The government announced Wednesday its decision not to accept India's request that Prime Minister Narendra Modi use Pakistani airspace for his flight to Germany.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the decision was made "taking into account the situation in occupied Kashmir."
"A request was received from India saying that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to use Pakistani airspace for an overflight on 20 to Germany and wishes to use it for a return flight on 28," the Foreign Minister said in a statement on video .
"Taking into account the situation in occupied Kashmir and the attitude of India witnessed in tyranny and oppression [suffered by Kashmiris] and violations of rights in the region, we have decided not to grant this request, "he said.
The Indian government had formally submitted a request last week for the use of Pakistani airspace, after which Pakistan considered convening a high-level consultative meeting on the matter, according to diplomatic sources.
The sources had said DawnNewsTV that Modi's flight would pass through Pakistani airspace on September 20 on its way to the US. UU., Where he will attend the General Assembly of the United Nations and will address a meeting of American Indians in Houston.
Prime Minister Imran Khan will also address UNGA on September 27.
Under international law, according to sources, Pakistan is obliged to grant permission to the Indian prime minister. If rejected, India may appeal to the International Civil Aviation Organization as a result of which Pakistan may be required to pay a substantial fine.
The request comes at a time of high tension between Pakistan and India following the decision of the Indian government to unilaterally revoke article 370 of its constitution, which granted special autonomy to occupied Kashmir. A blackout of communications and strong restrictions on movement imposed by the Indian authorities since the eve of this development have been in force for 45 days.
In early September, Pakistan had decided to reject an application from India to allow its president Ram Nath Kovind to use Pakistani airspace for his flight to Iceland.
The government had also considered closing all Pakistani airspace to Indian flights. However, no decision was made in this regard.
In February, Pakistan had closed its airspace to Indian traffic after the air fights after the Pulwama attack that increased tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi. He reopened his skies for all civil traffic in July, ending months of restrictions affecting the main international routes.
After this, in August, Modi used Pakistan's airspace to travel to France for an official visit.
Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1505911/pakistan-denies-indias-request-for-use-of-airspace-by-modi-for-flight-to-germany