Sri Lanka continues to face severe devastation in the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah. The cyclone has claimed over 200 lives in Sri Lanka, leaving many displaced. The country has announced a national emergency.
India has granted rapid overflight clearance for Pakistan’s humanitarian aid flight bound for flood-hit Sri Lanka, countering claims in sections of the Pakistani media that New Delhi had refused access to its airspace, according to news agency ANI. Officials said the request was processed within hours because it involved urgent relief operations.
The clarification rejected online claims that India had refused airspace access, prompting New Delhi to assert that it had, in fact, acted expeditiously due to the urgent nature of the mission.
According to Indian officials, Pakistan submitted its formal request at around 1:00 PM (IST) on 1 December seeking same-day permission to fly over Indian airspace. The clearance was issued four hours later.
“The official request for overflight was submitted by Pakistan to us at around 1300 (IST) hrs today seeking permission to fly over Indian airspace same day i.e. 1 December 2025. Given the fact that the request pertained to humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka, Government of India expeditiously cleared the request and intimated the Government of Pakistan at 1730 hrs (IST) today through official channels. It was processed at the shortest notice period of 4 hrs,” the officials said.
Sri Lanka continues to face severe devastation in the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah. The cyclone has claimed over 200 lives in Sri Lanka, leaving many displaced. The country has announced a national emergency.
The scale of the disaster has forced the government in Colombo to seek extensive support from regional partners, with India leading relief efforts under a major deployment of naval, air and disaster-response assets.
PM MODI OFFERS SUPPORT UNDER OP SAGAR BANDHU
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephone conversation with Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to express condolences over the “loss of lives and widespread devastation” caused by the cyclone and promised further support under Operation Sagar Bandhu, the Prime Minister’s Office said.
