DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PATNA, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE WEDNESDAY, JULY 30, 2025, LUCKNOW, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 ‘OP SINDOOR KILLED TERRORISTS’ BOSSES, OP MAHADEV KILLED TERRORISTS’ Pahalgamterroristskilled,clearproof ofPakistanhand,ShahtellsLokSabha Says ballistic report, witnesses helped identify 3 dead as Pahalgam attackers Inside the op: 2 signals 17 days apart, 3-month hunt, Mahadev peak THE THREE KILLED ASAD REHMAN NEW DELHI, JULY 29 SPEAKING FOR the government on the second day of the special debate on Operation Sindoor in the Lok Sabha Tuesday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced in the House that those behind the Pahalgam terror attack had been killed. The three terrorists gunned down in the Dachigam forest area on the outskirts of Srinagar under ‘Operation Mahadev’ on Monday were the same as those involvedintheterroristattackon April 22, Shah said, adding that forensic proof as well as witness identification of the men had confirmed the same. Identifying SULEIMAN JAMMU, NEW DELHI, JULY 29 Union Home Minister Amit Shah addresses the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. PTI thethreeasSuleimanaliasFaisal Jatt, Afghan and Jibran, he said they had all come from Pakistan. The three were killed in ‘OperationMahadev’carriedout CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Challenge in US trade deal: Tackling Trump, ensuring tariff edge NEW DELHI, JULY 29 WITH JUST two days left for the August 1 deadline set by the DonaldTrumpadministrationto wrap up agreements with its trading partners, the American Presidentsaidheisplanningtariffs at “somewhere in the 15-20 per cent range” for “the rest of the world”. That would mean a significantincreaseonthe10per cent“baseline”tariff thatapplies to most trading partners now. Given how talks have proceeded, an interim deal still seems distant. But three things are clear: One, the US is pushing hard for zero duty access to the Indian markets, like it did with Vietnam and Indonesia. Two, from its perspective, New Delhi is keen ensure the headline tar- First move after Assad fall: India sends senior official to Syria to hold talks E EXPLAINED ANIL SASI ARUN SHARMA, AMRITA NAYAK DUTTA & DEEPTIMAN TIWARY Why US, China talks ● matter INDIAN NEGOTIATORS are keeping a close watch on the trade talks the US is currently engaged in with China. This will give New Delhi an idea about the comparative advantage it will have vis-à-vis Beijing. A delay in the deal does offer more visibility on what a favourable tariff range would be, in comparison to the tariff deals other countries have clinched. iff doesn’t exceed 15 per cent for its goods exports to the US. And three, the tariff for each country CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 IT WAS the detection of a signal emitted from a communication device used by the Pahalgam attackers on Saturday — the second time in the last 17 days — that led the Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police to them on Mulnar Peak near Lidwas Meadow of Mahadev Peak, a strategically important location in the Dachigam forests on the JIBRAN AFGHAN outskirts of Srinagar town. The device was among various items, including arms, ammunition and explosives, later seized from the three slain terrorists,whoHomeMinisterAmit Shah said are the same as the ones who killed 26 civilians on April 22. Identifying them as Suleiman, Afghan and Jibran, Shah said in Lok Sabha, “These three terrorists were those who killed our citizens in Baisaran (Pahalgam), and all three have been killed.” According to highly placed CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Manipur district election officers begin outreach on SIR, meet political parties EXPRESS NETWORK SUKRITA BARUAH GUWAHATI, JULY 29 EVEN AS Manipur remains underPresident’sRule,districtelection officers have begun holding meetings with local representativesof politicalpartiestodiscuss the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. While these meetings have already beenheldinatleastfiveof the16 SC: WILL STEP IN IF MASS