Chandigarh (PTI): The international airport here has been renamed Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport, Chandigarh, after freedom fighter Bhagat Singh on his birth anniversary on Wednesday, days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an announcement in this regard.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the chief guest at the event, said she felt honoured to be present at the event and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for deciding to rename the airport after the iconic freedom fighter.
"Through these small gestures, we are remembering the immense sacrifice the young men and women like Shaheed Bhagat Singh made during the freedom struggle," she said.
Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit, Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, Union minister VK Singh, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala, Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij and Chandigarh MP Kirron Kher were present at the event.
Mann also thanked Modi for renaming the airport and sought more international flights.
PM Modi, in his Mann Ki Baat radio broadcast on Sunday, announced that the airport would be renamed after Shaheed Bhagat Singh as a tribute.
The 115th birth anniversary of Bhagat Singh is being celebrated on Wednesday
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
New York/Washington (PTI): Shortly after India carried out military strikes targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir early Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said he hopes that the hostilities will end "very quickly".
"It’s a shame, he said, adding, "We heard about it just as we were walking in the doors of the Oval (Office). I guess people knew something was going to happen based on a little bit of the past."
"They've been fighting for a long time. They've been fighting for many, many decades and centuries, actually, if you really think about it,” Trump said.
Asked if he has any message for the countries, he said, “No, I just hope it ends very quickly.”
In retaliation against the Pahalgam terror attack, Indian armed forces carried out missile strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) including Bhawalpur, a stronghold of the Jaish-e-Mohammad terror outfit.
The military strikes were carried out under 'Operation Sindoor', the defence ministry said.
India's actions came two weeks after the Pahalgam terror attack triggered widespread outrage in India and abroad.
"These steps come in the wake of the barbaric Pahalgam terrorist attack in which 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen were murdered," the Defence Ministry said in the statement.
"We are living up to the commitment that those responsible for this attack will be held accountable," it said.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has urged the National Security Advisors of both countries to keep lines of communication open and avoid escalation, his office said on Wednesday.
“Earlier this afternoon, @SecRubio spoke to the national security advisors from India and Pakistan. He urged both to keep lines of communication open and avoid escalation,” the State Department said on a post X.
Rubio also spoke with Pakistani National Security Advisor Asim Malik.
Rubio said he is monitoring the situation between India and Pakistan closely and hopes this “ends quickly”.
"I am monitoring the situation between India and Pakistan closely. I echo @POTUS's comments earlier today that this hopefully ends quickly and will continue to engage both Indian and Pakistani leadership towards a peaceful resolution," Rubio said in a post on X.