IoK remains cut off as lockdown continues on 116th day

SRINAGAR (92 News) – The Indian Occupied Kashmir (IoK) continued to remain isolated from the world as unprecedented military lockdown entered 116th running day, on Thursday. According to the KMS, though uneasy calm and uncertainty prevail in the Valley yet life remains badly affected there as restrictions under Section 144 remain enforced, shops and business centers are mostly shut and few turn up to educational institutions and offices. Internet gag persists while prepaid mobile and text messaging services also remain in shutdown mode. The increasing chill has also added to the miseries of the already suffering people of the IoK. India’s Enforcement Directorate has taken the possession of assets worth over 60 million rupees in connection with a false case against noted Kashmiri businessman, Zahoor Ahmed Watali. The agency said, these properties are in the form of land parcels and located in two villages of Badgam district. The ED had attached these properties in April this year. Watali is presently lodged in New Delhi’s infamous Tihar Jail in connection with a fake case registered against him by India’s National Investigation Agency.

Pakistan denounces Indian diplomat’s statement

Pakistan government has expressed outrage over comments by India’s Consul General in New York in which he suggested that India should build Hindu settlements in Kashmir like those constructed by Israel in the Palestinian territories. Indian Consul General Sandeep Chakravorty at an event attended by Kashmiri Hindus (known as Pandits) in New York said, “It has happened in the Middle East. If the Israeli people can do it, we can also do it.” Speaking at a private event in New York on Saturday, India’s ambassador the US Sandeep Chakravorty told Kashmiri Hindus (also called Pandits) and other Indian nationals that India will build settlements modeled after Israel for the return of the Hindu population to Kashmir, reported the Middle East Eye. A video of his speech was uploaded on Facebook.