ISLAMABAD: Amid rising tensions between with India, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Monday suspended its flights from Karachi to Mumbai.
According to a senior official of the state carrier, PIA flight from Karachi to Mumbai has been suspended due to highly low traffic volume on the route. He dismissed reports that the Karachi-Mumbai operation was being suspended due to tense relations between India and Pakistan.
PIA operated two flights on Karachi to Mumbai route on Mondays and Thursdays. However, Lahore to Delhi operation will continue due to satisfactory traffic volume on the route. The official said that no flight was operated from Karachi to Mumbai and Mumbai to Karachi since April 8 and booking for the sector was also stopped because of heavy financial loss to PIA on this route. He said no special subsidy was being given by the government on this route, he said, and added chances of restoration of the route in near future were equal to none.
The Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service across the Line of Control (LoC) was also suspended on Monday in view of a cordon and search operation in a village near the Kaman Post in Jammu and Kashmir.
The bus, which started its journey from Srinagar at 7 am with 14 passengers on board, was stopped by army at Bandi in Uri tehsil of Baramulla district, a police official said. He added that 25 persons were waiting to board the bus at the Salamabad Facilitation Centre to go to Muzaffarabad. At 3 pm, those waiting to board the bus at the facilitation centre and those on board were asked to return to Srinagar, the official said, and added the bus was stopped by the army as a precautionary measure in view of a cordon and search operation launched by the security forces in Uroosa village, the last human habitat before the LoC on the Indian occupied side.
