kannur l Sunday l september 28, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l 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 Emotions running high on both sides 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 ■ ■ 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 More on P11 long as it is not disrespectful,” he said.  Eight 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 Over 62 hurt after crowd surge at TVK leader Vijay’s rally in Karur At LEAST 36 dead in TN stampede Ambulances passing by the crowd at Vijay’s rally as the leader looks on from atop his bus in Karur on Saturday| EXPRESS D V i n c e n t A r o c k i a r a j @ Karur WITH THIS I SSU E Small Town, Big Deal PLUS 12 PAGES At least 36 people, including six 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. A one-yearold baby is among those feared dead, sources said. At least 62 people are under treatment at various hospitals across the city. Tamil Nadu 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 noon, he reached the venue only around 2.30 pm. After completing his campaign in Namakkal, he began his journey to Karur. As hundreds of cadre and members of the public lined the route, it took more than 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 workers noticed the situation and raised an alar m. Vijay halted his speech and threw water bot- tles from atop the custombuilt campaign bus. Ambulances had a tough time negotiating the heavily crowded thoroughfare to reach the spot. After multiple patients were rushed to hospitals, the state health department mobilised doctors from Tiruchy Dindigul, Namakkal , and Salem. Expressing grief over the deaths, Chief Minister MK Stalin on Saturday announced a solatium of `10 lakh to the families of each of the deceased. “I am overcome with inexplicable grief. The priceless lives lost have shaken us all. I extend my deepest condolences and sympathy to the families of the bereaved over their irreparable loss. I have directed the best possible medical care for all those hospitalised,” the CM said. Sharif’s absurd theatrics at UN glorify terror, says 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 morning 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, claiming credit for preventing escalation through diplomatic Petal Gahlot exercising the Right of Reply to Pak PM’s address at UN GA | PTI This Assembly witnessed absurd theatrics in the morning from the Prime Minister of Pakistan, who once again glorified terrorism that is so central to their foreign policy Petal Gahlot 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 Prime Minister of Pakistan also advanced a bizarre account of the recent con- ‘Cops looking at possible Pak links of Wangchuk’ F ay w a z w a n i @ Srinagar NSS, SNDP Yogam show signs of closer ties A b h i l a s h C h a n d r a n @Kottayam In a major development that may have political implications in the state, two influential community organisations, Nair Service Society (NSS) and Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam, have s h ow n s i g n s o f c o m i n g together. NSS general secretary Sukumaran Nair on Saturday endorsed the SNDP Yogam’s commitment to preserving the rituals and customs of Sabarimala Hill Shrine. In a meeting of Nair delegates’ council at Perunna, Nair expressed gratitude to SNDP Yogam chief Vellappally Natesan for his in- volvement in protecting the faith. Vellappally had recently commended the NSS supremo’s stance on the Global Ayyappa Sangamam organised by the T r av a n c o r e Devaswom Board (TDB) held in Pampa. The gesture is perceived as an indication of the two organisations uniting to safeguard the interests of the Hindu community amid increasingly polarised communal dynamics in Kerala. “The TDB’s initiatives to safeguard religious faith received strong India plans to seek global certification for its 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 earlier for Indian 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, which eventually destroy 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 10 key Indian fisheries. National institutes, such as the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute(CMFRI), are providing technical assistance for this initiative. The 10 priority fisheries category — some of which are deep-sea and coastal shrimps, squid, cuttlefish, blue swimming crab, and octopus — are in the final stages of addressing technical gaps before certification. backing from the state government, which offered its full support. Additionally, the SNDP Yogam expressed its endorsement of this initiative. We welcome the positions taken by both the gover nment and t h e S N D P, ” Nair told the meeting. He also explained that while the organisation continues its equi-distance policy to all political parties, it took a “right distance” in the issue of faith. Interestingly, Nair received unanimous backing from the 300-odd members of the delegates’ council of the organisation. Later speaking to TNIE, Nair confirmed that the NSS supports the stance taken by SNDP in the issue of protecting religious faith. “As I always stated, there is no personal animosity between me and Vellappally Natesan. Our differences have been purely ideological. I told this in today’s delegates’ meeting,” Nair said. It is after a decade that the NSS and the SNDP Yogam — two warring caste-based organisations — are showing the signs of rapprochement, following the unsuccessful Hindu Grand Alliance that spanned ● More on P5 from 2012 to 2014.  amma’s blessings Union Health Minister J P Nadda seeks the blessings of Mata Amritanandamayi during her 72nd birthday celebrations at Amritapuri, Kollam, on Saturday | B P Deepu EXPRESS READ CM urges banks to go easy on loan defaulters Kochi: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday urged banks to show social responsibility by refraining from house confiscation proceedings during students’ exam season, warning that such actions disrupt families and affect children’s studies. “Banks should take into consideration social responsibility and stop procedures like house confiscation of loan defaulters,” the CM said. P5 re m e m bra n c e Assam’s heart still misses a beat called Zubeen i n d r a n e e l d a s @ Mangaldai 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 People light candles near a portrait of the music icon in Guwahati | PTI flict 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 stated that Pakistan’s retreat came only after Indian forces launched precision strikes on multiple Pakistani airbases. “If destroyed runways and burnt-out hangars look like victory, as the Prime Minister claimed, Pakistan is welcome to enjoy it,” she added. Gahlot said Pakistan’s track record of harbouring terrorists, citing the country’s decade-long sheltering of Osama bin Laden and recent admissions by Pakistani officials of running militant camps. She accused Pakistan of glorifying terrorists killed during Operation Sindoor. “We saw many pictures of terrorists slain in Bahawalpur and Muridke terror complexes… When senior Pakistani military and civilian officials publicly pay homage to such notorious terrorists, can there be any doubt about the proclivities of this regime?” Gahlot also accused Islamabad of trying to derail accountability within the UN. 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. In fact, his fame goes beyond it. He is here, there and everywhere with his songs playing in the background. He is on everyone’s lips at every gathering. Zubeen’s body of work rose above politics, religion, caste, creed and brought the state together like no other. Even after one week since he passed away in Singapore on September 19, the state remains in mourning. No one asked businesses to shut 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 the gloomy mood of the state. The collective grief that descended upon the state on September 19 will take a long time to heal. Zubeen’s words —“Mur kunu jaati nai, mur kuno dhormo nai, moi okol manuh (I don’t belong to any caste, I don’t have any religion, I am just a human being)” will remain immortal. Forever. 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 on Saturday . Wangchuk is accused of being a key instigator in the Leh violence, in which four persons were killed and 80 others injured. “We recently arrested a Pakistani intelligence operative who sent videos o f Wa n g c h u k ’ s speeches across the b o r d e r, ” J a m w a l Sonam Wangchuk said, adding that the operative was also in contact with Wangchuk. “His speech 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. 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. Curfew in violence-hit Leh was relaxed in the afternoon in a phased manner for a few hours. Wangchuk’s arrest and the way the the situation was handled drew criticism from all Opposition parties.