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Pakistan PM Imran Khan Considering Complete Closure Of Airspace To India, Says His Minister

Hussain said that a complete ban on the 'use of Pakistan Land routes for Indian trade to Afghanistan was also suggested in the cabinet meeting'.

Prime Minister Imran Khan is considering a complete closure of air space to India, Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, Pakistan Minister of Information and Broadcasting, said on Tuesday evening.

In a tweet, Hussain said that a complete ban on "use of Pakistan Land routes for Indian trade to Afghanistan was also suggested in cabinet meeting", adding the Khan-led government was considering the legal formalities for these decisions.

"#Modi has started we ll finish!" he said.

Pakistan had fully closed its airspace in February after an Indian Air Force strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror camp in Balakot. The country opened its airspace for all flights except for New Delhi, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur on March 27.

On May 15, Pakistan extended its airspace ban for flights to India till May 30. It fully opened its airspace for all civilian traffic on July 16.

Pakistan has already suspended its trade with India and stopped the train and bus services in protest to India's August 5 decision to end Jammu and Kashmir's special status.

The two countries have been at loggerheads ever since the Centre abrogated Article 370, which accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir. While Pakistan has tried to raise the matter at the United Nations, its efforts have failed to yield any dividends. 

Pakistan's fresh move against India comes just a day after Imran Khan said he would raise the Kashmir issue at every international forum, including the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), where he is scheduled to speak later in September.

Khan had on Monday said if the current tensions between India and Pakistan lead to a war, one must remember that both the countries have nuclear weapons, adding "no one is a winner in a nuclear war".

He claimed Prime Minister Modi had made a "historic blunder" by revoking Kashmir's special autonomy.

India has categorically told the international community that the scrapping of Article 370 was an internal matter and also advised Pakistan to accept the reality.

During Modi's bilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in France on Monday, the Prime Minister left no scope for any third party mediation between India and Pakistan on Kashmir, saying the two countries can discuss and resolve all issues bilaterally and "we don't want to trouble any third country."

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(With inputs from agencies)

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