hyderabad l Monday l December 29, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Pak President says he was asked to ‘hide in bunker’ during Op Sindoor ZARDARI SAYS HE TURNED DOWN THE ADVICE “My MS (military secretary) came to me and said, ‘Sir, the war has started. Let’s go to a bunker’,” Zardari said. He was speaking at an event in Sindh province to mark the 18th death anniversary of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Zardari claimed he refused to move to a bunker, quoting himself as saying: “If martyrdom is to come, it will come here.” Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari revealed that he was advised to ‘hide in a bunker’ when India launched Operation Sindoor in May this year ‘KNEW THAT TENSIONS WOULD ESCALATE’ ■ India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terrorist ■ Zardari said he knew in advance that a conflict was about to break out. “I told him four days earlier a war was going to happen,” he said infrastructure in Pakistan and Pak-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the Pahalgam attack of April 22, which killed 26 civilians 4-day Op Sindoor is the most serious conflict between India and Pakistan in decades CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI BSF rejects B’desh claims about Hadi killers Stormy session on cards as KCR may Dhaka terms attacks on attend Assembly No arrests made, says Meghalaya DGP on Dhaka claim that student leader’s killers entered India express news service @ Guwahati express read Trump to host Zelenskyy for talks WEST PALM BEACH: US President Donald Trump will host his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Sunday to try to close out a peace agreement that would end nearly four years of war sparked by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia intensified its attacks on Ukraine’s capital and elsewhere in the days before the meeting | P9 Myanmar votes in shadow of the gun YANGON: Voters went to the polls Sunday for the initial phase of Myanmar’s first general election in five years, held under the supervision of its military government while a civil war rages in the country. Final results won’t be known until after two more rounds of voting are completed in January | P9 THE Meghalaya Police on Sunday dismissed media reports in Bangladesh that two suspected killers of student leader Sharif Osman Hadi had fled to the northeastern state and that, two persons, who helped the fugitives, have been arrested/detained here. Quoting a senior official in the country, the Daily Star reported that suspects Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Sheikh had crossed over into the Indian territory of Meghalaya with the help of local associates. “According to our information, the suspects entered India via the Haluaghat border. After crossing, they were initially received by an individual named Purti. Later, a taxi driver named Sami transported them to Tura city in Meghalaya,” the newspaper quoted Additional Commissioner S N Nazrul Islam in a press conference. The report further stated that Purti and Sami had been detained by authorities in India. Some other media houses reported that the duo had been arrested. However, Meghalaya Director General of Police Idashisha Nongrang said, “No arrests have been made.” Another senior police official said Meghalaya Police had not Hindus ‘isolated crimes’ Border Security Force personnel patrol along the India-Bangladesh border on the outskirts of Agartala in Tripura | PTI received any formal or informal communication from Bangladesh Police or other Bangladesh authorities in this regard. The BSF also dismissed the reports. “We learnt about the news circulating in media and social media handles. We verified at our end. This is completely false,” a senior BSF official told this newspaper. He further stated that the demography along the Meghalaya-Bangladesh border is such that an outsider is easily identifiable. “There have been many instances where the villagers have identified such persons and helped the BSF,” the official stated. Inquilab Moncho leader Hadi (32) was shot in Dhaka by two motorcycle-borne assailants on December 12 during an election campaign. On December 15, he was airlifted to Singapore for treatment but died three days later. His death triggered nationwide violent protests. Arjun, Humpy bag bronze at World Rapid Chess Championship Hyderabad: India’s Arjun Erigaisi clinched the bronze medal in the open section of the World Rapid Chess Championship 2025, which concluded in Doha on Sunday. The Warangal prodigy finished with 9.5 points from 13 rounds, matching the tally of second-placed Vladislav Artemiev, but was pushed to third on tie-breaks. He became only the second Indian, after Viswanathan Anand, to win a medal in the open category. World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen, who drew with Arjun in the fifth round, claimed the title with 10.5 points. World champion D Gukesh endured another disappointing campaign, finishing 20th. In the women’s section, defending champion Koneru Humpy had to settle for bronze despite finishing level on 8.5 points from 11 rounds along with Aleksandra Goryachkina and Zhu Jiner, as tournament rules permitted only the top two to battle for the title. Goryachkina won the championship after defeating the Chinese player in the tie-break. Arjun Erigaisi and Koneru Humpy in action during the World Rapid Chess Championship in Doha on Sunday | FIDE/Lennart Ootes Selfless service, values will help India become Vishwaguru, says Bhagwat Express News Service Digvijaya backtracks on BJP-RSS praise Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday stressed that service should be selfless, guided by the belief of “Shiva Bhave Jeeva Seva” — seeing divinity in all living beings. He was speaking at the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh Sarvajanik Utsav at Vishwa Sangh Shibir–2025 held at Kanha Shanti Vanam near Hyderabad on Sunday . The RSS chief said: “Change should not be expected from others, it must begin within. Instead of pushing the responsibility onto others, we must take New Delhi: Even as the Congress grapples with internal unease triggered by Digvijaya Singh’s remarks praising the organisational power of the RSS and the BJP, the senior leader on Sunday went into damage control mode, saying there were no ideological differences within the party and that it stood firmly united under the Nehru-Gandhi leadership | P8 @ Hyderabad charge. Service should not be done with selfishness or expectation of reward. “Shiva Bhave Jeeva Seva”— we must serve the living beings by seeing Lord Shiva in them.” He also said India must aim to become a Vishwaguru not merely through military or economic growth, but by setting an example through conduct and values. He urged younger generations to preserve the country’s cultural heritage and appealed to Hindus living abroad to stay connected to their roots. He emphasised the importance of individual responsibility and cultural values. He stated that declining awareness of Dharma globally has disrupted social balance, resulting in extremism and growing societal challenges.  