55 Pakistani soldiers killed, says Taliban CHENNAI l saturday l February 28, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 20 l LATE CITY EDITION pakistan says it is in ‘open war’ against neighbour afghanistan Pakistan bombed major cities in Afghanistan on Friday, and said the neighbours are in “open war” following months of tit-for-tat clashes Pakistan claims it killed 274 Taliban men Pakistan Army spokesperson Lt Gen Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry said Pakistani forces “killed 274 Taliban personnel, while 400 were injured.” Twelve Pakistani soldiers were killed, while 27 others injured, he added. AFP journalists heard shellfire and gunfire in Torkham, with Afghan soldiers heading towards the frontier after overnight bombardment by Pakistan | P13 CBC 46101/13/0024/2526 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 P ra b hakar Ta m i l arasu @ Chennai Three-time Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, who held top positions in the AIADMK before his expulsion from the party in 2022, joined the ruling DMK on Friday in the presence of party president and Chief Minister M K Stalin. He is likely to be appointed propaganda secretary of the DMK, sources said. After failing to find a place in the NDA bloc for three years primarily due to opposition from his archrival and current AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami, the trust- O Panneerselvam embracing CM Stalin at the DMK HQ in Chennai | Express ed confidant of late AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa has moved over to her bitter rival’s camp.  P7 Kejri let off in excise scam U D AYA N K I S H O R E @ New Delhi A Delhi court on Friday discharged former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and 22 others, including deputy CM Manish Sisodia and ex-BRS leader K Kavitha in the alleged excise scam, finding it unworthy of trial as it junked the CBI chargesheet. Hours later, the CBI moved the Delhi High Court challenging the trial court order. Trial court special judge Jitendra Singh also pulled up the CBI for procedural lapses, violation of constitutional principles and relying on hearsay evidence. He also found the ‘South Group’ label for the excise policy accused particularly inappropriate, adding he will rec- Arvind Kejriwal gets emotional as he addresses the media on Friday | PTI omme n d a d e p a r t m e n t a l inquiry against the investigating officer of the case. “Prosecution case, as presented in the chargesheet, rests largely on surmises, conjectures, and inferential leaps un- Vijay’s wife alleges adultery, files for divorce P ra b hakar Ta m i l arasu @ Chennai Sankgeetha Vijay, wife of actor-politician and Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) leader Vijay Chandrasekar, has filed a divorce petition before the Chengalpattu court alleging cruelty and adultery The fam. ily court has summoned Vijay to appear before it on April 20. Sankgeetha has accused her husband of having an extramarital relationship with an actress and that he has subjected her to “persistent mental cruelty neglect and desertion”. , If required, she said she would implead the actress as second Vijay Sankgeetha respondent. She has also urged the court to hold in-camera proceedings to protect the privacy and dignity of the parties and their children. On December 3, 2025, Sankgeetha had filed the petition before the Principal District Judge (PDJ) Court, Chengalpattu, under provisions of the Special Marriage Act, 1954. The petition was subsequently transferred to the family court on February 24. After the first hearing in the case on Thursday, the family court adjourned the matter to April 20 and directed Vijay to appear in person. In her petition, Sankgeetha said the marriage was first registered in the UK on July 10, 1998, and later solemnised according to Hindu rites in Chennai on August 25, 1999. The petition stated that the marriage was initially cordial and that she devoted herself to family life and raising their kids while supporting Vijay’s professional commitments.  P7 May implead actress Sankgeetha has accused Vijay of having an extramarital affair with an actress and that he has subjected her to “persistent mental cruelty, neglect and desertion”. If required, she said she would implead the actress as second respondent Express Re a d Three-time AIADMK CM OPS joins DMK supported by cogent material,” the judge said. Singh said that the policy was the outcome of a structured governmental process involving multiple departments, expert committees and cabinet-level approvals, and the decisions, even if later withdrawn or criticised, “cannot by themselves give rise to criminal liability unless supported by clear evidence of quid pro quo, personal gain, or misuse of office”. Prosecution case does not disclose even the threshold of prima facie suspicion, far less the “grave suspicion” mandated by settled principles of criminal jurisprudence, the court said. He rejected the charge that Kejriwal exercised overarching control over the plot. GDP to grow 7.6% in FY26 under new series P U S H P I TA D E Y @ New Delhi THE Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on Friday released a new series of annual and quarterly National Accounts with 2022-23 as the base year, replacing the 2011-12 series, and raised India’s real GDP growth estimate for FY26 to 7.6% from 7.4% projected earlier. Data showed that real GDP growth in Q3 of 2025-26 eased to 7.8% from 8.4% in the July-September quarter. Growth in the corresponding year-ago quarter was 8%. Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran said that given the revised data, strong Q3 performance, and improving outlook for capital flows and trade frameworks, FY27 real GDP growth projection was revised from 6.8-7.2% range to 7-7.4%. Today’s Match 7pm: Pakistan vs Sri Lanka (Pallekele) Collegium recommends Dharmadhikari for Madras HC CJ post New Delhi: The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the appointment of Kerala High Court judge Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari as the next Chief Justice of the Madras High Court. The incumbent CJ of the Madras HC, Manindra Mohan Srivastava, is set to retire on March 5. The Collegium has also resolved to recommend transfer of Justice Lisa Gill, Judge, HC of Punjab and Haryana, as Chief Justice of the HC of Andhra Pradesh | P7