Pakistan shuts air space for Indian airlines

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has announced to shut airspace for Indian airlines in retaliation of the suspension of Indus water treaty by India following Pahalgam false-flag operation, ARY News reported on Thursday.

As per details, the closure of Pakistani airspace is set to impose significant additional costs on Indian airlines, with daily expenses totaling millions for flights to various international destinations.

Indian airlines, including Air India, Air India Express, SpiceJet, IndiGo, and Akasa Air, operate 70 to 80 daily round-trip flights through Pakistani airspace, with the number occasionally exceeding 100. These flights originate from cities such as Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Delhi, Goa, and others.

The airspace restriction will force Indian carriers to reroute their flights, adding approximately two hours of extra travel time per journey.

This is expected to significantly increase fuel costs and operational expenses, straining the financials of the affected airlines.

Also read: Any attempt to stop water to be considered ‘act of war’, Pakistan warns India

India’s foreign ministry on Wednesday announced that the Attari and Wagah borders will be closed. Pakistani nationals will no longer be able to travel to India under the SAARC visa exemption.

“The Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 will be held in abeyance with immediate effect,” India’s top diplomat Vikram Misri told media persons in New Delhi.

The Indian foreign ministry also announced to India recall all its defense attachés from Islamabad.

The Indian foreign ministry maintained that the number of diplomatic staff will be reduced from 55 to 30, asking the military advisors in the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi to leave the country within a week.

In response, Pakistan vehemently rejected the Indian announcement to hold the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance.

The participants discussed the national security environment and the regional situation, particularly in the wake of Pahalgam attack in the Anantnag District of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday last.

The committee highlighted that the Indus Waters Treaty is a binding international agreement brokered by the World Bank and contains no provision for unilateral suspension. Water is a Vital National Interest of Pakistan, a lifeline for its 240 million people and its availability will be safeguarded at all costs.

Pahalgam Attack and Aftermath

Any attempt to stop or divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan as per the Indus Waters Treaty, and the usurpation of the rights of lower riparian will be considered as an Act of War and responded with full force across the complete spectrum of National Power.