Familial bonding at Rashtrapati Bhavan Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi (second from left) and Navy Chief Adm Dinesh K Tripathi with their spouses during the Defence Investiture Ceremony, at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday. At the ceremony, President Droupadi Murmu conferred six Kirti Chakras, including four posthumously, to personnel of the Army and J&K Police | PTI visakhapatnam l friday l may 23, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION 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 Pakistan will pay a big price for any terror attack: PM Says no scope for bilateral talks, adds no water for the neighbour from Indian rivers R a j e sh As n a n i @ Jaipur IN his first public meeting in Rajasthan after Operation Sindoor, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday castigated Pakistan for using terrorism as a weapon against India and asserted that the hostile neighbour and its economy will pay a heavy price for every terrorist attack in future. Addressing a large gathering in Bikaner, Modi said Pakistan will not get a drop of water from rivers over which India has rights and claimed there was no scope for further talks. Modi arrived at the Nal Airbase in Bikaner and proceeded to the Karni Mata temple to offer prayers. From there, he reached Palana in Bikaner district to address the public gathering. At the meeting in Palana, about 20 km from Bikaner on the Indo-Pak border in Rajasthan, Modi said: “Pakistan will from now onwards pay a heavy price for every terrorist attack... Pakistan’s army will pay it, Pakistan’s economy will pay it.” PM Modi vowed a firm response to any hostile action from across the border. “Every drop of Indian blood will be avenged... Those who play with the lives of Indians will not be spared, India is no longer afraid of nuclear threats. Those who shed Indian blood will pay dearly for every drop,” he said. Referring to the recent Pahalgam attack, Modi said, “On May 7, India eliminated nine major terrorist hideouts within 22 minutes. The world has now seen what happens when sindoor (vermilion) turns into gunpowder.” India carried out precision strikes under Operation Sindoor on terror infrastructure early on May 7 in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people. Following that, Pakistan tried, unsuccessfully to at, tack Indian military bases on May 8, 9 and 10. India launched a fierce counter-attack on several Pakistani military installations. India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the military confrontation. “Pakistan can never win a direct fight against India. Whenever there is a direct fight, Pakistan has to face defeat again and again. That is why Pakistan has made terrorism a weapon to fight against India,” PM Modi said. Bonded Labour still continues 9-yr-old tribal boy’s death exposes shackles of slavery D S u r e n d r a K u m a r @ Nellore We won’t differentiate between terrorist organisations and govt that supports them — they’ll be treated as one UAE, Japan express solidarity The UAE and Japan have expressed solidarity with India as multi-party delegations started reaching out to world capitals to sensitise global leadership about terror from Pakistan 3-fold formula key for ties with China India on Thursday reminded China that mutual trust, respect and sensitivity are the basis of its bilateral ties, after it became clear that Pakistan used Chinese weapons in the recent clash India to Turkiye: Show sensitivity India on Thursday called on Turkiye to understand that bilateral ties must be built on mutual respect and sensitivity to each other’s core concerns | P7 The Satyavedu Police in Tirupati district arrested three individuals in connection with the illegal confinement and subsequent death of a 9-year-old tribal boy Ya, nadi Venkateshu. Puttur DSP G Ravikumar disclosed the case details during a press meet held on Thursday at the Satyavedu police station. The arrested have been identified as N Muthu (60), his wife M Dhanabhagyam (52), and their son M Rajasekhar (32), all from N Agraharam of Satyavedu mandal in Tirupati district. According to the DSP, the boy’s mother, Ankamma, a resident of Chavatapalem in Gudur mandal, had been working as a labourer along with her partner Prakash i ns i de Puttur DSP G Ravi Kumar producing the arrested before the media in Sathyavedu of Tirupati district on Thursday I Express and their three children at a farm in Duttalur mandal in Nellore district. The family was approached by Muthu and Dhanabhagyam of NR Agraharam in Satyavedu mandal, who promised work for a monthly wage of `10,000 and paid a `15,000 advance. The family worked for Muthu for a year under harsh conditions, performing agricultural tasks and herding ducks. Despite demanding a wage hike, Muthu refused. After Ankamma’s husband passed away she returned to , her native village for the fiP4 nal rites. state soaks in may with record 126% excess rain I p3 Woman tests positive for Covid in Vizag E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Visakhapatnam A fresh Covid-19 positive case has been reported in Visakhapatnam on Thursday health au, thorities confirmed. The patient, a 28-year-old woman from Pithapuram Colony underwent , testing after showing symptoms such as fever and cold. The test results confirmed a positive case of Covid-19. District Medical and Health Officer (DMHO) Dr P Jagadeeswara Rao confirmed the case, stating, “Yes, a positive case has been registered, and the patient is currently doing well under medical supervision.” He emphasised that there is no need for public panic as these are isolated cases. “Even in the last couple of years, we had a few isolated cases, but the situation remained under control. Currently we are actively , screening fever cases as a precautionary measure.” Dr Rao also advised the public to continue following basic hygiene and safety protocols. Arguments over, SC reserves order on Waqf law S UC H I T RA K A LYAN M O H AN T Y @ New Delhi After three days of arguments, the Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its order on a batch of pleas challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, reiterating observation on the presumption of constitutionality in favour of the law. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a bench of Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih that waqf managements misused monuments, giving rooms for shops and making unau- thorised alterations. This was opposed by senior lawyer Kapil Sibal, saying: “There are other laws to deal with such issues. You can’t take my right over the waqf property because of these issues.” Defending the Act, Mehta said the fact that the SC has to hear the pleas seeking interim stay for three days shows there is nothing ex-facie unconstitutional with the law. He submitted that creating a waqf is different from donating to a waqf. That’s why there is a requirement for five years practice as Muslims, so that waqf is not used to defraud someone.