Pakistan on Saturday afternoon rejected a request made by Indian authorities to let the airplane of Indian President Ram Nath Kovind fly over Pakistani airspace for a visit to Iceland.

Pakistan rejected the request based on the alarming human rights situation in Indian-occupied Kashmir (IoK), said Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

Prime Minister Imran Khan had approved of the decision to reject the request, Qureshi added. The foreign minister further said that Indian aggression in IoK was responsible for the Pakistani decision.

Highlighting the situation in occupied Kashmir, Qureshi said that the Indian government had deprived the people in Kashmir from basic necessities for 34 days now.

“A terrible injustice is being carried out in occupied Kashmir and the Indian government has refused to budge from their hard line position on the issue,” the foreign minster remarked.

In August, it was reported that Prime Minister Imran Khan was considering shutting down Pakistani airspace for India. A complete ban on Indian trade to Afghanistan through Pakistani land routes was also under discussion.

A federal cabinet meeting to discuss the proposals was called last week, and a formal decision in this regard was expected to be announced soon.

On August 5, India has revoked the constitutional autonomy of Indian-Occupied Kashmir and imposed a military curfew in the valley.

The valley which remains cut off from the rest of the world due to the continued blockade and suspension of internet, mobile and landline phones and closure of TV channels.

A humanitarian crisis has been looming in the valley as people face acute shortage of food, medicines and other commodities. Patients are even being denied life-saving medical care, suggest reports.