ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has declined an Indian request to open its airspace until New Delhi takes actions to deescalate tensions between the warring neighbors, including withdrawing fighter planes in forward positions, Pakistani Aviation Secretary Shahrukh Nusrat told a parliamentary committee this week.
The comments follow months of tension between the two countries, which came close to war in February over the disputed region of Kashmir, which both sides have claimed since independence from Britain in 1947.
Following a suicide attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 40 members of an Indian paramilitary police force in February, Indian jets launched a raid inside Pakistan, with Pakistan conducting a retaliatory strike of its own. Jets from the two countries also fought a brief dogfight in the skies over Kashmir during which an Indian pilot was shot down and captured. Pakistan returned the pilot and there were no further strikes but tensions remained high.
Pakistan has since kept part of its airspace closed to international air traffic, disrupting flights to India and other parts of the region.
“The Indian government approached asking us to open the airspace,” Nusrart told the Senate Standing Committee on Aviation on Thursday. “We conveyed our concerns that first India must withdraw its fighter planes placed forward.”
Though official talks between Pakistan and India are mostly suspended, track II diplomacy has picked up to help relieve tensions. On Friday, Pakistani and Indian delegates, including journalists, academics, students and activists, met for a backchannel dialogue organized by the Regional Peace Institute in Islamabad to discuss ways to normalize ties.
“Our basic purpose is to find out a way to move forward and address the areas of concern in both the countries,” said journalist Taimur Shamil who attended the meetings. He said Pakistan and India could cooperate in the fields of education, culture, religious tourism, economy and trade: “Since Pakistan is working on a mega economic activity, there is a huge potential of investment [for India] in our country as well,” he said.
According to RPI director Raoof Hassan, the purpose of the initiative was to “encourage the youth of the two countries to take charge to move forward.”
The second round of the track-II dialogue will take place in New Delhi in September this year.
Pakistan declines India’s request to open airspace until New Delhi deescalates tensions
Pakistan declines India’s request to open airspace until New Delhi deescalates tensions
- Airspace was closed after both countries carried out aerial bombing missions on each other’s soil in February
- Foreign carriers using Indian airspace have been forced to take costly detours because they cannot fly over Pakistan
Pakistan’s first female central bank governor dies at 71
- Shamshad Akhtar led the State Bank of Pakistan from 2006 to 2009 and later served twice as caretaker finance minister
- Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb describes Akhtar as an accomplished economist and an outstanding human being
KARACHI: Shamshad Akhtar, Pakistan’s first woman to serve as governor of the central bank and one of the country’s most internationally experienced economic policymakers, died at the age of 71, officials said on Saturday.
Akhtar led the State Bank of Pakistan from 2006 to 2009, becoming the first and only woman to lead the institution since its establishment in 1948. She later served twice as caretaker finance minister, overseeing fiscal management during transitional governments ahead of the 2018 and 2024 general elections.
According to local media reports, Akhtar died of cardiac arrest.
President Asif Ali Zardari expressed sorrow over her passing in a statement.
“The president paid tribute to her services in the field of economics and financial management, noting her contribution to strengthening economic governance in the country,” the presidency said, adding that he extended condolences to the bereaved family and prayed for the departed soul.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb described Akhtar as a highly accomplished economist and an outstanding human being.
“Dr. Shamshad Akhtar was a dignified, principled and wise voice in Pakistan’s economic history,” he said.
He said she served Pakistan with integrity and dedication across several senior economic roles, adding that her national service would always be remembered with respect.
At the time of her death, Akhtar was serving as chairperson of the Pakistan Stock Exchange, a role that placed her at the intersection of Pakistan’s monetary policy, fiscal management and capital markets.
Beyond Pakistan, she held senior positions at major international institutions, including the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.
Born in Hyderabad, she was educated in Karachi and Islamabad and held advanced degrees in economics from institutions in Pakistan and the United Kingdom.
Akhtar was widely regarded as a technocrat known for institutional discipline, policy continuity and a strong commitment to economic reform.
With input from Reuters
