THRISSUR l monday l december 29, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 24 l 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’ ■ 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 ■ India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terrorist 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 No arrests have been made, says Meghalaya DGP on Bangladesh’s claim that student leader’s killers entered India Dhaka terms attacks on Hindus ‘isolated crimes’ expre s s new s s ervice @ Guwahati Digvijaya backtracks on praise for BJP-RSS P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi Even as the Congress grapples with internal unease trig g ered 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 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 strongly condemn the BJP’s attempts to create divisions within this f a m i ly, ” h e said. The former chief minister 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 underway and will be completed soon,” he added. Singh reiterated his opposition to the BJP-RSS ideology, saying there was nothing to learn from “Gandhi’s killers”. “I oppose RSS and BJP ideology,” he said. Singh’s earlier remarks did not go down well with several leaders as the BJP seized on them to attack the Congress, terming it as an ‘open dissent’ against Rahul’s leadership. Meanwhile, Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor extended a guarded support, saying that it is only logical for an organisation to have discipline and be strengthened. 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.” expre s s new s s ervice @ New Delhi Border Security Force personnel patrol along the India-Bangladesh border on the outskirts of Agartala in Tripura on Sunday | PTI 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 Who’s osman hadi ? Osman Hadi was a prominent youth leader during the July-August 2024 mass protests that led to the fall of the Awami League government last year. He was also a candidate for Feb 12 polls 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. 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, freedom of expression, and 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 Ministry 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 allegations 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 antiBangladesh sentiment and undermine bilateral relations. Bangladesh foreign ministry also disputed India’s reference to another recent death of a Hindu man in Rajbari, saying the man was a “criminal.” Councillor vs MLA: Sreelekha wants French cinema icon Brigitte Bardot dies at 91 office vacated, Prasanth says ‘no’ 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 for mer Thiruvananthapuram mayor Prasanth 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. W I T H T H I S I SS U E India’s Luxe Pilgrimages PLUS 12 PAGES Sasthamangalam councillor R Sreelekha with MLA V K Prasanth at the latter’s office in corporation building in Sasthamangalam, Thiruvananthapuram, on Sunday | 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 corporation 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 here,” she ● More on P4 said.  EXPRESS READ Election setback: CPM leaders blame organisational weakness, overconfidence T’Puram: Organisational weakness and overconfidence were among the key reasons behind the Left Democratic Front’s setback in the recently concluded local body elections, CPM leaders observed at the two-day state committee meeting that began on Sunday. P4 Organ donation pledges go up, but Kerala far behind top states T’Puram: Organ donation pledges in Kerala rose in 2025, crossing the 10,000-mark with around 6,000 new commitments in the year. However, Kerala remains far behind states such as Maharashtra and Rajasthan, which registered nearly one lakh pledges each. P5 Woman hacked by drug-addict husband loses battle for life E xpre s s N ew s Service @ 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 eight-year-old and six-year-old children motherless. The horror unfolded on Wednes- day morning around 9.30am at attacked Muneera on Wednesday . their residence near Farook Col- The children tried to open the door lege. As Muneera was preparing to upon hearing their mother’s cries, leave for work, Abdul conbut they did not succeed,” fronted her, demanding said T S Sreejith, SHO of money When she stood her . Feroke police station. ground and refused to hand Witnesses described a over her hard-earned wagchaotic scene where neighes to fuel his addiction, the bours eventually broke situation turned lethal. down the door, only to be Police reports indicate met by a blood-stained AbM K Muneera dul brandishing his weapon that Abdul locked the bedr o o m d o o r, t r a p p i n g at them to create panic, beMuneera inside. Then armed with fore fleeing to the terrace. He was a machete, he began a savage as- eventually restrained by local resisault that targeted her head, neck, dents and taken into custody by and hands. Feroke police. Neighbours man“Abdul locked the bedroom and aged to move Muneera to the hos- pital, but she succumbed to her i n j u r i e s wh i l e u n d e r g o i n g treatment. For Muneera’s family, the grief is compounded by the bitterness of a second chance gone wrong. Her maternal uncle, Ashraf T K, recalled how Muneera had previously separated from Abdul while they were living in Kondotty in 2024 due to his unbearable violence. “His drug abuse and lazy nature were the main reasons for their disputes,” Ashraf said. He explained that Abdul had lured her back with promises of reform, even purchasing land for a house to prove his commitment. ● More on P4 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 Y-plus security for West Bengal CEO amid row over SIR E X P R E SS N E W S 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. Meanwhile, an association of West Bengal government officers raised objections to deletion of voters bypassing the statutory role of Electoral Registration Officers.