Pakistan denies use of airspace to PM Modi

Pakistan on Saturday said it denied India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi permission to fly through its airspace due to the ongoing situation in Kashmir.

The decision came with tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

It is the third time in recent weeks that Islamabad has refused to allow Indian leaders to use its airspace.

Requests by Indian President Ram Nath Kovind and Modi were turned down last month.

Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the Indian high commissioner (ambassador) was being informed about the decision.

Qureshi did not disclose Modi’s destination but a senior Pakistani official told the Indian prime minister had sought permission to use Pakistan’s airspace to travel to Saudi Arabia, where he is due to attend an investment summit.

Pakistan had closed its airspace to Indian traffic in February after a suicide bomb attack that killed dozens of Indian troops in Kashmir, ratcheted up tensions between the two neighbours and prompted aerial conflicts.

It reopened its skies for all civilian traffic in July, ending months of restrictions that had affected major international routes.