Pakistan Charged Modi for Using Airspace When He Attended Nawaz Sharif’s Birthday

Nobody travels for free, not even country leaders or Prime Ministers.

Times of India reports that Pakistan charged India a total of Rs. 286,000 as “route navigation charges” (for using Pakistani airspace) during Indian PM Modi’s international visits.

These charges were levied during his brief visit in Lahore, and while heading to Russia, Afghanistan, Iran and Qatar.

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Breakdown of International Visits

The data was collected by a former Indian officer Lokesh Batra, which he gathered using a formal application. It shows that until June 2016, Indian Air Force planes were used by the PM to visit 11 countries including:

• Pakistan
• Bhutan
• Qatar
• Bangladesh
• Iran
• Afghanistan
• Australia
• Russia
• Fiji
• Singapore
• Nepal

During one of these visits, he stopped by at Lahore in December 25th 2015, on a request from PM Nawaz. This was when PM Modi had completed his Russia and Afghanistan visits.

This cost India Rs. 149,000 (Indian Rupees), billed under Route Navigation Charges, according to records from Indian High Commission in Pakistan.

The Indian PM was heading home after visiting Afghanistan, at the end of his 2 day visit to Russia.

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Other Expenses

Here are the details about his other visits and the charges:

• IAF craft used to visit Iran during May 22nd-23rd 2016, Rs. 77,215
• Visited Qatar from June 4th to 6th 2016, Rs. 59,215.

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For these visits the IAF planes flew over Pakistani airspace. These records were part of data collected on PM Modi’s international visits using IAF aircrafts during 2014-2016.

The records show that around Rs. 200 million was spent on his visits.