The Editorial Page: Islamabad channel — India must stand for peace, whoever the broker may be 8 THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 2026 JOURNALISm of COURAGE MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES ₹5.00 l www.indianexpress.com DA I LY F R O M : A H M E DA B A D , C H A N D I GA R H , D E L H I , j A I P U R , KO L K ATA , L U C K N O W , M U M B A I , N AG P U R , PAT N A , P U N E , VA D O DA R A REG.NO. MCS/067/2018 - 20 RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57 TRUMP THREATENS 50% TARIFF ON COUNTRIES WHICH SUPPLY ARMS TO IRAN World exhales, holds breath Israel’s Lebanon strikes test 14-day pause, Vance to join talks in Pakistan Steve Holland, Parisa Hafezi, Alexander Cornwell & Maya Gebeily Washington, Dubai, Tel Aviv, Beirut, April 8 RELIEF OVER a two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran gave way on Wednesday to alarm that fighting was still raging across the region, as Israel launched its biggestattacksyetonLebanon, and Iran struck Gulf neighbours' oil facilities. Meanwhile, the White House said President Donald Trump is dispatching his Iran negotiating team, led by Vice President J D Vance, to Pakistan for talks, adding that the first round of negotiations would take place on Saturday. EXPLAINED IRAN’S HORMUz LEVER TO PAKISTAN’S RISING PROFILE: THE 5 KEY TAKEAWAYS New Delhi, April 8 AFTER39daysofawarthathas killed more than 3,000 people including eight Indians, India onWednesday“welcomed”the ceasefire and expressed hope that it would lead to a “lasting peace”, hours after US and Iran reached a two-week ceasefire brokered by Pakistan. Delhi’s response was measured, mindful of the chal- 98 126 155 63 happening today lCHINA'S FOREIGN MINISTER Wang Yi will visit North Korea, signalling efforts by to revitalise ties chilled after the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. C Raja Mohan SHADOW OVER TALKS: DISSENT WITHIN U.S., FROM CIA CHIEF TO V-P VANCE PAGE 13 With several of Iran’s veteran political leaders killed in the war, Iran’s delegation is expected to be led by Parliament Speaker and former Revolutionary Guards Commander Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 lengesintheimplementationof thefragiletrucethattheAmericans and Iranians have agreed to.Israelishave,fornow,signed off,buthavenotyetcommitted to ending the operations in Lebanon where they see Hezbollahasastillsurvivingthreatand a proxy of the Iranian regime. “We welcome the ceasefire reached and hope that it will lead to a lasting peace in West Asia,” the Ministry of External »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Pausewelcome, pathahead forbidding:5key minefieldsamid US-Iranchasm New Delhi, April 8 FOR TEHRAN AND TRUMP, HOW ROADS TO ‘VICTORY’ ENDED AT TALKS TABLE India calls for lasting peace, underlines need for diplomacy, dialogue Shubhajit Roy US, Israel say Lebanon not part of ceasefire agreement; Iran warns of ‘heavy response’, hits neighbours Pro-government Iranians at Tehran’s Enqelab-e-Eslami Square after the ceasefire was announced. AP business as Usual By EP UNNY DISQUIET IN DELHI Pakistan emerges key mediator; US pushed it to broker ceasefire: FT Shubhajit Roy New Delhi, April 8 INdIAN EmbASSy IN IrAN ASkS ItS NAtIoNALS to LEAvE morE rEportS, p 12, 14 PAKISTAN HAS emerged as a key mediator between US and Iran with Army Chief Field MarshalAsimMunirandPrime Minister Shehbaz Sharif playing pivotal roles in brokering thetwo-weekceasefireandsetting the stage for delegationlevel talks from both countries in Pakistan. There is distinct disquiet in NewDelhioverthiswiththeofficial sense being that US President Donald Trump wanted an off-ramp — and Pakistan rushed in to help. A report in Financial Times Wednesday said that it was the White Housethat“pushedPakistanto broker” the ceasefire. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 In fabric hub Surat, labour exit adds to raw material crisis THE TWO-WEEK pause in the US-Iran War announced early Wednesday morning by Washington and Tehran has set off a wave of relief across the world, tempered by the recognition that bridging the deep contradictions between the two sides will be hard. The pause is welcome; the pathaheadremainsforbidding. Optimists argue that US President Donald Trump’s transactional instincts might help Washington pull off what has eluded his many predecessors in the White House: a comprehensive peace settlement with Tehran. TheypointtoIran’sownneedto endtheprolongedconflictwith America, rebuild its battered economy, and reclaim what manyintheregionstillseeasits natural leadership role. Pessimists worry the pause may prove only a brief interlude in a contest that has stretchedacrossfivedecades— ever since the 1979 revolution recast Iran’s relations with the West and the region and set the stage for a long, bitter rivalry. As US-Iran talks open in Islamabad, there is enough room for both hope and despair. That both sides have declared victory points to E. