15112026-TTC-01.qxd 11/15/2026 12:27 AM Page 1 c m y b 123 NCP-SP OPEN TO BACKING DELIMITATION BILLNATION /thetribunechd ‘US’ DONBAS-FOR-NATO DEAL FOR KYIV’ WORLD CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 146 NO. 315 | 18 PAGES | ~7.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 sunday | 15 november 2026 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Amid freeze in ties post-Pahalgam, Border infra neglected for decades, China frontier now more alive: EAM Pak minister to visit Delhi for SCO Ujwal Jalali Tribune News Service Event from Nov 20-22 | Islamabad to host heads of state meet in Aug Ujwal Jalali New Delhi, November 14 Ending weeks of uncertainty over its participation, Pakistan has agreed to send a federal minister to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Civilisational Dialogue Forum in New Delhi from November 20 to 22. Islamabad has nominated Dr Musadik Masood Malik, Federal Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, to represent the country at the three-day event, according to an official statement issued by the Pakistan Government. The decision marks Pakistan’s acceptance of India’s invitation to the inaugural forum, which will bring together representatives of SCO member states to deliberate on civilisational dialogue and cultural understanding. In its statement, Pakistan said it remained committed to FILE Tribune News Service The last visit by a Pak minister was in 2023 by Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari for an SCO meet in Goa, followed by EAM S Jaishankar’s Islamabad visit in 2024. 15 NATIONS ON BOARD SO FAR n India has invited culture ministers from all 10 SCO member states n It has also extended invite to the grouping’s observer countries n 15 nations, including China & Iran, have confirmed participation promoting dialogue among civilisations and fostering people-to-people contact within the SCO framework in a Pb BJP veterans oppose fresh tie-up with Akalis Jupinderjit Singh Tribune News Service Chandigarh, November 14 In a significant voice against a renewed alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), senior BJP leader and National Commission for Minorities Chairman Harjit Singh Grewal has said the party’s veteran leaders in Punjab are not in favour of a fresh tie-up with the Akalis. Grewal is not alone. Most of the BJP’s traditional leaders, who have an RSS background and have risen through the ranks, told The Tribune that they were against the proposed alliance. Talking to The Tribune, Grewal said BJP workers had spent years building the party’s base in Punjab and that an alliance could prove counterproductive. While he currently heads a national body, he said he continued to work at the grassroots level, travel- ling across the state to bring more people into the BJP fold. He said the final decision would rest with the party high command and that lower-level leaders would have little say in the matter. His remarks come amid renewed speculation that the BJP and the SAD, former allies, could join hands again. The SAD exited the NDA in 2020 over the Centre’s farm laws, ending a partnership that dated back to the late 1990s. Grewal said two distinct views existed within the party. According to him, some BJP leaders, particularly those who joined from other parties, as well as a section of the public, believe an alliance was necessary to win elections. However, the party’s continued on page 6 Deepankar Sharda Chandigarh, November 14 Vaibhav Sooryavanshi on Saturday became the youngest captain in men’s T20 cricket after the left-handed opener led Bihar in their Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy opener against Saurashtra in Indore. At 15 years and 232 days, Sooryavanshi broke the record held by Croatia’s Zach Vukusic, who captained his national team at the age of 17 years and 311 days in 2025. And, like any teenager on a big occasion, Sooryavanshi had a nervous moment at the toss, forgetting his team’s playing XI. After opting to bat, he was asked about the players in the INDIA BEAT PAK IN LAST-BALL THRILLER COURTESY: X@BCCI Leads Bihar in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 4 months after T20I debut Vaibhav Sooryavanshi side. Smiling, he replied, “I think, sir, bhool gaya lagta main (I think I’ve forgotten, sir).” Reflecting on one of the most continued on page 6 India and the US have sorted out the bulk of the issues relating to the trade pact, including tariff lines, and the deal could be sealed “soon” as talks continue to resolve the last stretch of concerns, EAM S Jaishankar said, adding that the negotiations were approaching the “finishing line”. ects being commissioned along the border, he said the IndiaChina frontier had become “more alive” and required a much greater commitment of troops on a sustained basis. “The work we had already done allowed that kind of numbers to be deployed out there, and the work we continue to do will maintain those numbers,” he said. Asked whether India’s ability to maintain and deploy troops along the China border had improved since the 2020 Galwan clash, Jaishankar replied, “Very definitely yes. I would say in a very marked way.” The minister also linked Tribune News Service India pull off a stunning one-wicket victory off the final ball over Pakistan to regain the Under-19 Asia Cup in Al Amerat, Oman, on Saturday. 