Baseless: India slams Pak’s airspace denial claims for SL aid

India on Tuesday came down heavily on Pakistan for spreading what it called “ridiculous and false propaganda” over the alleged delay in granting overflight clearance to a Pakistani aircraft carrying humanitarian aid to Sri Lanka.

In a strongly worded statement, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal dismissed Pakistan’s claims as “yet another attempt to peddle anti-India misinformation”.

“The request for overflight clearance was received by the Indian High Commission in Islamabad at 1300 hours on December 1. Given the humanitarian urgency, the Government of India processed and approved it within hours by 1730 hours the same day,” Jaiswal said.

He emphasised that India acted with speed and transparency, while Pakistan was trying to manufacture controversy. “India remains committed to supporting the people of Sri Lanka through genuine and timely assistance,” he said.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had alleged that India “blocked humanitarian assistance,” claiming the Pakistani aircraft was delayed for over 60 hours and that the clearance issued later was partial and operationally impractical.

Meanwhile, another controversy erupted on Tuesday after some photos surfaced on social media which showed that Pakistan had sent expired food items as part of its humanitarian aid to cyclone-hit Sri Lanka.

The photos, shared widely on X, showed yellow aid packets bearing Pakistani and Sri Lankan flags, with some users highlighting what appeared to be an expiry date of October 2024 printed on the packaging.