Pakistan stops Modi from using airspace for Saudi Arabia visit

FM Qureshi says decision taken in view of India's atrocities in occupied Kashmir

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday turned down New Delhi's request to allow Prime Minister Narendra Modi to use its airspace for his flight to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

"Today is October 27, a Kashmir Black Day, and we rejected the Indian government request in view of their violation of human rights and their atrocities in Indian Occupied Kashmir," Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said in a statement.

He said the decision would be conveyed to the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.

This is the second time in two months that New Delhi sought permission for Modi to use Pakistani airspace.

Modi denied permission to use Pakistan airspace

New Delhi requested Islamabad to allow Modi’s plane to use Pakistani airspace on September 20 for a visit to Germany and again on September 28 on his way back to India after attending the UN General Assembly (UNGA) session in New York.

Both requests were denied by Pakistan.

Pakistan closed its airspace to Indian traffic after aerial dogfights in February this year ratcheted up tensions between the two nuclear-armed rivals. It reopened its skies for all civilian traffic in July, ending months of restrictions affecting major international routes.

Tensions have flared up between the two neighbours since August 5 when India revoked the special status of the disputed territory.

Modi in KSA

Modi will be speaking at the investment summit organised by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. The event is popularly known as Davos of the Deserts.

India, which imports more than 80 per cent of its oil needs, is keen to strengthen its relations with Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, from just being an oil buyer.

India, the world’s third-biggest oil consumer, is a key client of Saudi Arabia. In September, Saudi Arabia emerged as top oil supplier to Indian after a gap of over a year, data obtained for shipping and industry showed.

Separately another official said that ISPRL, a wholly-owned subsidiary of India’s Oil Industry Development Board, will sign an agreement with Saudi Aramco to lease part of the 2.5 million-tonne Padur storage, in southern Karnataka state.

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a visit to New Delhi in February said the kingdom sees investment opportunities worth more than $100 billion in India over the next two years.

(With additional input from Reuters.)