Islamabad_ Pakistan’s Foreign Office on Tuesday accused India of obstructing its humanitarian relief mission to Sri Lanka, where Cyclone Ditwah has triggered severe flooding and landslides, killing more than 400 people.
In a statement on X, the FO said Pakistan’s special aircraft carrying relief goods had been delayed for over 60 hours due to India’s refusal to grant timely airspace clearance. It added that the “partial clearance” India issued after 48 hours was “operationally impractical” as it was valid only for a few hours and did not include permission for the return flight.
This comes despite diplomatic sources earlier confirming that India had allowed Pakistan to use its airspace for the relief mission. India and Pakistan have kept their airspaces closed to each other since April, following an attack in India-occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 people and the brief four-day conflict that followed. Pakistan extended its airspace ban until November 24.
Sri Lanka has meanwhile declared a state of emergency as Cyclone Ditwah’s impact worsens. According to the Disaster Management Centre, the death toll has risen to 410, with 336 people missing and 1.5 million affected in what officials describe as the island’s worst natural disaster since the 2004 tsunami. Floodwaters in Colombo are slowly receding, but landslide alerts remain in place across central Sri Lanka.
