Pak President says he was asked to ‘hide in bunker’ during Op Sindoor kochi l monday l december 29, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari revealed that he was advised to ‘hide in a bunker’ when India launched Operation Sindoor in May this year 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. Zardari claimed he refused to move to a bunker, quoting himself as saying: “If martyrdom is to come, it will come here” ‘Knew that Tensions Would rise’ Zardari said he knew in advance that a conflict was about to break out 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 e x pre s s ne w s s er v i c e @ Guwahati French cinema icon Brigitte Bardot dies at 91 In a cinema career spanning some 28 films and three marriages, Brigitte Bardot symbolised a nation bursting out of bourgeois respectability, and became one of best-known stars in French history | 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 news- Border Security Force personnel patrol along the India-Bangladesh border on the outskirts of Agartala in Tripura | PTI paper quoted Additional Commissioner SN 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 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. Inquilab Moncho leader Hadi (32) was shot in Dhaka by two motorcycle-borne assailants on December 12 during an election campaign , and died three days later. His death triggered violent protests across Bangladesh. Dhaka terms attacks on Hindus ‘isolated crimes’ e x pre s s ne w s s er v i c e @ 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 supp o r t s re l i g i o u s f re e d o m , freedom of expression, and peaceful assembly adding that , Washington welcomed steps taken by Bangladesh’s interim government to ens u re s a f e t y o f a l l communities. The MEA had earlier described continuing violence against minorities in Bangladesh as a matter of “grave concern” and condemned the December 18 lynching of Hindu youth Dipu Chandra Das in Mymensingh over allegations of blasphemy . Councillor vs MLA: Sreelekha wants Digvijaya backtracks on BJP-RSS praise office vacated, Prasanth says ‘no’ P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi J o s e K J o s eph @ T’Puram A phone call by newly-elected Sasthamangalam councillor R Sreelekha on Saturday evening to Vattiyoorkavu MLA V K Prasanth, requesting him to vacate the MLA office functioning in the Sasthamangalam office building of the Thiruvananthapuram corporation kicked off a political storm on Sunday . The issue spilled into the public domain in the morning when the former Thiruvananthapuram mayor reached the corporation building to clarify his stand, drawing a large number of media persons and the public to the spot. Both the MLA’s office and the councillor’s office operate on the ground floor. Sreelekha had cited space constraints in the councillor’s office as the reason for her request. However, Prasanth made it clear he had no plans to vacate. Councillor R Sreelekha with MLA V K Prasanth at the latter’s office at the corporation building in Sasthamangalam, Thiruvananthapuram | Express “All facilities required for a councillor’s office have been provided here. It is a building with two gates and all necessary amenities. For over seven years, the offices of the councillor and the MLA have been functioning here, and such an issue was never raised earlier,” Prasanth told reporters. Questioning the timing of the request, the MLA asked, “Why is there a demand to vacate now? Is it fair for a councillor to ask an MLA to move out citing inadequate facilities?” He said he had a valid rent tenure for the office until March 31 and that a request had already been submitted to the cor poration seeking renewal. “If the corporation decides to evict me, I will challenge it legally. I cannot accept a request that violates my rights as a tenant,” he said. Shortly after, Sreelekha arrived on the premises and explained her position. “This is a building belonging to the Thiruvananthapuram corporation and is meant for the functioning of the zonal office and the councillor’s office. To my knowledge, there is no formal agreement permitting the MLA’s office to function ● More on P4 here,” she said.  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. Speaking to the media, Singh sought to clear the air on suggestions of factionalism and press Intake Organisational weakness blamed for CPM poll setback | P4 Organ donation pledges up, but Kerala far behind top states | P5 Drug addict hacks wife to death E x pre s s N e w s Ser v i c e @ Kozhikode Four days after she was brutally attacked by her drug-addict husband, a 32-year-old woman died of her injuries in Kozhikode on Sunday . M K Muneera, a supermarket employee and mother of two, died at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital after battling for her life. Her husband, Abdul Jabbar, 38, is currently in judicial remand, accused of orchestrating the attack that has left their eightyear-old and six-year-old children motherless. The horror unfolded on We d n e s d a y m o r n i n g around 9.30am at their residence near Farook College. As Muneera was preparing to leave for work, Abdul confronted her, demanding money When she stood her . ground and refused to hand over her hard-earned wages to fuel his addiction, the situation turned lethal. Police reports indicate that Abdul locked the bedr o o m d o o r, t r a p p i n g Muneera inside. Then armed with a machete, he began a savage assault that targeted her head, neck, and hands. “Abdul locked the bedroom and attacked Muneera on Wednesday. The children tried to open the door upon hearing their mother’s cries, but they did not succeed,” said T S Sreejith, SHO of Feroke po● More on P4 lice station.  accused the BJP of attempting to create discord within the Nehru-Gandhi family. “There is no difference in ideology. We are all united. The Nehru-Gandhi family is one in which two members have been martyred. I condemn the BJP’s attempts to create divisions within this family he said. ,” He also appeared to walk back his earlier criticism of the party’s lack of decentralisation. “Rahul Gandhi has started the decentralisation process from the district level and below. The work is under- way and will be completed soon,” he said. Singh reiterated his opposition to the BJP-RSS ideology saying there was noth, ing to learn from “Gandhi’s killers”. “I oppose RSS and BJP ideology,” he said. Party leaders, including Pawan Khera, Manickam Tagore and Supriya Shrinate, differed with Singh’s earlier remarks saying Godse’s supporters cannot be aligned with Gandhi’s principles. Meanwhile, MP Shashi Tharoor extended a guarded support, saying that it is only logical for an organisation to have discipline and be strengthened. Y-plus security to West Bengal CEO amid row over SIR E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ New Delhi THE Centre has provided Yplus 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 nonsubmission 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.