Pakistan Airports Authority (on) confirmed on Wednesday that all airports across the country “remain fully operational” and that the airspace “remains open and secure to civil aviation activities.”
This insurance follows Pakistan’s retaliation for missile attacks launched by India, resulting in the death of at least 26 people in Pakistan early Wednesday. In response, Pakistan shot down five Indian jets.
On emphasized that it had formally communicated Pakistan’s concerns to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), referring to the serious risks of civil aviation security set by India’s “reckless and provocative actions.”
The authority further repeated its commitment to ensuring the safe and uninterrupted movement of both domestic and international commercial flights and effectively control the national airspace.
In the wake of the air strikes, Pakistan’s National Security Council (NSC) condemned India’s actions and called them an “illegal act and obvious violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty.”
NSC confirmed that Pakistan “reserves the right to respond in self -defense at a time, place and way it chooses,” promised to avenge the loss of innocent life.
Later in the day, Prime Minister Shehbaz noted that Pakistan Air Force (PAF) could have shut down at least 10 Indian aircraft but had shown restraint.
The Prime Minister also approached a recent incident in Pahagam in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), which Pakistan condemned. However, Indian media tried to blame Islamabad without evidence.
On Wednesday, Director-General of Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR), Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry confirmed that 26 civilians were martyred and 46 others wounded in Indian air strikes overnight aimed at several civilian areas over Pakistan in what called “Operation Sindoor”.
