Islamabad, August 28: Pakistan has issued a notice to airmen (NOTAM) and warning to Naval force in the view of a possible missile test-firing from Sonmiani flight test range near Karachi, according to local media reports. Earlier today, Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) closed all three routes of Karachi airspace from August 28 to August 31. As per the NOTAM, all international flights have been asked to avoid three aviation routes in the Karachi airspace.

Notably, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi Modi used Pakistan's airspace to travel to France on August 22. The warnings are followed by Pakistan Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed's statement that a war between India and Pakistan is likely to happen in October or November. Tensions have been at peak since the Indian government scrapped the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 and bifurcated the state into two union territories.

On Tuesday, Pakistan's Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry said the cabinet was considering restoration of a complete ban on the use of Pakistani airspace for Indian flights. "A complete ban on the use of Pakistan's land routes for Indian trade to Afghanistan was suggested in the Cabinet meeting," Chaudhry had tweeted. According to reports, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had objected to the use of Pakistan's airspace by his Indian counterpart Modi.

This isn't the first time Pakistan has closed its airspace this year. A complete closure was put in place after the Balakot strike by the Indian Air Force on February 26. The airspace was completely opened on July 16, five months after tensions escalated in February following the Pulwama terror strike in which 40 Indian security personnel were killed in a Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide attack.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 28, 2019 04:26 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).