Pakistan rejects Indian president’s request to fly over its airspace

Indian President Ram Nath Kovind

By Nasir Aijaz
AsiaN Correspondent

Islamabad: Pakistan on Saturday afternoon rejected a request made by Indian authorities to let the airplane of Indian President Ram Nath Kovind fly over Pakistani airspace on a tri-nation trip to Iceland, Switzerland and Slovenia from Monday.

Pakistan rejected the request based on the alarming human rights situation in Indian-administered Kashmir, said Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

Prime Minister Imran Khan had approved the decision to reject the request, Qureshi added. The foreign minister added that Indian aggression in Kashmir was responsible for the Pakistani decision.

In August, it was reported that Prime Minister Imran Khan was considering shutting down Pakistani airspace for India. A complete ban on Indian trade to Afghanistan through Pakistani land routes was also under discussion.

A federal cabinet meeting to discuss the proposals was called last week, and a formal decision in this regard was expected to be announced soon.

On August 5, India has revoked the constitutional autonomy of Indian-administered Kashmir and imposed a military curfew in the valley.