Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft carrying disaster response supplies lands in cyclone-hit Sri Lanka as part of ‘Operation Sagar Bandhu’ (PTI)
NEW DELHI: Pakistan on Tuesday renewed its allegations that its relief operations for cyclone-hit Sri Lanka were being “hampered by lack of cooperation” from India, claiming that permission to use Indian airspace was being delayed.“India continues to block humanitarian assistance from Pakistan to Sri Lanka. The special aircraft carrying Pakistan’s humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka continues to face delays for over 60 hours now awaiting flight clearance from India,” the Pakistan Foreign Office said in a post on X. It added that the “partial flight clearance issued by India last night, after 48 hours, was operationally impractical: time-bound for just a few hours and without validity for the return flight, severely hindering this urgent relief Mission for the brotherly people of Sri Lanka.” India, on Monday, rejected the allegations. People familiar with the matter said that India had promptly cleared Pakistan’s request to use its airspace for humanitarian assistance. “The official request for overflight was submitted by Pakistan at around 1300 hours (Indian time) on Monday and India expeditiously cleared the request and intimated the same to Pakistan at 1730 hours (Indian time). It was processed at the shortest notice period of four hours,” they added, as reported by PTI. Also read | India junks Pak reports on denial of airspace for relief flights to Sri LankaOfficials also dismissed reports in the Pakistani media claiming India had not granted overflight permission as “fake”. “Pakistani media, as usual, is indulging in propaganda and peddling fake news. These allegations are baseless and misleading. All requests for overflight or transit are processed strictly in accordance with established procedures and international norms,” one of the people said.Meanwhile, the Pakistan High Commission in Sri Lanka faced criticism online after sharing images of the relief materials sent to the flood-hit country. In a post on X Tuesday, the High Commission uploaded photos showing stacks of packaged supplies, stating: “Relief packages from Pakistan have been successfully delivered to assist our brothers and sisters affected by the recent floods in Sri Lanka, which signifies our unwavering solidarity.” However, netizens quickly noticed what appeared to be expiry dates of October 2024 printed on some of the packages.Also read | Did Pakistan send expired aid to flood-hit Sri Lanka? Social media pokes funSri Lanka has been grappling with widespread flooding, landslides, and infrastructure collapse triggered by Cyclone Ditwah, leaving several districts isolated and severely straining the country’s disaster-response capacity. India launched Operation Sagar Bandhu to assist Sri Lanka in its recovery efforts.The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) confirmed at least 410 deaths and 336 missing as of Tuesday morning due to the catastrophic floods and landslides caused by extreme weather conditions since November 16.