COIMBATORE l sunday l september 28, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 26 l LATE CITY EDITION Blockbuster India-Pak Final at t20 Asia cup tourney today Men in Blue take on arch rivals in the T20 Asia Cup final in Dubai today. This will be their firstever meeting at this stage of the competition... Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav Pakistan skipper Salman Agha Time for cricket to take centre stage The controversies, largely non-cricketing, between India and Pakistan have been the biggest talking point of the tournament. India refused to shake hands with the Pakistan team. The reactions from either side since has only added to the prevailing tensions. Under pressure, both teams will look to hold their nerves and focus on playing good cricket ■ Eight Emotions running high on both sides ■ India have maintained that they are there to play cricket, but the Super 4s match showed how much it matters to them On the eve of the final, Pakistan captain Salman Agha said that every individual has the right to express emotions. “I won’t stop anyone as long as it is not disrespectful,” he said.  More on P13 The number of Asia Cup titles India have won 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 39 Dead 62 Injured CM announces `10L each to kin of dead; panel led by ex-judge to probe incident 1 2 3 4 Stampede in Vijay’s Karur rally 5 6 Vijay arrived at the Tiruchy International Airport in the morning from Chennai by a chartered flight The actor-politician proceeded directly to Namakkal for the first leg of the election campaign Scheduled to reach Namakkal by 12 pm, he reached the venue only at 2.30 pm, over two hours late From Namakkal, he reached Karur by road. It took him nearly four hours to cover 34km due to heavy crowd As Vijay was speaking in Karur, the crowd turned uncontrollable, and a few cadre and children started fainting After the tragedy, Vijay left for Chennai by a chartered flight from Tiruchy Airport at 10 pm D V i n c e n t A r o c k i a r a j @ Karur cal. Chief Minister M K Stalin is expected to visit Karur on Sunday, former minister Senthil Balaji told reporters. Actor-politician Vijay arrived at the Tiruchy International Airport in the morning from Chennai by a chartered flight and proceeded directly to Namakkal for the first leg of the campaign. Although he was scheduled to address his cadre around 12 pm, he reached the venue only around 2.30 pm. After completing his campaign in Namakkal, he reached Karur at 7 pm, though the scheduled arrival was at 3.30 pm. As hundreds of cadre and members of the public lined the route, it took nearly four hours for him to reach Veluchamipuram. Even as Vijay was addressing the rally the crowd swelled , and became uncontrollable, and a number of persons, including party workers and a few children, fainted and fell down in the crowd. They were rushed to the Karur Medical College Hospital and other private hospitals. Several party workers noticed the situation and raised an alarm. Vijay halted his speech and threw water bottles from atop the custom-built campaign bus. Ambulances had a tough time negotiating the heavily crowded thoroughfare to reach the spot. “Police, please help,” he was heard saying as people fell unconscious at the rally Af. ter multiple patients were rushed to hospitals, the state health department mobilised doctors from Tiruchy Dindigul, , Namakkal and Salem. Health Minister Ma Subramanian who was at Salem for a conference rushed to the spot, while the health secretary, director of medical education and other senior health officials were on their way to Karur from Chennai. Speaking to TNIE, Dr R Suganthy Rajakumari, director of medical education, said that as of now around 30 doctors have been mobilised.  P7 At least 39 people, including eight children and 16 women, died following a suspected stampede and crowd surge during Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) leader Vijay’s election campaign at Veluchamipuram in Karur on Saturday evening. At least 62 people are under treatment at various hospitals across the city. The death toll may rise as 13 people are criti- Wangchuk probed on Pak links, funding F aya z W a n i @ Srinagar Climate activist and Magsaysay awardee Sonam Wangchuk, who was arrested on Friday in connection with the Leh violence, is being investigated for alleged links to Pakistan and violation of foreign funding rules, Ladakh Director General of Police S D Singh Jamwal said. Wangchuk is accused of being a key instigator in the Leh violence, in which four people were killed and 80 others injured. “We recently arrested a Pakistani intelligence operative who sent videos of Wangchuk’s speeches across the border,” Jamwal said, adding that the operative was also in contact with Wangchuk. Sonam “His speech Wangchuk acted as incitement, as he referred to the Arab Spring and the recent unrest in Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka,” Jamwal said. The DG also referred to Sonam’s recent visits to Pakistan and Bangladesh. “He attended an event organised by The Dawn in Pakistan and also visited Bangladesh,” Jamwal said, adding, “various agencies are investigating.” The police are also probing Wangchuk’s foreign funding. “There is an investigation into foreign funding and violation of FCRA regulations against him,” Jamwal said. Sharif’s absurd theatrics at UN glorify terror: India J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi In a sharp rebuttal at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), India strongly rejected Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ’s