(MENAFN- Live Mint) The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday rejected Pakistan's claims of delays in granting overflight permission for aircraft transporting relief supplies to Sri Lanka, emphasising that India responded quickly and handled the matter transparently.

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Sri Lanka has been grappling with widespread flooding, landslides and infrastructure collapse triggered by Cyclone Ditwah, leaving several districts isolated and severely straining the country's disaster-response capacity.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Pakistan's statement was aimed at misleading the public and misrepresenting India's actions. He said,“We reject the ridiculous statement made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, which is yet another attempt to spread anti-India misinformation.”

Connecting the timeline of events, Jaiswal clarified that India received Pakistan's request through diplomatic channels well in advance and responded within hours. He stated,“The request for overflight clearance for Pakistani aircraft carrying humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka was received by the High Commission of India in Islamabad at around 1300 hrs on December 01, 2025.”

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Jaiswal emphasised that New Delhi acted with urgency because the situation in Sri Lanka demanded immediate assistance. He said,“Given the urgency of humanitarian assistance, the Government of India processed the request expeditiously the same day and granted the overflight permission as per the itinerary proposed at 1730 hrs on December 01, 2025.”

Pakistan's fake news EXPOSED!

Even as India detailed the prompt approval issued on Monday, Pakistan continued to accuse New Delhi of creating hurdles. The Pakistan Foreign Office claimed on X that "India continues to block humanitarian assistance from Pakistan to Sri Lanka," alleging that an aircraft had been waiting "for over 60 hours now" for airspace access.

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Pakistan further alleged that the clearance India issued was unusable, stating that“the partial flight clearance issued by India last 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.”

However, X added reader-generated context, labelling the post shared by Pakistan's foreign affairs ministry as“fake news.” It also noted that Pakistan had reportedly sent expired aid to Sri Lanka.

See the post below:

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Source: X

At the same time, Islamabad faced separate criticism online after its High Commission in Sri Lanka shared photos of relief items that had been dispatched. The mission posted that“Relief packages from Pakistan have been successfully delivered to assist our brothers and sisters affected by the recent floods in Sri Lanka, which signifies our unwavering solidarity.”

Cyclone Ditwah

Sri Lanka continues to suffer severe damage from Cyclone Ditwah, including flooding, landslides, and widespread infrastructure damage. India has launched Operation Sagar Bandhu to provide relief, restoration and emergency support across affected districts.

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A man wades through floodwaters induced by Cyclone Ditwah in Chennai on 2 December 2025. (Photo by R. Satish BABU / AFP)
(AFP)

According to Sri Lanka's Disaster Management Centre, at least 410 people have died and 336 remain missing as of Tuesday morning due to extreme weather incidents since 16 November.

India launched Operation Sagar Bandhu on 28 November to assist Sri Lanka in dealing with the destruction caused by Cyclone Ditwah.

The MEA said on Monday that the mission was launched to provide urgent search and rescue support, along with humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR), to“our closest maritime neighbour.”

Since 28 November, India has supplied 53 tonnes of relief material to Sri Lanka through both air and sea routes, the MEA noted.

(With inputs from ANI)

(This is a developing story)

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