Pakistan dispatches 200 tonnes for Lanka by sea
India blocking aid for cyclone-hit island nation, says FO
ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office (FO) said on Tuesday that India was preventing humanitarian assistance from being sent to Sri Lanka by air, prompting Islamabad to send aid by sea to the south Asian island, where severe flooding and landslides triggered by Cyclone Ditwah have claimed more than 400 lives.
In a post on X, the FO said: “India continues to block humanitarian assistance from Pakistan to Sri Lanka. The special aircraft carrying Pakistan’s humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka continues to face a delay of over 60 hours now awaiting flight clearance from India.
“The partial flight clearance issued by India last night, after 48 hours, was operationally impractical: time-bound for just a few hours and without validity for the return flight, severely hindering this urgent relief mission for the brotherly people of Sri Lanka.”
A statement issued later by the Pakistan High Commission in Sri Lanka said aircraft were awaiting clearance to fly and accused India of blocking the humanitarian relief operation through “shenanigans”.
The statement said that a “robust relief operation” was initiated on the special directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who had instructed the “immediate mobilisation of national resources” to support Sri Lanka during its hour of need.
It said that since Saturday, the Pakistan Army and the National Disaster Management Authority have been ready for relief operations in Sri Lanka.
“However, for more than two days, Pakistan’s emergency relief mission comprising C-130 aircraft carrying a fully equipped urban search and rescue team, field hospitals, highly trained sniffing dogs and nearly 200 tonnes of life-saving supplies have remained stranded at Noor Khan Air Base in Islamabad due to delaying tactics deployed by India in granting flight clearance to C-130 aircraft.
“India in a cunning move has granted one day diplomatic clearance at 1800 hours, on Nov 1 through its embassy in Islamabad. The clearance was valid for around six hours for Pakistan’s assisted emergency and relief aircraft to depart, which was not sufficient for an aircraft to move back and forth to Colombo.
“Earlier, Indian authorities are reportedly engaged in deliberate delaying tactics, repeatedly asking Pakistan to resubmit and re-route flight plans despite already receiving complete documentation. These procedural hurdles appear to cause further delays, undermining timely relief delivery to a disaster-struck neighbour.”
The high commission said that by delaying emergency humanitarian aid, India had disregarded universally accepted norms of humanitarian conduct.
“The behaviour is callous, politically motivated and in violation of established international humanitarian norms, UN guiding principles as well as SAARC humanitarian charter principles.”
The high commission said that India’s “continued use of procedural manoeuvres and airspace restrictions” raised serious concerns about its adherence to humanitarian obligations and its commitment to regional solidarity in times of tragedy.
Later in the day, the FO said that 200 tonnes of humanitarian aid had been dispatched by sea due to the delay in authorising overflights. “Pakistan has dispatched 200 tons of humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka via sea cargo to support relief efforts following the devastating Cyclone Ditwah,” the FO wrote on X, adding that a send-off ceremony was held for the cargo, attended by Sri Lanka High Commissioner to Pakistan Admiral Ravindra C Wijegunaratne, among other officials. “Pakistan stands in full solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka,” the post read. Staff Report
