Lahore, May 12
Pakistan will review re-opening of its airspace for Indian flights on May 15 amid heightened India-Pak military tensions, a civil aviation official said on Sunday. However, a senior minister indicated that the status quo would remain till the elections were over in India.
Pakistan fully closed its airspace after an Indian Air Force strike on a terror camp in Balakot on February 26. However, Pakistan on March 27 opened its airspace for all flights except for New Delhi, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur.
“The Pakistani government will decide whether to lift or not its airspace ban for the Indian flights on May 15,” Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) spokesperson Mujtaba Baig said today.
However, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s close aide and federal science and technology minister Fawad Chaudhry said, “Status quo will remain till the elections are over in India. I don’t see any improvement in relations between Pakistan and India till the elections are over and a new government is installed.”
When asked had not the CAA written to Prime Minister Khan about huge financial losses the Pakistan International Airlines, other private airlines and CAA were facing because of closure of its profitable routes because of ban of Indian airspace, Baig said: “It is a bilateral matter to be resolved by the both governments.”
Owing to ban on its airspace by India, Pakistan has suspended its operation for Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur which is causing a loss of millions of rupees per day. — PTI
from The Tribune http://bit.ly/2Q3bjY4
via Today’s News Headlines
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