New Delhi, Pakistan is again considering closing its air space for traffic from India, Pakistan’s Science and Technology Minister Fawad Khan tweeted on Tuesday.
“PM is considering a complete closure of air space to India, a complete ban on use of Pakistan land routes for Indian trade to Afghanistan was also suggested in cabinet meeting, legal formalities for these decisions are under consideration… Modi has started, we’ll finish!,” Khan tweeted.
Previously, following the Balakot air strikes, Pakistan had closed its airspace on February 26 and it was fully reopened on July 16.
India had said that 600 flights per day were impacted due to the closure of Pakistani airspace in the backdrop of Balakot strikes.
Pakistan had closed the airspace on February 27 and opened the airspace on July 16, a period of 140 days, during which 84,000 flights were impacted.
Speaking in Parliament, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had said, “The closure of Pakistan airspace on Feb 27, 2019 had affected around 600 flights that operate per day across India-Pakistan airspace boundary and these flights were re-routed to Arabian Sea airspace.”
Pakistan had earlier partially shut its airspace after India abrogated article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
It’s air space for traffic from India had remained shut from February 26 till July 16 after India carried out air strikes at Pakistan’s Balakot destroying a terror training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).
Later on August 7, Pakistan issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) announcing partial closure of its airspace in the Lahore region due to “operational reasons”.
Pakistan has also suspended bilateral trade with India, review of bilateral arrangements, approaching the United Nations, while declaring that it would observe August 14, its Independence day, as Black Day.