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 l Assam Total seats (including 19 ST and 9 SC) 126 Voting turnout in 2021: 82.4% NDA: 75 (44.5%) Kamal Saiyed Results in 2021 Surat, April 8 TWO WEEKLY offs, no night shiftsandcommunitykitchens. Surat, the hub of man-made fibre industry in the country, is struggling to keep the wheels turning as the West Asia war squeezes it from both ends. Whilerisingrawmaterialprices have hit production as well as demand, the LPG crisis has forced around 40% of the migrant workforce to head home. Theceasefirecameasarelief Congress+: 50 (43.7%) l Kerala Total seats ( including 14 SC and 2 ST) WAR IN GULF 140 DAY 40 toll at home Voting turnout in 2021: 76% LDF: 99 (45.4%) AN ExPRESS SERIES butnooneexpectsanimmediate differenceontheground. Plastic pellets that are used tomaketheyarnforman-made »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Others: 1 (11.8%) Assam,Keralavotetoday Officials carry EVMs and other election materials to booths on the eve of Assembly elections, in Guwahati, Wednesday. PTI PAGE 10 UDF: 41 (39.5%) Results in 2021 NDA: 0 (12.4%) Source: EC; vote share in % Cabinet clears Bills for women’s quota in Lok Sabha and Assemblies Delimitation to be based on Census 2011; LS strength to go up 50% to 816 Liz Mathew New Delhi, April 8 THE UNION Cabinet on Wednesday cleared the proposed Constitutional amendments to the Nari Shakti Vandan AdhiniyamandaDelimitationBillto fast-track 33% reservation for women in Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas by using 2011 Census data, sources told The Indian Express. According to sources, there will be multiple Bills to make the long-pending reservation a reality by delinking it from the yet-to-becompletedCensusexercise and using the 2011 data instead. The Delimitation Bill, whichislearnttoproposeanincrease of 50% in the number of seatsintheLokSabhaandstate ThE IDEAS PAGE WE oWE It to NArI ShAktI to AdvANcE rEprESENtAtIoN of WomEN BY PM NARENDRA MODI pAgE 9 assemblies, was also cleared by Cabinet. A separate Bill will be movedtoimplementthismove in Union Territories. In the Lok Sabha, the strength would increase by 50% only by the next general elections in 2029. The Bills will be brought to Parliament during the special session convened for later this month.TheParliament’sBudget »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Bangla Foreign Minister meets Jaishankar, seeks return of ex-PM Hasina Shubhajit Roy New Delhi, April 8 THE VISITING Foreign Minister of Bangladesh Khalilur Rahman conveyed to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval that the BNP government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will pursue a “Bangladesh First” policy based on “mutual trust and respect and reciprocal benefit”. In an official statement Wednesday, the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry also “reiter- EAM S Jaishankar with his Bangladesh counterpart Khalilur Rahman in New Delhi. PTI ated its request to extradite Sheikh Hasina and her Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 l THE CITY HAS AN ESTIMATED 1,000-PLUS PIGEON KEEPERS Peshwa-era prestige to fatal rivalries: Pune’s pigeon passion continues to thrive Sushant Kulkarni Pune, April 8 AT PUNE’S bi-weekly pigeon marketatVruddheshwarGhat, 19-year-old Sahil stands beside a cage packed with birds, proudly pointing to his flock priced between Rs 500 and Rs 15,000 each. He starts rattling off names of breeds like Kagzi — pristine white, Kapasi — off whiteandfluffylikecotton,and Shirazi — known for its enduranceinflying.Minuteslater,he scrolls through his phone to show a prized “racer” breed worth Rs 1 lakh and another Rs 1.25 lakh. Sahil’s business partnerSamir,performsaseries of distinct whistles and voice calls, each tailored to summon specific birds. But both youngsters turn their backs when asked about the recent murder of a 19-year-old youth over suspicion of pigeon theft. Pigeon keeping in Pune, a tradition dating back to the Peshwaera,continuestothrive — from old-city terraces to rapidly expanding newer neighbourhoods. With an estimated 1,000-plus pigeon keepers in the city, the culture is driven by competitive capturing and by the prestige attachedtoowningmoreandpricier birds. Yet, beneath the surface, many fanciers grow guarded when conversations shift to the darker undercurrents — where passion, rivalry, and the entry of criminal elementshave,attimes,spiralled into violence. In the third week of March, 19-year-old Rupesh Dhanraj Shinde was beaten to death with a bat over suspicion that he was stealing domesticated Sellers with their birds at the bi-weekly pigeon market at Pune’s Vruddheshwar Ghat. SUSHANT KULKARNI pigeons from a dhabal (pigeon loft) in Pune’s Hadapsar. Police arrested four brothers from a family that owned the dhabal. This was not the first time the fights, disagreements and suspicions of theft had escalated to violence. Cases of thefts of pigeons, fights between people who own pigeons resulting in cases of murder, and attempts to murder have been reported in the past. In 2022, a 15-year-old boy from Moshi area of Pimpri Chinchwadwasmurderedwith a sharp weapon by a group of his friends over suspicion of stealing pigeons. In 2021, A 28year-oldmanwasattackedwith an axe by his step-brother following a dispute over releasing the pigeons in the coop owned by the latter in Chikhali area of Pimpri Chinchwad. In 2014, a 17-year-oldcollegestudentfrom Nigdiwaskilledbytwopersons over a dispute about sale of pigeons. In September 2013, a 30-year-oldpigeonkeeperfrom Talegaon was killed when he wastryingtostoptwomenfrom stealing his birds. Noted historian Pandurang Balkawade said, “The location of today’s Ramanbaug in the heart of the city housed a Kabootarkhana from the Peshwa era and even prior to that. Training of pigeons with homing skills used to be held here. Until as late as 40 years ago, thereusedtobeaweeklymarket ofpigeonsatRamanbaug.Later thismarketshiftedtothecurrent locationofVruddheshwarGhat. Pune has always had dhabals in central city areas of Kasba Peth, Narayan Peth, Shaniwar Peth. And that tradition continued »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Mumbai