India is seriously considering shutting its airspace to Pakistani airlines and banning Pakistani ships from docking at Indian ports in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terrorist attack, as per India Today report citing sources.
Government officials said this move is part of a broader set of retaliatory actions against Islamabad after Pakistan-backed terrorists opened fire on civilians in Pahalgam, killing 26 people. The ban on airspace would force Pakistani carriers to reroute flights through countries like China or Sri Lanka to reach destinations in Southeast Asia, such as Kuala Lumpur.
According to officials, Pakistani airlines have already begun avoiding Indian airspace, fearing further retaliatory steps from New Delhi following the dastardly terror attack.
In addition to the airspace restrictions, a ban on Pakistani vessels accessing Indian ports is also under active consideration.
Tensions between the two nations have escalated sharply. Last week, Pakistan closed its airspace to Indian carriers after India accused Islamabad of sheltering and supporting cross-border terrorism. In response, India took various punitive steps to punish Pakistan. The foremost among them, New Delhi suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, declaring that resumption would be conditional on the cessation of support for terrorism from Pakistan. The Attari-Wagah Integrated Check Post has been closed, and a deadline has been imposed on Pakistani nationals to leave India. All visas granted to Pakistani citizens have been revoked, and travel under the SAARC framework has been disallowed.
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India has also withdrawn its military attachés from its High Commission in Islamabad and declared Pakistan’s military representatives in New Delhi persona non grata. Bilateral trade has been completely shut down, affecting major sectors on both sides.
