India allows use of its airspace for Pak PM’S special flight to Lanka
NEW DELHI: India allowed Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s special aircraft to use the country’s airspace en route to Sri Lanka on Tuesday, people familiar with development said on condition of anonymity.
Khan flew to Sri Lanka in a Pakistan Air Force jet. This is Khan’s maiden visit to the nation after becoming Prime Minister in 2018 and he was accompanied by foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
After leaving Pakistani airspace, the jet flew along India’s coastline and over the Lakshadweep archipelago before landing in Colombo. Pakistan’s request for the special flight to use Indian airspace was made more
than a week ago and the permission was granted on Monday, the people cited above added.
India’s decision to allow the special flight to use its airspace was in marked contrast to Pakistan’s action in 2019, when Islamabad denied permission for the use of Pakistani airspace by three Indian VVIP flights. At the time, ties between the two sides were at a low following the standoff triggered by the Pulwama suicide attack and the scrapping of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status.
In September 2019, Pakistan didn’t permit the use of its airspace by a special flight carrying President Ram Nath Kovind to Europe, and another flight in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to US to attend the UN General Assembly session. Pakistani also didn’t allow the use of its airspace by another VVIP flight during Modi’s visit to Saudi Arabia in October 2019.
Khan, the first head of state to visit Sri Lanka after the Covid-19 outbreak, is set to hold talks with his counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and foreign minister Dinesh Gunawardena. The two countries are also expected to sign several agreements.