BENGALURU  MONDAY  MARCH 23, 2026  `9.00  PAGES 16  LATE CITY EDITION PAKISTAN WORST HIT BY TERROR, INDIA SEES FALL IN ATTACKS: REPORT Pakistan recorded more than 1,000 terrorism incidents in 2025, which has pushed it to the top place in the latest Global Terrorism Index ranking PAK ACCOUNTS FOR 1 IN 5 TERROR DEATHS INDIA SEES 43% DECLINE IN ATTACKS Pakistan has seen a sharp resurgence in terrorist activity by Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other groups since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan. Deaths from terrorism in Pakistan were at their highest since 2013 with the country recording 1,139 terrorism-related deaths in 2025. That accounts for one in five terror related deaths around the world last year ■ ■ India ranked 13th, moving up one place from the previous year’s ranking. However, the number of terrorist attacks fell by 43%. India accounted for 2% of terrorism-related deaths in 2025 | P7 Four outfits—Islamic State, Jamaat Nusrat Al-Islam wal Muslimeen, TTP, and al-Shabaab—were responsible for 70% of terrorism deaths 5,582 PEOPLE KILLED IN 2,944 TERRORIST ATTACKS GLOBALLY IN 2025 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 Emergency CCS meet reviews West Asia crisis RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR @ New Delhi PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday called an emergency meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) to take stock of the domestic situation due to the evolving West Asia conflict and chalk out the strategy to mitigate the war’s impact on India. The CCS meeting, chaired by the PM and attended by key ministers, assessed the availability of critical needs of common people, including food, energy and fuel security , . The CCS is the highest decision-making body on security and strategic matters. Its members include Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and Exter nal Af fairs Minister S Jaishankar. According to statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) after the CCS meeting, discussions were held on the expected impact on critical sectors such as agriculture, fertilisers, petroleum, power, MSMEs, shipping, and finance. The PM directed that a group of ministers and secretaries be created to work dedicatedly in a whole-of-gover nment approach to deal with the effects of the conflict. The prime minister also suggested that sectoral groups be set up and they work in consultation with all stakeholders. The PMO statement further said that the war between USIsrael and Iran will have a big impact on the global economy . “The ongoing conflict in West Asia will have significant short, PRESS INTAKE Commercial LPG crisis costs B’luru hotels `150 cr | P2 Case against tahsildar office staff in land forgery case | P4 Placed in ‘digital arrest’, 81-yr-old loses `15.45 cr EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @Belagavi IN one of the biggest cyber fraud cases in the state so far, an 81-year-old businessman in Belagavi has been cheated of Rs 15.45 crore by cyber criminals by placing him under ‘digital arrest’. The police said the victim, a resident of Agarkar Road in Tilakwadi, received a WhatsApp call on February 5 from individuals posing as officials from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). They told the businessman that SIM cards registered in his name were linked to illegal activities, and one of them had been used to contact a senior executive of Jet Airways. They also told him that the official has already been arrested. The cyber criminals then told the businessman that he was under investigation in a money-laundering case involving Rs 25 lakh and that he had received a commission of Rs 5 lakh. They again contacted him between February 7 and March 9, and coerced him into transferring money multiple times, ultimately siphoning off Rs 15.45 crore. A complaint was filed with the cybercrime police on March 18. P5 medium and long-term impact on the global economy and its effect on India were assessed and counter-measures, both immediate and long-term, were discussed,” it added. The meeting discussed measures to ensure continued availability of essential needs and 47K TONNE OF assesssed the conflict’s indirect LPG FROM U.S. impact on farmers and their reREACHES M’LURU quirement for fertilizer for the Mangaluru: Kharif season. Providing major The PM described the conrelief to oil flict as an evolving situation in marketing which the entire world is afcompanies and fected in some form or the othhouseholds amid er. “In such a situation, all efsupply disruptions forts must be made to safeguard due to the West the citizens from the impact of Asia crisis, a vessel this conflict,” the prime miniscarrying 46,961 ter asserted. tonne of LPG The prime minister instructarrived at the New ed that all arms of governMangalore Port ments should work together from the Port of during the crisis period to