KARACHI – All scheduled flights to Gilgit and Skardu have been cancelled for the day amid intensified surveillance of the country’s airspace, the officials close to the development said on Wednesday.
The officials emphasized that the measures are temporary and would be reviewed based on the evolving security situation in the region.
The authorities tightened the surveillance by implementing heightened security protocols and issuing the new directives to air traffic control.
According to the official sources, monitoring has been extended to include all foreign flights traversing Pakistani airspace, with particular scrutiny on flights arriving from India.
The decision comes as part of a broader effort to enhance national security and ensure immediate response to any unusual aerial activity.
Under the updated security guidelines, any suspicious flights will now require high-level clearance before being granted permission to proceed. The authorities have also instructed aviation officials to remain on high alert and to strictly adhere to the newly issued protocols.
In a late Tuesday statement, Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the “credible intelligence” reports showed India intended to carry out a military action against Pakistan in next 24 to 36 hours on the pretext of baseless allegations of involvement in Pahalgam incident.
Such attempts would have “catastrophic consequences for the entire region and beyond,” the information minister warned while talking to media late Tuesday.
He said Pakistan categorically rejected “Indian self-assumed hubristic role of Judge, Jury and Executioner in the region” which is completely “reckless”.
The minister said Pakistan has been the victim of terrorism itself and truly understands the pain of this menace. “We have always condemned it in all its forms and manifestations anywhere in the world.”
Being a responsible state, he said Pakistan open heartedly offered a credible, transparent and independent investigation by a neutral commission of experts to ascertain the truth.
“Unfortunately, rather than pursuing the path of reason, India has apparently decided to tread the dangerous path of irrationality and confrontation, which will have catastrophic consequences for the complete region and beyond,” the information minister emphasised.
He said “evasion of credible investigations is in itself sufficient evidence exposing India’s real motives.” “Consciously making strategic decisions hostage to public sentiments, purposefully trumped up for securing political objectives, is unfortunate and deplorable,” the minister added.
He reiterated that any such military adventurism by India would be responded to assuredly and decisively.
“The International community must remain alive to the reality that the onus of escalatory spiral and its ensuing consequences shall squarely lie with India,” Tarar emphasized.
He reiterated the nation’s resolve to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan at all cost.
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