14 FCI officials get upto3years’jailin Punjabricescam Chandigarh/Mohali, Nov 14 A CBI court in Mohali has convicted 14 officials of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and 16 private persons, including rice millers, in the 2004-05 Punjab rice procurement scam, sentencing them to rigorous imprisonment of one to three years, along with fines. The court pronounced the verdict on November 13, the CBI said. All 30 convicts were held guilty of criminal conspiracy and cheating under the IPC. The 14 FCI officials were also convicted under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The case relates to Kharif season 2004-05, when substandard rice was accepted as Grade-A at FCI centres in Malerkotla, Sunam and Tapa in Sangrur district. The CBI said this led to wrongful payments to rice millers and financial loss to the FCI. The irregularities surfaced during joint surprise checks by the CBI in September 2005. INSIDE Chasing 338, late-order batters Mohit Ulva (49 not out) and Manal Chauhan (47) help India, teetering at 252/8 in the 42nd over, win their ninth title. India’s strategic asymmetry with China to decades of missed opportunities in manufacturing and industrialisation, arguing that the country had lost valuable ground even after the economic reforms of the 1990s. Recalling that the Indian and Chinese economies were of roughly comparable size around the time of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s visit to China in 1988, he said Beijing had made a major push towards modernisation and industrialisation in the 1980s, while India had “simply missed the bus”. He said subsequent governments had failed to sustain the momentum of economic reforms across sectors, with several industrial projects also facing opposition and delays. “I don’t want you to think of it as a political point,” he said, adding that there had been active opposition to industrialisation in the country about 15-20 years ago, including projects being continued on page 6 Listing will change the ‘Tata way’: Noel MUMBAI: Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata expressed concern that a proposed public listing of Tata Sons could alter the group’s traditional business philosophy, warning that a wider shareholder base may eventually place profits ahead of philanthropy. BACK PAGE Statestoldtointensify anti-pollution steps NEW DELHI: With winter pollution intensifying in Delhi-NCR, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav has directed the governments of Delhi, Haryana, UP and Rajasthan to step up enforcement of pollution-control measures. INSIDE Hasina return legalities complete, ball now in India’s court: Dhaka Ujwal Jalali Years of groundwork by party cadre will be undone: Grewal At 15, Sooryavanshi T20 cricket’s youngest captain Tribune News Service spirit of mutual respect. India had initially invited Pakistan’s Federal Minister for National Heritage and Cul- ture, Aurangzeb Khan Khichi. However, Islamabad had been examining the invitation, with the level of representation remaining uncertain. The nomination of Malik, who holds the climate change portfolio, instead of the culture minister, is also notable given the forum’s focus on cultural and civilisational engagement. The participation comes against the backdrop of a prolonged freeze in IndiaPakistan relations following the May 2025 military confrontation, triggered by the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, 2025, targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistanoccupied Kashmir. The confrontation, involving missile, drone and artillery exchange, ended with a ceasefire understanding on May 10. continued on page 6 New Delhi, November 14 External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said India’s ability to sustain largescale troop deployment along the China border had improved “in a very marked way” over the past decade, attributing the change to a major push in border infrastructure after years of neglect. “The border infrastructure was really neglected till about a decade ago,” Jaishankar said at the 24th Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, asserting that the change was evident in the pace of construction of roads, tunnels, bridges and airfields along the frontier. “If you actually go on the ground and see year by year, how many kilometres of roads, what was the tunnelling, what was the positioning, I think anybody associated with the armed forces dealing with that sector knows the truth,” he said. Pointing to