Islamabad, December 1,2025: Pakistan’s humanitarian mission to aid cyclone-devastated Sri Lanka has been delayed after India refused to grant airspace clearance, creating a major hurdle in the relief operation.
According to a private news channel, a 45-member Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team of the Pakistan Army, prepared to depart on a C-130 aircraft with support from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and Pakistan Air Force, was scheduled to leave for Sri Lanka. However, the aircraft was grounded after New Delhi declined the request for airspace for what Islamabad described as a “purely humanitarian mission”.
Efforts to dispatch 100 tonnes of relief goods on commercial cargo aircraft have also stalled, as these flights similarly require Indian airspace clearance.
With the refusal, Pakistan has been forced to send aid via sea, a journey expected to take around eight days, significantly slowing the dispatch of crucial supplies.
Former ambassador Asif Durrani criticised India’s decision, calling it “petty behaviour” and recalling similar obstructions during past humanitarian missions, including Pakistan’s attempt to send assistance to Nepal.
Durrani noted that Pakistan had allowed India to transport wheat to Afghanistan via the land route when its preferred Iranian corridor became too expensive.
“What more can we, unfortunately, call it?” he remarked, saying the move once again illustrates India’s narrow approach even in matters involving human suffering.
Cyclone Ditwah, which battered Sri Lanka on Friday, has triggered the country’s worst flooding in a decade, leaving at least 355 people dead and 366 missing. More than 500,000 people have been affected, while landslides have struck several areas in the central highlands.
Rescue workers are struggling to reopen blocked roads and deliver essential supplies as floodwaters continue to inundate many regions. Weather authorities say the system is now moving northwards and gradually weakening.
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake described the catastrophe as the “largest and most challenging” disaster in the nation’s history.
