India rejects Islamabad claim over flight clearance to Pak aircraft with relief assistance to Lanka

By Anjali Sharma

WASHINGTON – Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Tuesday said that ”The request for over flight clearance for Pakistani aircraft carrying humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka was received by the High Commission of India in Islamabad at 1300 hrs on December 1.

India rejected Islamabad’s claim that New Delhi denied over flight clearance to Pakistan aircraft carrying humanitarian assistance for Sri Lanka, described it as yet another attempt to spread anti-India misinformation.

Randhir Jaiswal said ”The request for over flight clearance for Pakistani aircraft carrying humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka was received by the High Commission of India in Islamabad at around 1300 hrs on December 1.”

He said that in view of the urgency of humanitarian assistance, New Delhi processed the request expeditiously the same day and granted the over flight permission as per the itinerary proposed at 1730 hrs on December 1.

Jaiswal said India remains committed to assisting the people of Sri Lanka in these challenging times through all available means.