Pakistan extended its airspace ban for the fifth time to India till July 26, the country’s civil aviation authority announced, news agencies reported.
Pakistan fully closed its airspace on February 26 after the Indian Air Force fighter jets struck a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist training camp in Balakot following the Pulwama terror attack in Kashmir.
“Pakistani airspace will be closed until July 26 along its eastern border with India. The Panjgoor airspace will remain open for overflying transit flights from the western side as Air India had already been using that airspace,” the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority said.
A Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority official said as quoted by the PTI that the Pakistan government will review whether to open its space for Indian flights or not on July 26.
“However, this issue is a bilateral one and no progress will be made till both Islamabad and New Delhi decide it mutually,” he said.
Last month, Pakistan gave special permission to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flight to use its airspace for his official trip to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.
However, Modi’s aircraft avoided flying over Pakistan.
