No confirmation of airspace closure by Pak, says MEA

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday said that Pakistan has not issued any statement confirming the closure of airspace for Indian flights.

"What we understand is perhaps there were certain sectors which were temporarily closed, there have been NOTAM (A notice to airmen) which were issued that too for a certain period. There has been no statement from Pakistan confirming closure of airspace," MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in his weekly briefing.

Earlier today, Pakistan Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mohammad Faisal in a briefing said that the issue of airspace closure was discussed at the highest level, adding that they are considering shutting down its airspace for India as one of the options.

"It is one of the many options that are being considered. We can exercise it at a time of our choosing. No decision has been taken as yet," Faisal was quoted as saying by Dawn.

This comes a day after Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that a decision on shutting down its airspace for India will be taken after due consideration and looking into every aspect of the move through consultation with Prime Minister Imran Khan.

In addition, Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) yesterday issued a notice to airmen (NOTAM) that it is closing the three routes of Karachi airspace from August 28 to August 31.

Days after India announced its decision to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcate the state into two union territories, Islamabad objected to New Delhi's action and announced that it is partially closing its airspace.

Pakistan had also shut down its airspace after India conducted Balakot strike on February 26. Only in July after five-month of closure, Pakistan had fully opened its airspace for all flights.