ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s airspace has been reopened to civil aviation with immediate effect, its aviation authority said on Tuesday, following months of restrictions imposed in the wake of a standoff with neighboring India earlier this year.
“With immediate effect Pakistan airspace is open for all type of civil traffic on published ATS (Air Traffic Service) routes,” according to a so-called Notice to Airmen (NOTAMS) published on the authority’s website.
An official at the authority, reached by telephone, confirmed that the change was in effect.
Pakistan closed its airspace in February after a standoff with India in the wake of an attack by a Pakistan-based militant group on a police convoy in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 40 paramilitary police.
Both countries carried out aerial attacks over the other’s territory during the standoff and warplanes fought a brief dogfight over the skies of the disputed Kashmir region.
Partial operations at Pakistani airports resumed once tensions eased but restrictions continued to affect many international carriers using Pakistani airspace.
Pakistan lies in the middle of a vital aviation corridor and the airspace restrictions affected hundreds of commercial and cargo flights each day, adding to flight time for passengers and fuel costs for airlines.
The announcement came hours after United Airlines Holdings Inc. said it was extending the suspension of its flights from the United States to Delhi and Mumbai in India until Oct. 26, citing continued restrictions of Pakistani airspace.
Pakistan reopens airspace for civil aviation after India standoff
Pakistan reopens airspace for civil aviation after India standoff
- Hundreds of commercial and cargo flights were affected every day due to airspace closure
- Islamabad closed its airspace in February after a standoff with India
Gunmen kill 3 Revolutionary Guards in Iranian province bordering Pakistan
- Iranian state media says attackers ambushed patrol in Sistan and Baluchistan province before fleeing
- Border region with Pakistan and Afghanistan has long seen militant and smuggling-related violence
TEHRAN: Gunmen killed three members of the Revolutionary Guard in Iran’s southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan near the Pakistan border, state media reported.
The Guard members were ambushed while patrolling near the city of Lar in a mountainous area about 1,125 kilometers (700 miles) southeast of the capital Tehran, the official IRNA news agency reported.
IRNA did not report whether any Guard members were injured in the attack.
The Revolutionary Guard is pursing the attackers it calls “terrorists,” but they remain at large. No group has taken responsibility for the attack, IRNA reported.
The province bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan, one of the least developed in Iran, has been the site of occasional deadly clashes involving militant groups, armed drug smugglers and Iranian security forces.
In August, Iran’s security forces killed 13 militants in three separate operations in the province a week after the group killed five policemen who were on patrol.
