Pakistan partially reopens airspace after 2-day flight ban amid Kashmir tensions

Islamabad partially reopened its skies on Friday following a two-day closure imposed after a military confrontation with India over the disputed Kashmir region.

Pakistan has resumed commercial flights from major cities including Karachi, Islamabad, Quetta, and Peshawar, the Civil Aviation Authority tweeted on Friday.

However certain restrictions will remain in place until March 4, officials warned in a separate tweet. 

Pakistan closed its airspace on February 27 following the aerial encounters between Islamabad and New Delhi in the disputed region of Kashmir. India also shut down airports on its side of the UN-mandated Line of Control.

The flight ban closed an important air route from Europe to Asia, leaving thousands of people stranded in airports across the world as major airlines had to reroute, delay, or cancel their flights.

Hostilities between the nuclear-armed neighbors escalated after a terrorist attack on Indian soldiers killed at least 40, resulting in India launching an air raid over Pakistani territory on Tuesday. New Delhi claimed the jets bombed Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist camps. Aerial combat followed the next day, while the two sides also accused each other of shelling territories along the Line of Control.

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