The Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday (2 December 2025) rejected Pakistan’s allegations regarding delay in flight clearance for planes carrying relief material to Sri Lanka. India made it clear that it took immediate and transparent action. Pakistan had alleged that India had not allowed it to fly over its airspace to send humanitarian aid to Sri Lanka.
India called Pakistan’s statement ridiculous
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that Pakistan has given this statement with the aim of misleading the public and misrepresenting the work done by India. He said, “We reject the ridiculous statement made by the Foreign Ministry of Pakistan, which is another attempt to spread anti-India propaganda.”
India had given permission to use airspace
He clarified that India had already received Pakistan’s request through diplomats and responded to it within a few hours. Foreign Ministry spokesperson said, “Pakistan’s formal request was received by the Indian High Commission in Islamabad at around 1 pm on December 1, 2025. The government, considering it a humanitarian emergency, issued approval at 5:30 pm the same day.
Randhir Jaiswal said, “India stands with Sri Lanka during natural disasters and relief operations. India is committed to assist the people of Sri Lanka through all available means in these challenging times.” Even after getting immediate permission from India to use the airspace, Pakistan continued to blame India.
The Pakistani Foreign Ministry posted on Twitter saying, “India is continuously blocking the humanitarian aid going to Sri Lanka from Pakistan. Apart from this, it alleged that one of its aircraft has been waiting for 60 hours to enter the airspace.”
Cyclone Ditvaha wreaks havoc in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is battling widespread flooding, landslides and infrastructure damage caused by Cyclone Ditvaha, which has isolated many districts and put a huge strain on the country’s disaster-response capacity. India has launched Operation Sagar Bandhu to help Sri Lanka recover from the devastation caused by the cyclone.
Sri Lanka’s Disaster Management Center (DMC) has confirmed at least 410 deaths and 336 missing as of Tuesday morning in the devastating floods and landslides caused by the cyclone since November 16.