Islamabad: Pakistan on Saturday rejected a request made by New Delhi to let the airplane of Indian President Ram Nath Kovind fly over its airspace.
Islamabad turned down the request based on the “alarming human rights situation in Indian-Kashmir “, announced Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
Qureshi said Prime Minister Imran Khan had approved of the decision to reject the request and added that “the Indian aggression in Kashmir” was responsible for Pakistan’s move.
The Minister added that Pakistan had shown “restraint” in reacting to India’s move in Kashmir but that New Delhi was “refusing to budge from its stubbornness and denying basic facilities to the residents of Kashmir”.
“In view of this, we have decided to not allow the Indian President to use our airspace,” he told PTV.
Islamabad’s decision comes amid tensions between the two neighbours over New Delhi’s revocation of the special status to Jammu and Kashmir on August 5.