remarks on the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and subsequent the Indian military response, Operation Sindoor, calling them “absurd theatrics” and accusing Islamabad of glorifying terrorism on a global platform. Exercising India’s Right of Reply Petal Gahlot, First Secre, tary at India’s Permanent Mission to the UN, delivered a scathing response following Sharif ’s speech earlier on Friday during the General Debate of the UNGA’s 80th session. “This Assembly witnessed absurd theatrics in the morn- Petal Gahlot exercising the Right of Reply to Pak PM’s address at UN GA | PTI ing from the Prime Minister of Pakistan, who once again glorified terrorism that is so central to their foreign policy Gahlot ,” said, underscoring Pakistan’s continued attempts to shield terrorist entities and distort regional realities. Sharif, during his address, referred to the Pahalgam incident and ensuing conflict, WITH THIS I SS U E Small Town, Big Deal Chennai: CM Stalin said `1 lakh will be given to each of those admitted to ICUs for treatment. The CM will visit Karur on Sunday. The inquiry panel headed by retired HC Judge Aruna Jegadeesan will conduct a thorough investigation and submit a report at the earliest will offset tariff impact India eyes international certification for seafood J i t e n d r a C h o u b e y @ New Delhi IN order to countervail the impact of unilateral tariffs imposed by the US, India is planning to seek global certification for its seafood. The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification, an international sustainability standard, could fetch premium prices — up to 30% higher than earli er for Indi an seafood. The US, previously India’s largest seafood market, valued at $7.38 billion (35% of exports), implemented a crushing 59.73% tariff on Indian seafood sector, with an eye to eventually crush the seafood industry . In response, the Union government intends to allocate special funds through the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMSSY) 2.0 scheme to support MSC certification of ten key Indian fisheries. National institutes, such as the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute(CMFRI), are providing technical assistance for this initiative. The status of the ten priority fisheries category — some of which are deep-sea and coastal shrimps, squid, cuttlefish, Karikadi shrimp, threadfin breams, blue swimming crab, and octopus — are in the final stages of addressing technical gaps. remembrance Assam’s heart still misses a beat called Zubeen i n d r a n e e l d a s @ Mangaldai PLUS 12 PAGES claiming credit for preventing escalation through diplomatic channels, notably praising US President Donald Trump for allegedly averting a war between the two nuclear-armed nations. He also called for a “comprehensive and result-oriented dialogue” with India on Kashmir and other issues. India, however, dismissed the remarks as revisionist and misleading. “The PM of Pakistan also advanced a bizarre account of the recent conflict with India,” Gahlot countered. “Till 9 May Pakistan was threatening , more attacks. But on 10 May its , military pleaded with us directly for a cessation to the fighting.” She said Pakistan’s retreat came only after Indian forces launched precision strikes on multiple Pakistani airbases. `1L each for critically injured, CM to visit Karur today WHENEVER Zubeen Garg’s name is uttered, Susmita still sheds tears. Arup Barua has not watched him perform but every 5-10 minutes he can hear his voice inside him. In Mangaldoi town, some 65km away from Guwahati, a bunch of people took out a procession with a banner of Zubeen Garg, humming his songs with tears in eyes and love in their hearts. The air was heavy and the mood sombre as the dusk settled in. They were not alone. Every street corner and every place, small or big, has its own poster and its own way of remembering Zubeen. No one has touched a chord with the entire population of a state as Zubeen. Even after one week since he passed away in Singapore on September 19, the state remains in mourning.No one asked businesses to shut People light candles near a portrait of the music icon in Guwahati | PTI shops, they did it on their own. His passing has touched Assam so much that even the euphoria of Durga Puja, which begins from Sunday with Shasti, may not be enough to lift Assam’s gloomy mood. The collective grief will take a long time to heal. Zubeen’s words —“Mur kunu jaati nai, mur kuno dhormo nai, moi okol manuh (I don’t have any caste, or any religion, I am just a human being)” will remain immortal. Forever. Stalin at the Agri Business Festival 2025 in Chennai on Saturday | ashwin prasath CM: 47K acres of barren land back to farming Express News Service @ Chennai Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday said that Tamil Nadu has been steadily moving towards the top rank in the agricultural sector, coming first in crop productivity, second in production of maize, oilseeds and sugarcane, and third in millets and groundnuts. He added that 47,000 acres of barren land have been brought back under cultivation. Stalin presented a lengthy list of achievements by the DMK government in the agricultural sector after inaugurating the second edition of the Agri Business Festival held at the Chennai Trade Centre in Nandambakkam. During the event, the CM distributed welfare assistance worth `1.77 crore to farmers. Speaking at the event, the CM said that, this year, paddy has been cultivated on 5.66 lakh hectares — an additional 1,28,494 acres compared to last year.  P7