ISLAMABAD, Jan 20: The number of flights through Pakistani airspace has dropped by nearly 50% amid rising tensions with Iran, despite the absence of any movement restrictions, Pakistani media reported.
On Tuesday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched ballistic missiles and drones at Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, saying it was targeting a base of the Jaish al-Adl terrorist group, which claimed responsibility for a deadly attack at a police station in Iran in December.
Pakistan condemned Iran’s strikes and recalled its ambassador from Iran, also saying the Iranian ambassador could no longer work in Pakistan.
Only 450 flights were registered in Pakistan’s airspace on Thursday, while the number usually reaches 750, aviation sources told Pakistani newspaper The Express Tribune. Airlines pay the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority to use the country’s airspace, the report added.
On Friday, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said that Pakistani Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani met with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian.
Jilani stressed the need for enhancing security cooperation between the two countries and expressed his willingness to cooperate with Tehran on the basis of mutual trust.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry, for its part, called on Pakistan to focus on security cooperation and respect previous agreements, while Amirabdollahian reiterated Iran’s respect for Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
On Thursday, Pakistan carried out overnight precision strikes against “terrorist hideouts” in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Pakistan respects Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and carried out the strikes with the sole purpose of defending its own security and national interests, echoing the tone of the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s statement following the IRGC strikes.
(UNI)
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