… asks who called for third DNA test

Top SJB spokesman Mujibur Rahuman, MP, wants the Catholic Church to exert pressure on the NPP government to have an arrest warrant issued for Pulasthini Mahendran aka Sara Jasmine, wife of Katuwapitiya suicide bomber Atchchi Muhammadu Hastun.

Colombo District lawmaker yesterday (8) told The Island that the Catholic Church should throw its weight behind the SJB’s call for an open warrant and pressure the government to ask for Interpol assistance to track down the fugitive.

She would be able to throw light on the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage, the former UNPer said, urging the Catholic Church to make its position known without delay.

Alleging that Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananda Wijepala had been evasive in his response to a query posed to him in parliament on Wednesday regarding Easter Sunday attacks, lawmaker Rahuman asked whether the NPP was trying to cover up something.

Against the backdrop of the NPP’s declaration that Sara Jasmine is alive, the government should inquire into the circumstances the Government Analyst Department in late Sept 2023 announced that she was among those who perished in multiple blasts at Sainthamaruthu on April 26, 2019.

The Police Headquarters made the announcement on behalf of the Government Analyst’s Department that reached the conclusion after carrying out DNA tests for the third time on the tissue samples that had been obtained for the investigations by Judicial Medical Officers, Detectives from the Criminal Investigations Department, and the Government Analyst’s Department.

After the change of government following the last presidential election the NPP initiated an inquiry to verify the third DNA test. MP Rahuman pointed out that the third DNA test had been quite controversial as the two previous proved that she was not among the dead at Sainthamaruthu, where the group including some family members gathered.

The CID inquiring into the third DNA test last month recorded statements from C.D. Wickremeratne who had been the IGP at that time as well as DIG CID, Prasad Ranasinghe regarding the issues at hand. Wickremaratne has said that the third test was ordered in the wake of the concerns expressed at the National Security Council (NSC) regarding Sara Jasmine’s status.

MP Rahuman stressed that right along he believed Sara Jasmine was alive and had taken refuge in India.

MP Rahuman quoted terror mastermind Zahran Hashim’s wife, Abdul Cader Fatima Hadiya, as having told the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (P CoI) into the Easter Sunday blasts, that she heard Jasmine’s voice, after the blasts. Those killed at Sainthamaruthu, a week later, included Zahran Hashim’s father Mohamed Hashim and his brothers Zainee and Rilwan. Rilwan is believed to have been one of those who detonated bombs. Fatima and her child survived the Sainthamaruthu blasts and remain in government custody.

Lawmaker Rahuman said that the Catholic Church’s intervention is essential to compel President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to go the whole hog. “We cannot forget that the father of two of the suicide bombers was on the JVP National List at the 2015 parliamentary election and that wife of one of the bombers blasted herself at their Dematagoda home.”

By Shamindra Ferdinando ✍️

Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha characterised 2025 as a year of “re-energising and reaffirmation” in India–Sri Lanka relations, reiterating India’s substantial aid package for cyclone recovery while steering clear of commentary on Sri Lanka’s domestic fiscal policies and the broader strategic context of a bilateral defence pact.

Addressing the media in Colombo yesterday, Jha highlighted the elevated levels of “trust, goodwill and friendship” between the two nations, evidenced by a series of high-level exchanges.These included Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s April visit—during which he received Sri Lanka’s highest honour for foreign leaders—and the October visit of Sri Lankan Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya.

A significant portion of the interaction focused on India’s response to Cyclone Ditwah. Under “Operation Sagar Bandhu”, India dispatched naval ships, aircraft, disaster response teams and engineers, delivering more than 1,100 tonnes of relief material. Jha announced a new USD 450 million assistance package—comprising USD 350 million in concessional credit and USD 100 million in grants—for rehabilitation across five key sectors: connectivity infrastructure, housing, health, education, agriculture and disaster preparedness.

