Pak extends till Jul 26 its airspace ban along eastern border with India
[ By Titus Manickam Rock ]Lahore: Pakistan has extended its airspace closure to India along its eastern border for the fifth time till July 26. The Pakistan airspace closed to Indian flights from February 26 after the Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter jets struck Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist camp in Balakot following the Pulwama attack.Pakistan, however, opened its airspace selectively...
Lahore: Pakistan has extended its airspace closure to India along its eastern border for the fifth time till July 26. The Pakistan airspace closed to Indian flights from February 26 after the Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter jets struck Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist camp in Balakot following the Pulwama attack.
Pakistan, however, opened its airspace selectively for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flight to Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan, for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in June 2019. However, PM Modi’s flight had taken a detour and avoided using Pakistan airspace. Pakistan had also allowed former External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj to fly directly to participate in the SCO foreign ministers meeting in Bishkek on May 21.
India is losing heavily due to the closure of Pakistan’s airspace to its flights. Pakistan is prepared to re-open airspace only after confirmation from India it will not repeat similar strikes as that of Balakot. Pakistan believes the solution lies in mutually acceptable decision between India and Pakistan.