India has granted Pakistan permission for a Pakistani aircraft carrying humanitarian aid for cyclone victims in Sri Lanka to use its airspace.
India also described as “fake” reports in the Pakistani media that India has not granted an overflight facility to Pakistan to send aid to Sri Lanka.
According to sources, an official request for overflight was submitted by Pakistan to India at around 1300 hrs IST today, seeking permission to fly over Indian airspace on the same day, December 1.
Given that the request pertained to humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka, sources said the government “expeditiously cleared the request.”
The Government of Pakistan was informed at 1730 hrs through official channels, four hours after the request was made.
This gesture from India, despite Pakistan having banned its airspace for Indian airlines, was considered purely on humanitarian grounds, sources said.
Denying Pakistani media reports to the contrary, sources said, “Pakistani media, as usual, is indulging in propaganda and peddling fake news. These allegations are baseless and misleading. All requests for overflight or transit are processed strictly in accordance with established procedures and international norms.”
India’s decisions on airspace permissions are governed by standard operational, technical, and security assessments, not political considerations, sources added.
(Agencies)
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