Pakistan airspace ban extended for Indian aircraft

KARACHI: Pakistan’s aviation authority said on Friday it would extend a ban on Indian airlines using its airspace for another month, after the worst violence between the nuclear-armed rivals in decades.

The ban was announced on April 24 as both sides traded diplomatic tit for tat measures that spilled into a four-day military conflict.

More than 70 people were killed in missile, drone and artillery fire until a ceasefire was announced on May 10.

“No flight operated by Indian airlines or operators will be allowed to use Pakistani airspace,” Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement, adding that the ban had been extended until early morning on June 24.

“This ban will also apply to Indian military aircraft.”

India had returned in kind with a ban in late April, due to run until June 23.

The conflict was sparked by a deadly attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed Islamabad of backing.

Islamabad has denied the claim and called for an independent probe.

Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence in 1947, with both claiming the territory in full.

Pakistan first imposed the restriction on April 24, only two days after an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 people.

The move came in response to New Delhi’s decision to put the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance, as part of wide range of steps.