Pakistan fully closed 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.
Pakistan has 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 Shah rukh Nusrat has informed a parliamentary committee.
Pakistan fully closed 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.
Aviation Secretary Nusrat, who is also the Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), on Thursday informed the Senate Standing Committee on Aviation that his department has intimated Indian officials that Pakistani airspace would remain unavailable for use by India until the country withdraws its fighter jets from forward positions, Dawn News reported.
"The Indian government approached asking us to open the airspace. We conveyed our concerns that first India must withdraw its fighter planes placed forward," Nusrat told the committee.
This led to some light ribbing on Twitter from Indians who wondered why Pakistan was so worried about a couple of trees.
After the Balakot strike, Pakistan had claimed that the Indian Air Force had only damaged some trees.
With inputs from PTI
1. Just for trees?
Pak refuses to open airspace for India until New Delhi withdraws fighters jets from forward @IAF_MCC bases https://t.co/a4MwgnDugh
— Aviator Anil Chopra (@Chopsyturvey) July 12, 2019
All this for a couple of trees? #Balakot https://t.co/aZmbjqqXKG
— Kanchan Gupta (@KanchanGupta) July 12, 2019
India should replant those four trees at Balakot !#balakotairstrikes https://t.co/D4E6pIqCKM
— Vivek Gaur (@Vixgaur) July 12, 2019
Pakistan is a very eco friendly Country.
— RITIKठाकुर (@RitikJaihind) July 12, 2019
Going through all this trouble for a couple of trees and 1 dead crow@fawadchaudhry @peaceforchange @KlasraRauf @HamidMirPAK https://t.co/hIIUAKY7qV
https://t.co/GLWBzktqWW pic.twitter.com/ARXsaMXFBk
— spuffybones (@stutterturtle) July 12, 2019
Hahahahahahahaha
— Lutyens' Rasputin (@hujodaddy1) July 12, 2019
Ab isme to time lagega... https://t.co/xvA89AHKnC
What escalation by India. All we did was damage some trees.
— Pratyush Kumar Ojha (@Pratyushojha) July 12, 2019
2. Pak will only allow after IAF shits fighter jets
He further apprised the committee that Indian officials have contacted Pakistan requesting it to lift the airspace restrictions.
"However, Indian officials have been told that Indian airbases are still laden with fighter jets and Pakistan will not allow resumption of flight operations from India until their removal, said Nusrat.
After the restrictions, all the passenger flights are being diverted to alternative routes by India, The Express Tribune reported.
The CAA official also contested India's claim that Delhi had opened its airspace for Pakistan, the report said.
"Pakistani flights from Thailand have not been restored since the closure of the Indian airspace. Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flights for Malaysia also remain suspended," the CAA DG informed the committee.
3. PM avoided flying over Pak
Last month, Pakistan gave special permission to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's VVIP flight to use its airspace for his official trip to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.
However Prime Minister Modi's VVIP aircraft avoided flying over Pakistan. Earlier, Pakistan had allowed India's former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to fly directly though Pakistani airspace to participate in the meeting of SCO foreign ministers in Bishkek on May 21.
India aviation industry has suffered huge losses due to the airspace ban by Pakistan.
On Thursday, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri told Parliament that due to the closure of Pakistan airspace, Air India had to spend an extra Rs 430 crore on longer routes.