No open airspace until India withdraws fighter jets

NPnews24 online: In a twisted reply Pakistan told India that it will not open its airspace for commercial flights until New Delhi removes its fighter jets from forward IAF airbases, Pakistan’s aviation secretary informed.

Pakistan shut down its airspace on February 26 after the Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter jets struck a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist training camp in Balakot following the Pulwama terror attack in Kashmir.

“The Indian government approached asking us to open the airspace, but Pakistan concerns was that first India must withdraw its fighter planes place forward.

This is probably the first time that a senior Pakistani official has publicly stated Islamabad’s precondition for reopening its airspace after the Balakot air strikes.

Earlier, Pakistan gave special permission to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s VVIP flight tp use its airspace for his official trip to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyztan.

India aviation industry has suffered huge losses due to the airspace ban by Pakistan.

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