ISLAMABAD: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s aircraft unexpectedly flew through Pakistani airspace for 46 minutes while returning from a significant visit to Poland, as reported by media sources.
Typically, when flying over Pakistan, it is customary to convey a goodwill message; however, this tradition was bypassed, leading to discussions about the tense relations between the two neighboring countries.
A source in the aviation industry, speaking to Dawn, clarified that while sending a goodwill message is a tradition, it is not mandatory. The source also suggested that sending such a message might have invited criticism for Modi upon his return to India.
Media reports indicated that the Indian aircraft entered Pakistan from Chitral, passing over Islamabad and Lahore before entering Indian airspace near Amritsar. According to an aviation sector source, Pakistani airspace remains open to Indian commercial flights, and the Prime Minister’s aircraft does not require special permission to fly over other countries.
Pakistan had fully closed its airspace to India after the February 26, 2019, incursion by Indian fighter jets, later partially reopening it in March, though Indian flights remained restricted. While Pakistan denied PM Modi’s request to use its airspace for a flight to Germany that same year due to heightened tensions over Kashmir, it granted permission for Modi’s non-stop flight to use Pakistani airspace en route to the US two years later.
