mondAY Pak President says he was asked to ‘hide in bunker’ during Op Sindoor 29 Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari revealed that he was advised to ‘hide in a bunker’ when India launched Operation Sindoor in May this year december, 2025 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard 4-day X.com/TheMornStandard Russia-Ukraine war Op Sindoor WAs the most serious conflict between India and Pakistan in decades Trump to host Zelenskyy US President Donald Trump will host his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday to try to close a potential peace agreement Page 9 ZARDARI SAYS HE TURNED DOWN THE ADVICE A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS L-G rejigs capital admin, transfers 76 IAS, DANICS officers in biggest shuffle A N U P V E R M A @ New Delhi IN a major bureaucratic reshuffle, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena has issued transfer and posting orders for 19 IAS officers of the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre and 57 officers of the Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Service (DANICS) across various departments. The move marks the biggest reshuffle since the formation of the Rekha Gupta government in the city. Earlier in May Saxena had trans, fer red 42 IAS and DANICS officers. Shurbir Singh, a 2004-batch officer, currently the secretary (finance) with additional charge as development commissioner, will now also serve as the director of Directorate of Agriculture & Marketing (DAM). K Mahesh, a 2009-IAS officer serving as the managing director of the Delhi Khadi and Village Industries Board, has been handed additional charge as art & culture secretary, relieving Rashmi Singh from it. Sanjeev Mittal, a 2011-batch IAS officer serving as the deputy commissioner (HQ) of the revenue department and holding additional charge of DAM director, has been placed at the disposal of Delhi Jal Board. Another IAS officer of the 2011 batch, D Varma—a member of the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board holding additional charge as Delhi Financial Corporation executive director—shall now also hold the additional charge of secretary (planning) on the retirement of Azimul Haque. G Sudhakar of the 2012 batch—serving as deputy commissioner/ DM (Central)—has been given charge of deputy commissioner/ DM (Old Delhi). Another IAS officer of the batch, A Nedunchezhiyan— Delhi Fire Service principal director—will hold additional charge of District Disaster Management Authority as CEO on the retirement of Krishan Kumar. Further, Kumar Abhishek of the 2016 IAS batch—serving as the deputy commissioner/DM (North)—has been given charge of deputy commissioner/DM (Outer North). l New Delhi l J8.00 PAGES 12 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’ e x p r e s s ne w s s e r v i c e @ Guwahati 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.” e x p r e s s ne w s s e r v i c e @ New Delhi Border Security Force personnel patrol along the India-Bangladesh border on the outskirts of Agartala in Tripura | 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 Dhaka-karachi flight Direct flights between Dhaka and Karachi will start from January, Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh Imran Haider said on Sunday, during a meeting with Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus Y-plus security for Bengal CEO amid SIR row 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 @ New Delhi E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi President’s sortie President Droupadi Murmu with Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi on indigenous Kalvari class submarine INS Vaghsheer at Karwar Naval Base. Murmu undertook an over two-hour sortie onboard the indigenously built submarine | PTI | P7 Amid Cong pushback, Digvijaya backtracks on BJP-RSS praise PR E E T H A N AIR @ New Delhi 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 Nehr u-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 family he 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. A woman who wanted to put an expensive Gurugram address in her portfolio was in for a shock when she discovered that the property she wanted to buy at the super exclusive DLF Camellias in Gurugram at a throwaway price did not exist. However, by then, she had already transferred `12.02 crore in the bank accounts of to property fraudsters. The Delhi Police’s Crime Branch has busted the high-value interstate property fraud racket that cheater her. Five key accused, including alleged mastermind Mohit Gogia, have been arrested, while several others are still at large. The police said the racket was linked to property frauds worth over Rs 200 crore in multiple states. The accused alle gedly used forged bank auction documents and fake sale certificates to lure victims with promises of premium properties at a fraction of the market rates. “This was a well-organised network that prepared fake bank auction papers and rotated cheated money through multiple accounts to hide the trail,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Aditya Gautam, adding that efforts are on to arrest remaining accused and make recoveries. The case came to light after a complaint was received on June 13. The complainant alleged that Gogia and his firm MG Leasing & Finance showed her documents claiming a flat in DLF Camellias had been purchased in a bank auction. Trusting the papers, she transferred Rs 12.04 crore through RTGS and demand drafts between August and October 2024. Later, the bank confirmed that all documents were forged. Investigators traced the money trail through layered accounts and arrested Gogia on November 22 while he was fleeing towards Uttarakhand. Based on his disclosure, four more accused—Vishal Malhotra, Sachin Gulati, Abhinav Pathak, and Bharat Chhabra—were arrested for laundering money, preparing forged documents and facilitating the deal. Two cars bought with the cheated money have been recovered, and several bank accounts have been frozen. The police said Gogia is named in at least 16 similar cases. Anticipating snowfall, tourists make a beeline for Manali and Atal Tunnel H a r p r ee t B a j w a @ Chandigarh AHEAD of the New Year, popular tourist destinations like Kullu-Manali and adjoining areas in Himachal Pradesh are seeing a sharp rise in tourist inflow. Manali city saw 13,240 tourist vehicles, while 34,426 vehicles crossed the Atal Tunnel on the Manali-Leh highway in the last week of December, possibly due to a snowfall pre- “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.” Woman loses `12 crore ... and a Camellias dream E XPR E SS N E WS S E RVIC E 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 which 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 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 non-submission 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. l “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.” diction from December 30. In December, 33,503 vehicles have entered Manali so far. The tourist rush has triggered traffic jams, especially at the entrance of this tourist destination, the route to Hadimba Temple, Old Manali road, in Prini, Aleo and Vashisht villages, and on the Manali-Leh highway to Atal Tunnel and Rohtang Pass. Traffic jams are also occurring in Tirthan Val- ley and on NH-305 from Autto Jalori Jot in the Banjar subdivision of Kullu district. In 2023, a record-breaking 14,865 vehicles from outside the state flooded Manali and entered Atal Tunnel on Christmas, triggering traffic snarls. The surge has boosted the morale of hoteliers, transporters, and adventure operators in Kullu-Manali and Lahaul-Spiti. Majority of the hotels reported full bookings for Christmas. The tourism industry believes if the trend continues, Manali could be operating at full capacity on New Year’s Eve. President of Federation of Himachal Hotels and Restaurant Association Gajender Thakur said there are 45,000 rooms in hotels, homestays, and B&Bs in Manali, with an occupancy of 90,000, and are 95% full. P8 AND GOD CREATED WOMAN In a cinema career spanning some 28 films, Brigitte Bardot, the epicurean symbol of France’s sex revolution and everything hedonistic, enticed and set life goals for an entire nation | P9 Express read Himachal Docs call off strike after CM assurance Doctors of Indira Gandhi Medical College called off their strike in Shimla after CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu assured that the patientphysician brawl that led to the doctor’s removal from service would be looked into. The doctor’s termination could be revoked. Uttar Pradesh In Ayodhya, Naidu hails Ram Rajya Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday visited the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir in Ayodhya, where he offered prayers to Shri Ram Lalla, and participated in the ongoing Pratishtha Dwadashi Yagna for global peace. | P5 No injury marks found Tiger found dead in MP’s Sagar district Tourist vehicles from outside Himachal Pradesh choke Manali roads | Express A tiger was found dead in a forest area of Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district on Sunday, an official said. The carcass was discovered near Hilgan village under the Dhana range. No injury marks were found on the tiger’s body. A post-mortem is being conducted.