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
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.
Kejriwal says he, AAP leaders will go to BJP office on Sunday; dares PM to get them arrested
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Saturday that he and other AAP leaders would go to the BJP headquarters on March 19 "so that the prime minister can send anyone he wants to jail".
The BJP is saying they will send AAP MP Raghav Chadha and Delhi ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj to jail too, he claimed at a press briefing hours after his aide Bibhav Kumar was arrested in connection with the alleged assault on his party's parliamentarian Swati Maliwal.
Kejriwal, who is also the AAP national convener, however, asserted that his party could not be crushed by sending its leaders to jail.
Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "playing the game" of sending AAP leaders such as Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain, and Sanjay Singh to jail, he said, "I along with my MLAs and MPs would go to the BJP office at noon tomorrow so that the prime minister can send anyone he wants to jail."
"The AAP is an idea. For as many AAP leaders you jail, the country would produce leaders a hundred times more," Kejriwal said.
He claimed that the AAP's "fault" was that its government in Delhi built good schools, set up Mohalla Clinics, provided free treatment and ensured free round-the-clock power supply in the city which the BJP could not do.
Kejriwal, who was arrested in a money laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, has been granted interim bail till June 1 by the Supreme Court to campaign in the Lok Sabha polls. He will have to surrender and go back to jail on June 2, a day after the last phase of polling in the general elections.
