Pak Denies Airspace to Indian Plane Carrying NDRF Team, Medical Aid to Earthquake-Hit Turkey

CNN-News18 reported that Pakistan denied its airspace to Indian Air Force planes that were traveling towards Turkey early Tuesday morning. This is the second time Pakistan has tried to prevent India from sending humanitarian aid to countries in need.

Turkey and Syria were rocked by a 7.9-magnitude earthquake – now considered one of the most destructive in West Asian history – on Monday morning, killing more than 4,800 people and injuring tens of thousands and leaving thousands more trapped. Ruins of dilapidated buildings.

Indian National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams have already landed at Adana airport with modern drilling equipment, medics and rescue dogs, but they had to take a detour as Pakistan refused to allow them to use its airspace.

The Indian Army is mobilizing a field hospital to provide medical assistance to the victims in the region, CNN-News18 reported.
Following the Taliban takeover of Pakistan in 2021, Pakistan last barred India from using its territory. In December, India decided to send 50,000 MT of wheat to Afghanistan as part of humanitarian assistance to the war-torn country.

The cargo also contained life-saving drugs.

Islamabad proposed to transport goods from India to Afghanistan from Wagah border in Pakistani trucks. It later allowed the trucks to pass, citing “exceptional grounds for humanitarian purposes”.

Pakistan’s move has drawn criticism as the flight, which took off from the Hindon airbase in Uttar Pradesh, had to take a detour. According to reports from Turkey and Syria, survivors of shell shock in some of the affected areas have joined rescue officials to rescue other victims from the rubble.

Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) is having trouble rescuing people trapped under the rubble and the White Helmets in Syria are also facing manpower shortages in the towns of Azaz and Saklin.