the growing frequency of infrastructure proj- INDIA-US TRADE PACT NEAR ‘FINISHING LINE’ New Delhi, November 14 Bangladesh has completed all legal procedures required to secure the extradition of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from India, with Law Minister Md Asaduzzaman on Saturday saying the next move rests with New Delhi. “We have completed everything required from our side as part of the legal process. What they (India) will do is up to them,” Asaduzzaman told mediapersons in Dhaka, signalling that the govern- ment had exhausted all necessary formalities to bring the ousted leader back. He said Hasina would be extradited through the legal process under the bilateral extradition treaty between Bangladesh and India. “When she is extradited under the treaty, that itself is a legal process,” he was quoted as saying by Bdnews24.com. The minister was speaking on the sidelines of an event at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in Dhaka. Asked whether Hasina would be given an opportunity to appeal against her death sentence upon her return, Asaduzzaman said she would not be entitled to such relief under a law enacted during the tenure of Bangladesh’s founding leader, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Dhaka Tribune reported. Bangladesh has been seeking Hasina’s extradition since she fled to India on August 5, 2024, following a student-led mass uprising that toppled her 15-year rule. The country’s International Crimes Tribunal sentenced her to death in November 2025 in a crimes-against-humanity continued on page 6 Punjab launches KBC-style crorepati quiz to engage Gen Z, first-time voters Winner to get ~1 cr, rewards for 10,000 participants Ruchika M Khanna Tribune News Service Chandigarh, November 14 Ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections, the Punjab Government on Saturday launched ‘Punjab Da Crorepati’, a statewide quiz competition on the lines of the popular television show ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’, to engage Gen Z and first-time voters. The winner will receive a cash prize of Rs 1 crore. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said the initiative would test participants’ knowledge of Punjab’s history, culture, art, geography and governance. Launching the competition portal, Mann said participants aged 15 to 30 years would be eligible. Four runners-up will get Rs 10 lakh each and eight other toppers Rs 5 lakh each, while over 10,000 participants will also receive prizes. The programme will have 11 rounds, with the first nine conducted online and the Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann TESTING 11 ROUNDS n Competition to have 11 rounds; first nine online, final two offline n Participants aged 15 to 30 years eligible for contest n Four runners-up to get ~10 lakh each; eight others ~5 lakh each n One topper from each district to compete in final on Dec 17 final two held offline for qualifiers. Mann urged parents and teachers in schools and colleges to encourage maximum youth to register online for the programme. The reg- Today’s issue is of 18 pages, including six-page Spectrum. c m y b istrations will remain open from November 15-28. The first round will be held on November 21. The top 10 participants from each district will compete in the 10th round on December 9 and the district toppers will qualify for the grand finale on December 17. Mann said a pool of 50,000 questions had been prepared and uploaded on the portal. Most are based on those asked in recruitment examinations for government jobs, including the posts of patwaris, constables, Punjab Civil Services officers and sub-divisional officers. Each question will have four options and participants will have to clear successive levels to move ahead in the competition. “We want books in the hands of our youth. Their success is our true progress. As participants will move up the ladder, the competition will get tough. The questions are similar to continued on page 6 People rescue passengers after two buses operating under the ‘Tirth Yatra’ scheme collided in Tarn Taran on Saturday. TRIBUNE PHOTO 5 killed as two ‘Tirath Yatra’ buses collide in Tarn Taran Gurbaxpuri Tarn Taran, November 14 Five persons, including four pilgrims, were killed and 15 others injured when two buses operating under the Punjab Mukh Mantri Tirth Yatra Scheme collided headon near Naushera Pannuan village on National Highway-54 here today. Tarn Taran Deputy Commissioner Nirmal Ossephchan said four people died on the spot, while one of the six pas- 4 pilgrims, woman pillion rider among dead; 15 hurt sengers referred to Amritsar succumbed to injuries later. SSP Surendra Lamba said the deceased included a motorcycle pillion rider, Davinder Kaur of Pheloke. According to officials, one of the buses was returning to Bargadi (Faridkot) from Darbar Sahib in Tarn Taran, while the other was travelling in the continued on page 6