In The Aftermath Of Tourist Attacks, India Closes Its Airspace From Pakistan Airlines

UNSPLASH/Kartabya Aryal/Bandara ILLUSTRATION In Karnataka India

India closed its airspace to Pakistan's airlines from Wednesday, days after its nuclear-armed neighbor banned Indian airlines from flying over its territory following the deaths of 26 people in an attack on tourists on the dollar.

The ban will take place from April 30 to May 23, the Indian government said in a notice.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio by phone on Wednesday evening that he rejected India's attempts to link Pakistan to the incident.

As reported by Reuters on Thursday, May 1, Rubio called for a transparent, credible and neutral investigation and urged the US to urge India to reduce rhetoric and act responsibly.

The impact of the ban on Pakistan's aviation industry is likely smaller than that of India because only Pakistan International Airlines operates routes to Kuala Lumpur using Indian airspace.

Last week, Pakistan closed its airspace to a state-owned or Indian-operated airline, suspending all trade including through a third country and halting special South Asian visas issued to Indian citizens.

PIA, the national airline, said Tuesday it had decided to avoid Indian airspace following rising bilateral tensions.

Pakistan says it has "credible intelligence information" India intends to launch a military action immediately, as tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighboring countries escalated following a deadly attack on tourists.

India has identified three attackers, including two Pakistani nationals, as "terrorists" who launched bloody insurgencys in the Muslim-majority mitigatingATAN. Islamabad has denied any involvement and called for a neutral investigation.

Since the attack, the two countries have launched a series of actions against each other, including suspending the Indus Water Agreement.