Indian Air Force exposes national media's propaganda against Pakistan on Turkiye aid

Last updated on: 08 February,2023 10:15 am

Indian Air Force exposes national media's propaganda against Pakistan on Turkiye aid

LAHORE (Web Desk) – A false propaganda being disseminated by the Indian media, claiming that Pakistan had denied airspace to India's C-17 plane carrying relief aid for earthquake-hit Turkiye, has backfired after Indian Air Force (IAF) issued a clarification.

The death toll of a devastating earthquake in southern Turkiye and Syria jumped to more than 7,800 people as rescuers worked against time in harsh winter conditions to dig survivors out of the rubble of collapsed buildings. As the scale of the disaster became ever more apparent, the death toll looked likely to rise considerably.

Following the Monday’s deadly earthquake, countries from across the world are sending relief aid and rescue teams to the quake-hit countries to assist the victims in tough times.

Read More: Rescuers dig through rubble as Turkiye-Syria quake death toll passes 7,800

However, the Indian media used the tragedy to defame Pakistan when it reported that the Pakistani authorities had declined a permission to an IAF plane carrying relief aid to Turkiye – an attempt to create an atmosphere of mistrust between Islamabad and Ankara.

A News18 report claimed that the “IAF had to take a detour because of Pakistan denied permission for the flight to use its airspace”.

Amid the false propaganda, the IAF issued a clarification stating that as per standard operating procedure, its aircraft have avoided flying over Pakistan.

"Our aircraft don't fly over Pakistan as this is our standard operating procedure. Our planes take a longer route by flying from the Gujarat side to avoid Pakistani air space while going towards Europe or West Asia," Zee News quoted an IAF official as saying.

Meanwhile, Pakistan officials said they had not received any request from India to use its airspace to take aid to the earthquake-hit Turkiye.