Pakistan closes air space over Pakistan-occupied Kashmir

In a panic reaction fearing an Indian air strike, Pakistan has closed its air space over major parts of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), including Gilgit-Baltistan.

Pakistan issued a notice to airmen (NOTAM) about the closure of civil flying routes in PoK. This includes the part of PoK located west of the Kathua-Jammu-Rajouri-Pooch axis in Jammu and Kashmir.

The air space is also closed over Gilgit-Baltistan that is north of Ladakh. India already has its air assets located in Ladakh and that could be one of the fears at the Pakistan Army headquarters at Rawalpindi.

The closure of air space over specified areas allows a clearer radar picture as civilian flying is suspended and anything else has to be military plane, UAV, missile or a helicopter. It allows ground-based controllers to take an immediate action if anything shows up on the radar screens.

The closure of air space is an extension of Pakistan having announced a similar air space closure west of Karachi where an exercise is on. This will include missiles firing from land towards the sea. During the 1971 war, India   had launched an attack from sea at Karachi harbour.

Separately India and Pakistan are now carrying out an intense tit-for-tat Naval exercises in the Arabian Sea – west of Gujarat.

Both countries have issued    public   notices called ‘Nav-area warning’ informing sea farers about the exercises and the need to stay away from these areas at sea.

Pakistan is conducting its exercises in its territorial waters and India is doing in its own. The notice of exercises at sea shows, the navies of two nuclear armed countries would be separated by just 150 km.