Pak claims relief operations for cyclone-hit Sri Lanka ‘hampered by lack of cooperation’ by India
Islamabad (PTI): Pakistan on Tuesday alleged that its relief operations for cyclone-hit Sri Lanka were being “hampered by lack of cooperation” by India by "delaying permission" to use its airspace, a claim denied by New Delhi.
India on Monday expeditiously heeded to Pakistan's request to use Indian airspace to send humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka, people familiar with the matter said.
They said 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.
They also described as "fake", reports in the Pakistani media that India has not granted overflight facility to Pakistan to send aid to Sri Lanka.
"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," said one of the people.
The Pakistan Foreign Office (FO) on Tuesday claimed that Islamabad’s relief efforts were being “hampered by lack of cooperation” by India which was “delaying permission to allow it to use its air space”.
“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 FO said in a social media post.
It further claimed: “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.”
Sri 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 help Sri Lanka recover from the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.
The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) has confirmed at least 410 deaths and 336 missing till Tuesday morning in catastrophic floods and landslides caused by extreme weather conditions since November 16.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
