Modi uses Pak airspace amid frozen relations

LAHORE:

Despite the longstanding diplomatic freeze between Pakistan and India, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi used Pakistani airspace on his return journey from Poland to New Delhi, it emerged on Saturday.

Sources from the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCCA) disclosed that the aircraft carrying Modi entered Pakistani airspace at 10:15 am and exited at 11:01 am, spending a total of 46 minutes within Pakistan's boundaries.

The plane entered via Chitral and traversed the air control regions of Islamabad and Lahore before crossing into India's Amritsar.

Modi's visit to Poland was part of a diplomatic mission that included a stop in Kyiv to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The event marks a notable moment in the otherwise tense relations between the two nations. In March 2019, Pakistan reopened its airspace for civilian flights after a five-month closure triggered by a military standoff with India. The closure followed an attack on a security convoy in IIOJK, which resulted in the deaths of 44 paramilitary police officers.

Tensions further escalated when Pakistan downgraded diplomatic ties and suspended trade with India after the Modi-led government revoked the semi-autonomous status of IIOJK in August 2019.