 nabbed Badlapur encounter: CID hands over case papers India is likely to send six tigers —two males and four females— to Cambodia after the monsoon season, according to sources. Tiger has been declared extinct from Cambodia in 2007. | P7 A 28-year-old man hired a proxy candidate to appear for him in a CBSE recruitment exam. But the plan backfired after cops arrested four persons, including the proxy and the original candidate. | P3 The Maharashtra CID has handed over the case papers related to the alleged encounter of Badlapur sexual assault case accused Akshay Shinde to Mumbai Crime Branch, officials said on Saturday. THE CBI has registered a case against K M Abraham, the chief principal secretary to Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, for allegedly amassing wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income. The FIR will soon be filed at the CBI court in Thiruvananthapuram. The CBI took over the probe on the direction of the Kerala High Court on April 11 on a petition filed by Jomon Puthenpurackal, an activist. The agency has booked Abraham, a retired IAS officer, for accumulation of assets under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. Jomon told the HC that Abraham owns an apartment in Mumbai worth `3 crore, a flat in Thiruvananthapuram valued at `1 crore, and a shopping complex in Kollam worth `8 crore. He claimed the EMI for the Mumbai property alone is `84,000, while Abraham’s salary is `80,000 per month. Abraham, however, claimed that Jomon’s allegations stemmed from the action taken against the latter for the misuse of a PWD rest house. Abraham was the Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) at the time. Monsoon ahead, no leave for PWD & DJB officials E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ New Delhi THE Delhi government has put restrictions on leaves for officials of PWD, DJB and irrigation and flood control departments till September 15 in order to prepare for the upcoming monsoon season, officials said on Saturday . According to the General Administration De par tment (GAD) order, leave of any kind will not be approved or recommended at any level of junior engineer and above till September 15, except in case of extreme medical emergency they said. , “Every year due to severe problems of waterlogging, bad road conditions and flooding across the city during monsoon, people suffer a lot. As the monsoon is approaching, work has to be carried out on war-footing by way of completion of desilting of drains, necessary measures to prevent water-logging and flooding,” the order said. “It is hereby ordered that leave of any kind will not be approved or recommended at any level of JE and above till AMMA SPEAKS An AI for the Right Word Learning from the Book of Life Pak resorts to wanton firing along LoC in J&K F AYA Z W A N I @ Srinagar CBI lodges case against Pinarayi aide in assets case Pope Francis’ coffin is carried in front of dignitaries, including President Donald Trump, at his funeral in Vatican on Saturday | AP | P9 Human Being to Being Human September 15, 2025 except in cases of extreme medical emergency of the officer or immediate family members. Leave under special circumstances will only be approved at the level of Principal Secretary/Additional Secretary it further read. ,” Last year, due to heavy rainfall, many areas were waterlogged and water entered houses in low-lying areas. Last year, waterlogging had led to major disruption, making the rainy season a concern for residents & authorities THE Army has been put on high alert to deal with any exigency at the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir as tensions flared up at the border on Saturday after Pakistani troops fired at Indian posts in many sectors in Kashmir for the second successive night. A defence official said on the night of April 25-26, Pakistani troops breached border ceasefire agreement and carried out unprovoked firing from multiple posts across the LoC in Kashmir. “Multiple Indian posts were targeted by the Pakistani troops. Indian troops responded appropriately ...,” he said. There were no casualties or injuries, an officer said. The firing on Indian army posts by Pakistani troops has come days after militants attacked tourists at Baisaran meadows in Pahalgam, killing 25 tourists and a local resident. Tension between India and Pakistan escalated after Tuesday’s terror attack, with India suspending the Indus Water Treaty and downsizing diplomatic ties with Pakistan. On Saturday, banned terror outfit The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy for the Pakistanbased Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), after initially taking the responsibility, issued an online statement denying its involvement in the Pahalgam terror attack. Sources said the TRF denial has come under pressure from the Pakistani establishment and in view of the protest by Kashmiris. UKRAINE TRUMP RAISES DOUBTS ON PUTIN US Prez and Volodymyr Zelenskyy met briefly before Pope Francis’s funeral on Saturday in their first encounter since a White House clash and Trump later cast doubt on whether Russian Prez Vladimir Putin wants a peace deal. | P9