Pakistan has accused India of continuing to block humanitarian assistance from Islamabad to cyclone-hit Sri Lanka.In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Foreign Office said the special aircraft carrying Pakistan’s humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka continued to face delay for over 60 hours now awaiting flight clearance from India.

The partial flight clearance issued by India Monday night, after 48 hours, was operationally impractical: time-bound for just a few hours and without validity for the return flight, severely hindering this urgent relief mission for the brotherly people of Sri Lanka, the FO statement said. On Monday night, the Foreign Office had received permission from India to use its airspace for humanitarian aid flights to Sri Lanka to provide flood relief.

The Sri Lankan government called for international aid and used military helicopters to reach people stranded by flooding and landslides triggered by Cyclone Ditwah. At least 355 people have been killed, Sri Lankan officials said on Monday, with another 366 still missing. An official in the foreign ministry said that the Indian high commission sent written confirmation allowing humanitarian overflights through Indian airspace.

The flights have been cleared to start Tuesday. The death toll from flooding and landslides in Sri Lanka was now 410, the Disaster Management Centre said Tuesday, with another 336 people missing following a week of heavy rains. It said over 1.5 million people were affected by the worst natural disaster to hit the country since the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)