EXCLUSION IN BIHAR ELECTORAL ROLLS PAGE 12 districtsinthestate,notices conveningsuchmeetingshavebeen issuedintheremainingdistricts. On Monday, representatives of the BJP, Congress and the Kuki People’s Alliance attended one such meeting in Kangpokpi district.Accordingtoanofficialthere, the meeting was held based on “informal”instructionsissuedby the State Election Commission. “Therewasnoformalnoticefrom either the Election Commission of IndiaorfromtheStateElection Commission to conduct such meetings. However, we were DISCUSSION ON OP SINDOOR IN LOK SABHA No world leader asked India to stop Op (Sindoor)... only 3 countries backed Pak: PM ‘Vance said Pak was planning big attack... I said will answer bullets with cannonballs’ VIKAS PATHAK NEW DELHI, JULY 29 WITH THE Opposition flagging USPresidentDonaldTrump’srepeated claims of mediating the May 10 ceasefire between India and Pakistan, Prime Minister NarendraModitoldLokSabhaon Tuesday that “no leader in the world asked India to stop its militaryoperation(Sindoor)”.Hesaid he had told US Vice-President J D Vance on May 9 that if Pakistan firedbullets,Indiawouldrespond with cannonballs. Replying to an over 16-hour discussion in Lok Sabha on the Pahalgam terror attack and CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi during the discussion on Tuesday. PTI ‘PM should have courage to tell Trump he is lying’: Rahul questions ceasefire MANOJ C G NEW DELHI, JULY 29 STEPPINGUPtheOpposition’sattack on the government over US PresidentDonaldTrump’sclaims thathebrokeredtheceasefirebetween India and Pakistan after OperationSindoor,RahulGandhi Tuesday asked Prime Minister NarendraModitoshow“courage” anddeclareTrumpaliarif hewas not speaking the truth. “Donald Trump has said 29 times that he brought about the ceasefire. If he is lying… let the Prime Minister say he is lying. If he has the courage of Indira Gandhi, let him say here that ECONOMIST, AUTHOR MEGHNAD DESAI DIES PAGE 15 LINGUISTIC STATES LED TO CREATION OF SECOND-CLASS CITIZENS: TN GOV NASA-ISRO MISSION, NISAR, SET FOR LAUNCH TODAY PAGES 9, 12 SCAMS AND LADDERS CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Fell prey to unsound scams Followed sound practices ! Joining platforms that claim to be ‘tied up with FPI and provide institutional access.’ Installing apps that say ‘Earn ₹10,000 a day with trading.’ SHUBHAJIT ROY INITSfirstofficialoutreachtothe new dispensation in Syria since the fall of the Assad regime last year, India has sent a senior official to Damascus to meet with ministersinthetransitionalgovernment led by Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa. An Indian delegation led by M Suresh Kumar, Joint Secretary inchargeof West Asia and North Africa Department at the Ministry of External Affairs, met SyrianMinisterof ForeignAffairs and Expatriates, Asaad AlShaibani on Monday, according to Syrian news agency SANA. KumarwasearlierIndia’scharge d'affaires at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. “Talks during the meeting dealt with issues of mutual concernandwaysof enhancingrelationsbetween the twocountries in the interests of both peoples,” SANA reported, quoting a Syrian Foreign ministry statement. The Indian delegation also held discussions with Syrian Health Minister Musab Al-Ali on Monday.Sourcessaidthefocusof the dialogue was on enhancing collaboration in health care, particularlyin“pharmaceuticalmanufacturingandmedicaltraining”. Both sides also deliberated on the implementation of a Donald Trump is a liar. That you (Trump) did not make us cease fire and that we did not lose any planes… Even if he has 50% of the courage Indira Gandhi had, let him say it here,” Gandhi said. “Have the courage to tell him (Trump)… ‘To hell with you, you INSIDE Syria’s interim President Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa NEW DELHI, JULY 29 PAGE 8 ! ! Chasing ‘hot tips’ from so-called advisers on social media. ! Applying for courses that promise ‘doubling your money’ overnight. Always deal with SEBI registered intermediaries and authorised trading platforms. Scan to visit SEBI website #SEBIvsSCAM An investor awareness initiative by SEBI and BSE. Lucknow