An aircraft that will carry Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Bishkek, where he will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, will not cross Pakistan's airspace, Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar told reporters on Wednesday
NEW DELHI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th June, 2019) An aircraft that will carry Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Bishkek, where he will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, will not cross Pakistan's airspace, Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar told reporters on Wednesday.The Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority closed in February the country's airspace for Indian flights amid escalated tensions between the two countries. However, Pakistan announced earlier in the week its readiness to open its airspace for Modi's aircraft ahead of the SCO summit.
"The government of India had explored two options for the route to be taken by the VVIP aircraft to Bishkek. A decision has now been taken that the VVIP aircraft will fly via Oman, Iran and Central Asian countries on the way to Bishkek," Kumar said, as quoted by The Times of India newspaper.
Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated in February, after the Pakistani military shot down two Indian warplanes in India's Kashmir region, responding to an earlier airstrike by an Indian aircraft against what New Delhi said was a camp of the Pakistani-based Jaish-e-Mohammad group, considered terrorists by India.
The Indian airstrike followed a deadly attack by Jaish-e-Mohammad on the Indian paramilitary police force in Kashmir in mid-February. While India has accused Pakistan of supporting the militants and having a "direct hand" in the incident, Pakistan has rejected the allegations.
