New Delhi, Updated At : 02:00 AM Dec 03, 2025 IST
India on Tuesday strongly rebutted Pakistan’s allegation that New Delhi delayed granting overflight clearance to a Pakistani aircraft carrying humanitarian aid to Sri Lanka, calling the charge “ridiculous and false propaganda”.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal accused Pakistan of “yet another attempt to peddle anti-India misinformation” and said the Indian High Commission in Islamabad received the overflight request at 1300 hours on December 1. Given the humanitarian urgency, the Government of India processed and approved the request within hours, by 1730 hours the same day, he said.
Jaiswal stressed that India acted with speed and transparency and accused Pakistan of trying to manufacture controversy, adding that India remains committed to supporting the people of Sri Lanka through genuine and timely assistance.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had claimed India “blocked humanitarian assistance,” alleging the Pakistani aircraft was delayed for over 60 hours and that the clearance later issued was partial and operationally impractical.
Separately, photos circulated on social media on Tuesday suggesting Pakistan had sent expired food items in its relief consignment to cyclone-hit Sri Lanka. The images, widely shared on X, showed yellow aid packets bearing Pakistani and Sri Lankan flags, with some users pointing to an apparent expiry date of October 2024 on the packaging.