enNederland in Texas, sure least inconvenience to the U.S., on Sunday citizens. He also asked for close morning. The vessel, coordination with state governPyxis Pioneer, was ment to ensure there is no sailing under black-marketing or hoarding Singapore flag | P5 of important commodities. ‘INDIA INC FACES RAW MATERIAL SHORTAGE’ New Delhi: Indian companies are facing disruptions ranging from shipment delays to shortages of key raw materials due to the ongoing West Asia conflict, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said on Sunday. In a statement, CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said the conflict has disrupted key maritime routes and supply chains. “Indian companies are experiencing downstream effects, from shipment delays to constraints in key energy inputs, as well as emerging shortages in essential raw materials across several sectors that rely heavily on timely cross-border flows,” he said The US would hit and obliterate Iranian power plants starting with the biggest one first if Tehran did not fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, or 23:44 GMT on Monday — US President Donald Trump TRUMP GIVES IRAN 48 HOURS Tehran responds by threatening to blow up all US infrastructure in the Gulf A G E N C I E S @ Tel Aviv / Tehran IRAN on Sunday threatened to “irreversibly destroy” key infrastructure across West Asia and “completely close” the Strait of Hormuz, crucial to oil and other exports, if the US follows up on President Donald Trump’s threat to attack its power plants unless the key waterway is reopened in 48 hours. T h e t i t - f o r- t a t threats came as the DAY w a r e n t e re d i t s fourth week and continued to reverberate across the Gulf, with global alarm mounting over strikes around nuclear sites. Trump, under pressure over rising fuel prices, wrote on Truth Social that US would “hit and obliterate” Iranian power plants “starting with the biggest one first” if Tehran did not fully reopen the strait within 48 hours, or 23:44 GMT on Monday . Iran said it would respond to any such attacks by targeting 23 LONGEST SERVING HEAD OF ELECTED GOVT PM Narendra Modi has completed 8,931 days in public life, surpassing exSikkim CM Pawan Kumar Chamling’s record | P7 US energy IT, and desalination , infrastructure across the region. Iran’s defiance came a day after its missiles evaded Israel’s much-vaunted air defences and struck two southern towns, including Dimona which houses a nuclear facility injuring dozens. , Iran said the strike on Dimona was in response to an attack on its nuclear site at Natanz. The impact from the war continued to be felt across the region. Early Sunday morning, AFP reported that blasts and air raid sirens were heard in Jerusalem as Iran launched a fresh barrage of missiles at Israel. Israel launched a wave of strikes on the Iranian capital Tehran in response. Iran also kept up retaliatory attacks on Gulf nations it accuses of serving as a launchpad for US strikes. Saudi Arabia said on Sunday that it detected three ballistic missiles around the capital Riyadh. One was intercepted and Israeli rescue teams at a site struck by an Iranian missile in Arad, southern Israel, on Sunday | AP WAR IN RISKY PHASE WHO chief Tedros Ghebreyesus said the war is at a ‘perilous stage’ following strikes on Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility and in the city of Dimona near an Israeli nuclear research centre two fell in uninhabited areas, the defence ministry said. The UAE said it responded to new attacks from Iran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was noncommittal when asked about Trump’s threats to strike Iran’s power plants if the Strait of Hormuz isn’t opened, and whether Israel would join. “President Trump knows exactly what he’s doing. And whatever we do we do together and as far as possible in confidence.” Air ticket fares likely to surge from today S L A L I T H A @ New Delhi BRACE for higher airfares from Monday as the temporary price cap imposed by the government in December, in the wake of the IndiGo crisis, is set to expire. This comes at a time when airlines have seen a rise in operational expenses on account of the circuitous routes taken by international flights due to the ongoing conflict in West Asia between US-Israel and Iran. Airlines had recently introduced a fuel surcharge to offset the higher operational expenses due to the rise in price of Aviation Turbine Fuel. Referring to the IndiGo crisis in December, the order said, “The prevailing situation has since stabilised, with restoration of capacity and normalisation of operations across the sector.” While removing the fare cap, the government has directed airlines to exercise pricing discipline and warned that “excessive or unjustified surge in fares during periods of peak demand or disruptions” could force the government to reintroduce fare caps or make other interventions in the public interest.