ISLAMABAD (The Thursday Times) — Pakistan has renewed permits allowing Taiwanese airlines to fly through its airspace, days after closing it to them in support of Beijing’s One-China policy, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.
An EVA Air flight from Taipei to Vienna became the first Taiwanese commercial aircraft to cross Pakistan since the restrictions, entering its airspace at about 3.30am Pakistan time on Thursday, according to Flightradar24 data cited by Bloomberg. The Civil Aviation Authority renewed the permits on Wednesday and they are valid until March 27, according to documents seen by the news agency.
Other Europe-bound EVA Air and China Airlines flights that left late on Wednesday and early on Thursday still avoided Pakistan, flying over Russia or routing through India, the report said.
Taipei points at Beijing
Taiwan’s deputy foreign minister, Chen Ming-chi, told AFP that Pakistan had closed and then reopened its airspace to Taiwanese airlines, and said Taipei suspected China had been behind the move. Taiwan’s foreign ministry had condemned the restriction on Wednesday, accusing Islamabad of adopting Beijing’s position and using airspace access as leverage.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had earlier told Bloomberg that Pakistan followed the One-China policy and had “permitted only Chinese airlines to fly over Pakistan”. Neither EVA Air nor China Airlines confirmed the closure or reopening.
