India closed its airspace to Pakistan
India Closes Airspace to Pakistani Aircraft in retaliation for Pakistan’s Ban on Indian Flights
The English section of “webangah News Agency” reports,citing Mehr News Agency and Reuters,that amid escalating tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan following an attack on a group of tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir,New Delhi announced it has closed its airspace to Pakistani airlines.
The indian government stated in a notice that the ban will remain in effect from April 30 to May 23 (10th of Ordibehesht to 2nd of Khordad in the Persian calendar).
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, during a phone call yesterday with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, “strongly rejected” any attempts by India to link Islamabad to the incident. Sharif also called for a obvious, credible, and impartial investigation and urged the U.S. to advise India on exercising restraint in rhetoric and responsible action.
Given that only Pakistan International Airlines’ flights bound for Kuala Lumpur use Indian airspace, the reciprocal flight restrictions are expected to have a far lesser impact on Pakistan’s aviation industry compared to India’s.
Last week, pakistan closed its airspace to Indian airlines and suspended all commercial activities—including those routed through third countries—while also halting visa issuance for indian nationals.
Pakistan International Airlines announced Tuesday that due to heightened tensions, it has decided to avoid Indian airspace.
Yesterday, Pakistan claimed it possesses “credible information” indicating India plans to attack Islamabad soon. The April 22 attack in Pahalgam killed 26 people—most of them tourists.
