Pak considering full airspace closure with India, ban on land routes for Indo-Afghan trade: minister
Islamabad, Aug 27: Pakistan is once again mulling a complete ban on the use of the country's airspace by Indian flights, a senior minister said on Tuesday, weeks after the Indian government revoked Jammu and Kashmir's special status.
Minister of Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry said the decisions to close the airspace with India and to ban the use of Pakistan's land routes for India's trade with Afghanistan were taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan.
"Prime Minister is considering a complete closure of airspace to India, a complete ban on use of Pakistan land routes for Indian trade to Afghanistan was also suggested in Cabinet meeting, legal formalities for these decisions are under consideration... Modi has started, we'll finish!" he tweeted.
Pakistan had fully closed its airspace in February after an Indian Air Force strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror camp in Balakot. The country opened its airspace for all flights except for New Delhi, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur on March 27.
On May 15, Pakistan extended its airspace ban for flights to India till May 30. It fully opened its airspace for all civilian traffic on July 16.
Pakistan has already suspended its trade with India and stopped the train and bus services in protest to India's August 5 decision to end Jammu and Kashmir's special status.
Tensions between India and Pakistan spiked after India abrogated provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution to withdraw Jammu and Kashmir's special status and bifurcated it into two Union Territories, evoking strong reactions from Pakistan.
India has categorically told the international community that the scrapping of Article 370 was an internal matter and also advised Pakistan to accept the reality.
Separately, Special Assistant to Pakistan Prime Minister on Information Firdous Ashiq Awan told the media that the Kashmir issue was also discussed at the Cabinet meeting.
She said that the Cabinet endorsed Prime Minister Khan's view to fight the Kashmir case in the United Nations and every other world forum.
After Pakistan failed to drum up international support for its belligerent stand on Kashmir, Khan said on Monday that he will raise the issue at every international forum, including at the UN General Assembly.
Khan's address to the nation came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his meeting with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in France on Monday, categorically rejected any scope for third party mediation between India and Pakistan on Kashmir.
During Modi's bilateral meeting with US President Trump, the Prime Minister categorically rejected any scope for third party mediation between India and Pakistan on Kashmir, saying the two countries can discuss and resolve all issues bilaterally and "we don't want to trouble any third country."
On his part, Trump said he and Modi spoke about Kashmir "at great length" on Sunday night and he feels that both India and Pakistan can resolve it on their own.
"We spoke last night about Kashmir, the Prime Minister really feels he has it (situation) under control. They speak with Pakistan and I'm sure that they will be able to do something that will be very good," Trump said.
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Momo seller dies by suicide in Jalpaiguri after name omitted from voters’ list
Jalpaiguri (WB): A momo vendor in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri town died by suicide on Tuesday, with family members alleging that he had been distressed after his name was removed from the electoral rolls following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
According to IANS the deceased is identified as Gouranga De, who lived in a rented house with his wife and their son, under Ward 11. Police discovered the body on Tuesday morning and sent it for post-mortem.
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According to his family, De had been casting his vote for nearly four decades and they said his name did not appear in the 2002 voter list. De was subsequently called for a hearing during the recent revision process. Family members stated that he submitted the documents and information available with him at the time.
After the final electoral roll was published on February 27, De’s name was found to have been omitted, with “deleted” marked against it. His relatives and neighbours said he had been anxious since learning about the removal.
His landlord said De repeatedly expressed concern about what would happen to him after his name was struck off the list. “He was worried ever since his name was removed. He kept asking what would happen to him. The body was recovered this morning and now what will happen to this family?” he said.
De’s wife told local reporters that he did not have parents or grandparents and was therefore unable to furnish additional supporting details beyond the documents he had already submitted during the SIR hearing. She said the omission left him deeply upset.
Chairman of Jalpaiguri Municipality, Saikat Chatterjee, visited the family after receiving information about the incident, terming it unfortunate and called for accountability.. He was quoted by The News Minute as saying that De had approached him after finding his name missing from the list. Chatterjee had assisted him in submitting Form 6 online.
(Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the state’s health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416.)
