SCO summit: Modi's plane to bypass Pakistan en route to Bishkek despite permission to use airspace

ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI – India on Wednesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s special plane will bypass Pakistan en route to Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan where he is going to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit tomorrow (Thursday), despite the permission granted by Islamabad for doing so.

The Indian premier will now use a circuitous route via Oman and Iran to reach the Kyrgyzstan capital, according to External Affairs Ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar revealed in a statement. “Government of India had explored two options for the route to be taken by the VVIP aircraft to Bishkek for the SCO Summit. A decision has now been taken that the VVIP Aircraft will fly via Oman, Iran and Central Asian countries on the way to Bishkek,” he said.

The statement comes only hours after Pakistan’s Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan said the country’s airspace will be "specially" opened for Modi's overflight to Bishkek as a "goodwill gesture".

In a statement, Sarwar said an application to seek opening of the airspace was received by Aviation Division from Indian High Commission on Monday.

Prime Minister Imran Khan after holding consultation with all stakeholders directed to open the airspace, he added.

The airspace will be opened for a period of 72 hours during which Air India plane B 747-400 will fly to Bishkek from New Delhi tomorrow and will return the next day. With the opening of airspace, the travel time for Indian flight will reduce to one and half hours.

Ghulam Sarwar Khan said it is India that is facing more loss due to closure of airspace.

https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/pakistan/pakistans-airspace-ban-on-all-transit-flights-to-continue-till-june-15/

On the other hand, Pakistan's Foreign Office said that the southern route opted for by the Indian government is, in fact, one of the two that Pakistan had opened for Indian flights.

https://twitter.com/ForeignOfficePk/status/1138837383254806528

Prime Minister Modi's plane will now use the Pakistani airspace from Karachi and Hingol to enter Oman and Iran via Gwadar and then Kyrgyzstan.

https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/pakistan/sco-summit-pakistan-allowed-indian-fms-overflight-on-delhis-request/

Last month, Islamabad had accepted India’s request to let its Minister for Exterior Affairs Sushma Swaraj’s flight go over by way of its airspace to attend the Overseas Ministers’ assembly in Bishkek.

Pakistan had closed its airspace in February after Indian jets tried to bomb locations inside Pakistan.

Foreign carriers using Indian airspace have been forced to take costly detours because they cannot fly over Pakistan. The closure mainly affects flights from Europe to Southeast Asia.