ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday said it denied Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi permission to fly through its airspace due to “ongoing grave human rights violations” in India-held Kashmir.

It is the third time in recent weeks that Islamabad has refused to allow Indian leaders to use its airspace.

According to a Foreign Office statement, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the decision was taken in view of the observance of the Kashmir Black Day on Sunday and the ongoing gross human rights violations in India-held Jammu and Kashmir.

Earlier, in the recent past, Pakistan had turned down similar requests of the Indian government by closing its airspace for the Indian prime minister who wanted to travel through its airspace to New York and Germany. Indian President Ram Nath Kovind was also barred from flying through Pakistan en route to Iceland last month.

“Indian prime minister wanted to use our airspace but we denied permission in the perspective of Black Day being observed by Kashmiris today to condemn Indian occupation and ongoing grave human rights violations in Indian-occupied Kashmir,” Mr Qureshi said.

Published in Dawn, October 28th, 2019