Pakistan refuses Go First's Srinagar-Sharjah flight to go through its airspace
New Delhi, Nov 3: Pakistan on Tuesday denied use of its airspace to Go First's Srinagar-Sharjah flight, inaugurated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah during his visit to the Valley last month.
Pakistan's denial forced the flight to take a longer route and fly over Gujarat to reach its destination in the UAE, the government officials said on Wednesday.
Go First, previously known as GoAir, had started direct flights between Srinagar and Sharjah from October 23 onwards.
According to officials, till October 31, GoAir's Srinagar-Sharjah flight was going through Pakistan airspace.
However, Pakistan on Tuesday did not allow the flight to pass through its airspace, and therefore, the service had to take a longer route, going over Gujarat, adding around 40 minutes to the flight time, they said.
There were no reasons given by the Pakistan government as yet for refusing the permission to the flight, officials said.
Go First did not respond to PTI's request for a statement on this matter.
This is the first service between Jammu and Kashmir and the UAE after 11 years. Air India Express had started a Srinagar-Dubai flight in February 2009 but it was discontinued after some time due to low demand.
Reacting to Pakistan's action, former J&K chief minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah tweeted "very unfortunate. Pakistan did the same thing with the Air India Express flight from Srinagar to Dubai in 2009-2010. I had hoped that @GoFirstairways being permitted to overfly Pak airspace was indicative of a thaw in relations but alas that wasn't to be."
Blaming the Centre, PDP chief and former J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti tweeted "puzzling that GoI didn't even bother securing permission from Pakistan to use its airspace for international flights from Srinagar. Only PR extravaganza without any groundwork."
Very unfortunate. Pakistan did the same thing with the Air India Express flight from Srinagar to Dubai in 2009-2010. I had hoped that @GoFirstairways being permitted to overfly Pak airspace was indicative of a thaw in relations but alas that wasn’t to be. https://t.co/WhXzLbftxf
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) November 3, 2021
Puzzling that GOI didn’t even bother securing permission from Pakistan to use its airspace for international flights from Srinagar. Only PR extravaganza without any groundwork. https://t.co/3Cbj91C6Pb
— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) November 3, 2021
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Karnataka: Elderly man dies after his car catches fire
Chikkaballapur (Karnataka) (PTI): A 70-year-old man died after his car caught fire, leaving his body charred, police said on Monday.
The deceased was identified as Uday Kumar, a resident of Raghuvanahalli on Kanakapura Road in Bengaluru, they said.
The incident occurred near Achepalli Cross in Bagepalli taluk of Chikkaballapur district on Sunday when he was returning after visiting his mother in his native place, police said.
Local police were alerted by passersby who noticed the car on fire. Fire tenders rushed to the spot and doused the blaze. However, the flames had spread rapidly through the vehicle, resulting in his death. Later, his charred body was recovered from the car, police said.
Citing preliminary investigation, a senior police officer said it appeared to be a case of suicide as investigators did not find any evidence indicating an accident or a mechanical fault in the car that could have triggered the fire.
"However, teams have collected samples and other evidence, and further investigation is underway to ascertain whether there was any technical fault that led to the fire," the officer said.