“This is a demonstration of Sri Lanka’s key place in India’s Neighbourhood First and Mahasagar policies,” Jha said, noting that a joint monitoring mechanism was already operational to expedite project implementation. He added that Indian corporate contributions to Sri Lanka’s rebuilding fund had exceeded USD 1 million.

When The Island asked about the strategic dimension of the India–Sri Lanka Defence Cooperation Agreement following the Indian Army Chief’s recent visit, High Commissioner Jha offered a circumspect response. He asserted that there was “nothing beyond what is included” in the provisions of the pact, which was signed by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and has generated controversy in Sri Lanka due to the absence of public discourse on its contents.

Framing the agreement as a self-contained document focused purely on bilateral defence cooperation, Jha said this reflected India’s official position. By directing attention solely to the text of the agreement, the High Commissioner indicated that there were no unstated strategic calculations involved, aligning with the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister’s recent clarification that the pact was “not a camp”.

A follow-up question by The Island regarding India’s assessment of Colombo’s progress on fiscal reforms and debt restructuring—as the country that provided the most assistance during Sri Lanka’s economic crisis—was met with a firm refusal. “This question is out of my ambit and I wouldn’t want to reply to it,” Jha said, declining to comment on whether the current trajectory is sustainable for long-term stability and self-reliance.

Despite the setback caused by the cyclone, Jha painted an optimistic picture of the economic partnership. He cited record Indian tourist arrivals—accounting for over 20 per cent of the total—and suggested that, when investments routed through global subsidiaries are included, Indian firms may account for 40–50 per cent of Sri Lanka’s foreign direct investment inflows in 2025.

Flagship projects such as the Sampur Solar Power Plant, railway upgrades and the West Container Terminal at the Port of Colombo were highlighted as symbols of deepening engagement, which now extends into technology, innovation and artificial intelligence.

Concluding his remarks, Jha expressed confidence that the partnership was in a “historic sweet spot”, with India poised to remain Sri Lanka’s leading partner in trade, tourism and investment. The briefing underscored India’s role as a primary development and crisis-response partner, even as its top diplomat carefully navigated questions touching on strategic and domestic sensitivities.

By Sanath Nanayakkare ✍️

Prime Minister Dr Harini Amarasuriya says that the present government is committed to safeguarding children’s education and developing the country’s education system.She said that the country is being steered towards an education policy integrated with new technology, the digital world and artificial intelligence.

The Prime Minister made these remarks yesterday (08) while participating in meetings with the Most Venerable Mahanayake Theras of the Malwatte and Asgiriya Chapters of the Siam Nikaya, in connection with the proposed new education reforms.

Upon visiting the Malwatte Maha Vihara, the Prime Minister met the Most Venerable Thibbatuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Thera, the Mahanayake of the Malwatte Chapter. She later visited the Asgiriya Maha Vihara, where she met the Most Venerable Warakagoda Gnanarathana Thera, the Mahanayake of the Asgiriya Chapter, and explained the proposed education reforms.

She said that under the new education reforms, 106 textbooks for Grade Six haD already been printed, and that printing for the second and third school terms would be carried out in due course. She added that the government would intervene whenever weaknesses emerge within the education system and would take all possible steps to prevent shortcomings.

Pointing out that Sri Lanka’s school curriculum had not been updated for nearly 10 years, the Prime Minister said the government would adopt a flexible policy approach to rectifying existing deficiencies and provide children with a more reliable and credible education.

She said that as a new government that had taken responsibility for changing the prevailing political and social conditions, efforts were being made—despite challenges—to guide the education system towards a more dependable standard. She also noted that independent investigations were being conducted through several institutions into issues that arose during the textbook printing process.

Kandy District Members of Parliament Thanura Dissanayake and Attorney-at-Law Thushari Jayasinghe, Kandy Mayor Chandrasiri Wijenayake, and several others were present on the occasion.

Text and pic By S.K. Samaranayake ✍️