Amid India-Pakistan Tensions, Flights Suspended to Gilgit-Baltistan

Gilgit, Pakistan-Administered Kashmir – Aviation authorities in Pakistan have suspended all scheduled flights to and from Gilgit-Baltistan for three days amid rising military tensions between India and Pakistan. The move has effectively sealed off the only operational civilian airport in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, leaving the region’s residents cut off from the rest of the country and the world.

Authorities have cited “precautionary measures” for the sudden closure of airspace in the northern region, which sits at the crossroads of the contested Himalayan territory. The decision comes in the backdrop of intensifying military posturing along the Line of Control (LoC), raising fears of further escalation in an already volatile area.

A Region Left Isolated—Once Again

Gilgit Airport, though modest in scale, serves as a vital lifeline for the people of Gilgit-Baltistan, particularly during the spring and summer months when tourism, medical travel, and educational migration peak. The airport’s closure disproportionately affects civilians who rely on limited infrastructure in a mountainous region that remains severely underdeveloped and geographically isolated.

With no railway connectivity and treacherous road conditions that can make travel nearly impossible during seasonal shifts, the closure of air routes is not just an inconvenience — it is a suspension of basic mobility and access to essential services.

Kashmiri Voices Call Out Militarization of Civilian Life

In a strongly worded statement, veteran nationalist leader Baba Jan — a prominent figure in Gilgit-Baltistan’s pro-Kashmiri rights movement — condemned both India and Pakistan for treating disputed territories as battlegrounds in their ongoing rivalry.

“Gilgit-Baltistan is not a military buffer zone. It is home to millions of people with rights, dreams, and dignity,” Baba Jan said. “If India and Pakistan are determined to engage in conflict, they must do so within the bounds of their permanent, internationally recognized borders — not in our disputed homeland, where the people have already suffered enough.”

Baba Jan’s statement reflects a broader sentiment in the region, where many feel they are pawns in a geopolitical chess game between two nuclear-armed states. Over the years, civilians in Kashmir — on both sides of the LoC — have faced the brunt of cross-border firing, troop deployments, communications blackouts, and political disenfranchisement.

The Airport as a Symbol of Civic Aspiration

The Gilgit Airport’s symbolic value extends beyond travel. It is seen by many locals as a fragile link to the rest of Pakistan, but also as a potential gateway for broader international engagement. In a region that has long been kept politically marginalized, the airport stands as one of the few infrastructural assets representing a semblance of normalcy and inclusion.

Its closure, particularly without civilian consultation or parliamentary oversight, further fuels the perception that the people of Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir at large remain voiceless in decisions that directly impact their lives.

Need for a Demilitarized and Just Approach to Kashmir

This incident has reignited calls from nationalist Kashmiri groups and civil society organizations for a demilitarized, people-centered approach to the Kashmir issue. Analysts and peace advocates stress that long-term peace in South Asia cannot be achieved through troop build-ups and airspace closures, but only through inclusive political dialogue that centers the rights and aspirations of the Kashmiri people.

The international community, too often silent on the creeping militarization of civilian life in Kashmir, is being urged to take a more active stance. Human rights defenders argue that both India and Pakistan must be held accountable for policies that endanger non-combatants and suppress self-determination movements in the region.

As flights remain suspended and tensions simmer, the people of Gilgit-Baltistan are once again caught in the crosshairs of history. Their demand is clear: the disputed status of Kashmir should not be used as a justification to militarize civilian spaces or to deny the people their fundamental rights.

The airspace may reopen in a few days, but the deeper crisis — the denial of Kashmiri agency, sovereignty, and security — remains unresolved. Until that is addressed, such closures will remain not just logistical disruptions, but profound political statements about who controls the skies — and who is left grounded.