Pak partially closes Karachi airspace till August 31 possibly to carry out missile test-firing'

Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on Wednesday issued a notice to airmen (NOTAM) closing the three routes of Karachi airspace from August 28 to August 31 in view of a possible missile test-firing from Sonmiani flight test range located in Balochistan.

All international flights have been asked to avoid the three aviation routes in the Karachi airspace as per the NOTAM. However, an alternate route has been suggested by the authority.

The development comes two days after Prime Minister Imran Khan, in a televised address on Monday, said that his country will go to any extent for Kashmir and asserted that Islamabad would not be afraid of using its nuclear powers for Kashmir.

The notification also comes at a time when the country's Technology Minister Fawad Hussain Choudhry stated that Pakistan is considering a complete closure of airspace to India, adding that the federal Cabinet is also planning to ban India from using its territory for trade with Afghanistan.

Pakistan had also shut down its airspace after India conducted Balakot strike on February 26. On July 16, Pakistan had fully opened its airspace for all flights.