India rejects Pakistan’s claim of delayed clearance for SL relief flight

India rejected Pakistan’s accusation that New Delhi had delayed granting overflight clearance for a Pakistani aircraft carrying humanitarian aid to Sri Lanka, calling the allegation “ridiculous” and “misinformation.”

In a statement, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the request for overflight clearance was received by the Indian High Commission in Islamabad at around 1:00 p.m. on December 1. He said the Government of India processed the request “expeditiously” and granted approval the same day at 5:30 p.m., in accordance with the itinerary submitted by Pakistan.

The response followed claims by Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the aircraft had been left waiting for more than 60 hours due to what it described as India’s failure to issue timely clearance. Islamabad further alleged that the limited permission granted was “operationally impractical.”

India dismissed the accusations, insisting it remained fully committed to supporting Sri Lanka amid the ongoing disaster and had been providing assistance “through all available means.”