Continued on P3 express news service @ New Delhi DHAKA on Sunday strongly rejected India’s concerns over the safety of religious minorities in Bangladesh and said recent incidents involving members of the Hindu community were “isolated criminal acts” and not reflective of any systematic persecution. The response came amid international reactions and parallel diplomatic engagements in Dhaka. Responding to a query from IANS, a US State Department spokesperson said the United States “unequivocally condemns religious violence in all its forms” and supports religious freedom, freed o m o f e x p re s s i o n , a n d peaceful assembly, adding that Washington welcomed steps taken by Bangladesh’s interim government to ensure safety and security of all communities. Reacting to Das’s killing, Indian-origin US Congressman Ro Khanna called the lynching “horrific” and urged people to speak out against “vile acts of hatred and bigotry”. Dhaka said that all crimes, regardless of the victim’s faith, would be addressed under the rule of law. India’s Ministry of External Affairs had earlier described the continuing violence against minorities in Bangladesh as a matter of “grave concern” and condemned the December 18 lynching of 27-year-old Hindu youth Dipu Chandra Das in Mymensingh city over alle g ations of blasphemy . Bangladesh said there were “systematic attempts” to portray isolated criminal incidents as evidence of persecution of Hindus, alleging such narratives were being selectively amplified in parts of India to spread anti-Bangladesh sentiment and undermine bilateral relations. Bangladesh’s foreign ministry also disputed India’s reference to another recent death of a Hindu man in Rajbari, saying the man was a “criminal.” Y-plus security to West Bengal CEO amid row over SIR EX P RESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi THE Centre has provided Y-plus category security cover to West Bengal’s Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal in view of safety concerns due to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the state, officials said on Sunday . A team of 11-12 armed personnel of the CISF security wing has been deployed for the CEO’s personal and house security The . team has taken charge. The move follows an order issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs on December 26. Sources said there were intelligence inputs about potential threats to the officer. The SIR exercise to update the electoral rolls is currently underway in West Bengal. On December 16, the poll panel published the draft electoral rolls, deleting over 58 lakh voters from the list due to death, migration, and non-submission of forms. It has triggered intense political friction with the ruling Trinamool Congress targeting the Election Commission. On Saturday the party accused the poll , panel of deleting lakhs of voters from the rolls to benefit the BJP ahead of the 2026 assembly elections. Meanwhile, an association of West Bengal government officers raised objections to deletion of voters bypassing the statutory role of Electoral Registration Officers. The association also made a representation to Agarwal saying on the date of the draft publication, a considerable number of electors whose forms have not been returned on alleged grounds such as death, migration, absence, or duplication have been deleted from the draft electoral rolls. Sigachi CEO arrested 6 months after blast that killed 54 P K r i s h n a @ Sangareddy Amit Raj sinha, chief executive officer (CEO) of Sigachi Industries, was arrested by the police on Saturday night. He was produced before a magistrate who remanded him to judicial custody for 14 days. The arrest follows a devastating blast at the Sigachi Industries unit in Pashamylaram on June 30, which claimed 54 lives. Several workers were burnt alive, while others sustained critical injuries and later succumbed during treatment. The June 30 blast is one of the deadliest industrial accidents in the country . The arrest of Amit Raj was announced by Superintendent of Police Paritosh Pankaj. In a press release, the SP said that the BDL police had registered a case under Crime No. 184/2025, invoking Sections 105, 110, 118(1), and 118(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The case is currently under review by the Amit Raj Sinha Telangana High Court, which recently questioned the state government over the delay in initiating action against those responsible for the blast. Chief Justice AK Singh had re- cently pulled up the investigation officer for limiting the inquiry to the Factories department and failing to examine other agencies. Meanwhile, describing the incident as unfortunate, the Sigachi management said in a statement that it would cooperate fully with the police investigation and extend all possible assistance to the families of the deceased and the injured. express news service @ Hyderabad The state Legislative Assembly scheduled to commence on , Monday, is expected to be stormy, with sharp exchanges between the ruling Congress and the opposition BRS over contentious water-sharing issues. The Godavari and Krishna river disputes are set to dominate the session’s agenda. Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy is likely to give a PowerPoint presentation on river water issues, including irrigation projects. The session assumes added political significance as former CM and Leader of the Opposition K Chandrasekhar Rao is expected to attend the House after a prolonged absence. Since the Congress came to power, KCR has attended the Assembly only twice, his last appearance being during the Budget Session in 2025. At a recent press conference, KCR levelled serious allegations against the Congress government, accusing it of negligence in safeguarding Telangana’s share in the Krish- na river waters. He announced that the BRS would hold public meetings in Mahbubnagar, Rangareddy and Nalgonda districts to explain what he described as the injustice being meted out to Telangana in the allocation of Krishna waters due to the government’s decisions. He also said the party would launch an agitation to protect the state’s water rights. Reacting sharply, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy , in an informal interaction with reporters, had launched a strong counterattack on the BRS and KCR. He had dared the former chief minister to come to the Assembly and debate the Krishna and Godavari water issues. Revanth alleged that injustice to Telangana in water-sharing between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana occurred during the BRS regime and said he was prepared to substantiate his claims with documentary proof on the floor of the House. In this backdrop, the Assembly is set for a heated confrontation between Congress and BRS legislators.  Continued on P4 French cinema icon Brigitte Bardot dies at 91 In a cinema career spanning some 28 films and three marriages, Bardot symbolised a nation bursting out of bourgeois respectability, and became one of France’s best-known stars | P9