International aviation body dismisses Modi's complaint against Pakistan

International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) on Tuesday dismissed New Delhi’s complaint against Pakistan’s refusal to grant Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi the permission to travel to Saudi Arabia, Firstpost reported.

The Indian publication quoted the ICAO’s spokesperson saying, “The Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention), which ICAO helps governments to cooperate under, only applies to the operations of civilian aircraft and not to state or military aircraft.”

He further elucidated that flights carrying state leaders are labeled as state aircraft due to which they do not fall under ICAO provisions.

On Monday, New Delhi had approached the international aviation body following Islamabad’s denial to get its airspace used for Indian premier Narendra Modi.

Foreign Minister of Pakistan Shah Mehmood Qureshi had said the decision was taken in regards to ‘black day’ being observed across Pakistan on Sunday.

“India has consistently carried out grave atrocities and inflicted tremendous pain and misery upon innocent Kashmiris who have been landlocked and cut-off from the outside world for more than 80 days since India’s unilateral annexation of a disputed territory,” said FM Qureshi.

“We will not allow Modi to use Pakistan’s airspace, the Indian High Commission is being informed in this regard.”