NEW DELHI – The Indian government has requested Pakistan to allow PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’s aircraft to fly over Pakistani airspace on June 13.
According to sources, Pakistan has received a formal request sent by theIndian High Commission in this regard. Modi is scheduled to attend theShanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan nextweek.
Pakistani airspace on its eastern border with India will remain closeduntil June 14, a civil aviation official said on May 29, the latestextension months after a standoff between the arch rivals.
Pakistan closed its airspace in February after suicide attack on Indiantroops in Pulwama district in Indian Occupied Kashmir led to aerial bombingmissions on each other’s soil and a fighter dogfight over Kashmir.
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Foreign carriers using Indian airspace have been forced to take costlydetours because they cannot fly over Pakistan. The closure mainly affectsflights from Europe to Southeast Asia.
“The closure will continue until June 14,” a spokesperson for Pakistan’sCivil Aviation Authority told Reuters, without giving further details.
