Pakistan suspends flight operations at major airports

Pakistan on Wednesday suspended flight operations across major airports, including Islamabad and Lahore, for an indefinite period in the wake of the escalating tensions with India, a top civil aviation authority said.  

Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority spokesman Mujtaba Baig told PTI that flight operations in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces have been suspended for an indefinite period. 

He said the flight operations from and to Lahore, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Multan and Rawalpindi/Islamabad airports have been suspended. 

READ | In China, Sushma Swaraj Exposes Pak-sponsored JeM Terror Role In Pulwama Attack; Reiterates IAF Air Strike On Pakistan "not A Military Operation"

The planes which had left from foreign destinations for these airports have been diverted to the safer airports, he said.

The move comes amid escalation of tension between India and Pakistan after IAF carried out strikes on terror bases in Pakistan.

India has also closed five airports in Srinagar, Jammu, Leh, Chandigarh and Amritsar, on Wednesday for civilian air traffic shortly after an IAF jet crashed in Kashmir's Budgam district, officials said.

The flare up in the cross-LoC shelling, which was initiated by Pakistani troops in early hours of Wednesday, has resulted in security forces and other establishments being put on a heightened alert.

READ | Col Rathore Hails Indian Security Forces After IAF Strike On Pak-backed JeM Terror Camps, Calls It 'clear Message To Every Terrorist'