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ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani aircraft carrying humanitarian aid to flood-ravaged Sri Lanka has been delayed for more than 60 hours awaiting flight clearance from India, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Monday. In an official statement, the Foreign Office reported that India issued partial clearance late Sunday after a 48-hour delay. However, the authorization was &quot;operationally impractical.&quot; The time-limited clearance was valid for only a few hours and did not include permission for the return flight. The foreign office said the restrictions were severely hindering relief efforts for Sri Lanka, where flooding has killed at least 355 people and displaced hundreds of thousands. India banned Pakistan-registered aircraft from its airspace on April 30, days after Pakistan closed its airspace to Indian carriers on April 24. The restrictions followed India&#39;s unilateral decision to withdraw from the Indus Waters Treaty and accused Pakistan of orchestrating an attack in Pahalgam, Indian-occupied Kashmir, without any evidence. Sri Lanka&rsquo;s flood crisis Sri Lanka is facing one of the region&#39;s worst flooding disasters in recent years. Heavy rains linked to Cyclone Ditwah caused the Kelani River to overflow, submerging large areas of Colombo and surrounding districts. Of Sri Lanka&#39;s 355 confirmed deaths, 257 occurred in the central tea-growing highlands, according to official figures. Another 366 people remain missing. Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has declared a state of emergency and pledged to rebuild with international support. Nearly 210,000 people are sheltering in relief camps, and another 1.15 million require assistance, according to government data. Water levels in Colombo have peaked and are expected to recede soon, authorities said.

Asia

India has delayed clearance for a Pakistani aid flight to flood-hit Sri Lanka, hindering relief efforts amid severe flooding on the island.

India blocking humanitarian flights to flood-hit Sri Lanka: Foreign Office

ANKARA/ROME: Some 137 activists detained by Israel for taking part in a flotilla seeking to deliver aid to Gaza arrived in Turkey on Saturday after being deported, with two alleging that Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg was mistreated during her detention. Israel did not immediately comment on the new allegations, but its foreign ministry earlier described reports that detainees had been mistreated as &ldquo;complete lies.&rdquo; The activists who landed at Istanbul Airport included 36 Turkish nationals, as well as citizens from the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Morocco, Italy, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Mauritania, Switzerland, Tunisia, and Jordan, according to Turkish Foreign Ministry sources. Thunberg &lsquo;treated terribly,&rsquo; activist allegesTwo of them, Hazwani Helmi, a Malaysian citizen, and Windfield Beaver, an American citizen, told Reuters at the airport that they had witnessed Thunberg being mistreated, saying she was shoved and forced to wear an Israeli flag. &ldquo;It was a disaster. They treated us like animals,&rdquo; said Helmi, 28, adding that detainees were not provided with clean food or water and that medication and belongings were confiscated. Beaver, 43, said Thunberg was &ldquo;treated terribly&rdquo; and &ldquo;used as propaganda,&rdquo; describing how she was pushed into a room as Israel&rsquo;s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir arrived. Israel has faced international condemnation after its military intercepted about 40 boats in a flotilla carrying aid to Gaza and detained more than 450 activists. Its foreign ministry wrote on X that all detained activists were &ldquo;safe and in good health,&rdquo; adding it was keen to complete the remaining deportations &ldquo;as quickly as possible.&rdquo; In a separate X post, it accused some flotilla members of &ldquo;deliberately obstructing&rdquo; the deportation process, without providing evidence. Reuters was unable to verify the allegation independently. Israel denies allegations of mistreatmentItaly&rsquo;s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said 26 Italians were on board the Turkish Airlines flight, with another 15 still held in Israel and set to be expelled over the next few days, along with activists from other nations. &ldquo;I have once again given instructions to the Italian Embassy in Tel Aviv to ensure that the remaining compatriots are treated with respect for their rights,&rdquo; Tajani wrote on X. A first group of Italians from the flotilla &mdash; four parliamentarians &mdash; arrived in Rome on Friday. &ldquo;Those who were acting legally were the people aboard those boats; those who acted illegally were those who prevented them from reaching Gaza,&rdquo; Arturo Scotto, one of the Italian lawmakers who took part in the mission, told a press conference in Rome. &ldquo;We were brutally stopped ... brutally taken hostage,&rdquo; said Benedetta Scuderi, another Italian parliamentarian. According to Adalah, an Israeli group offering legal assistance to flotilla members, some detainees were denied access to lawyers, water, medication, and toilets. They were also &ldquo;forced to kneel with their hands zip-tied for at least five hours after some participants chanted &lsquo;Free Palestine,&rsquo;&rdquo; Adalah said. Israel denied the allegations. &ldquo;All of Adalah&rsquo;s claims are complete lies. Of course, all detainees were given access to water, food, and restrooms; they were not denied access to legal counsel, and all their legal rights were fully upheld,&rdquo; a foreign ministry spokesperson told Reuters. The flotilla, which set sail in late August, marked the latest attempt by activists to challenge the Israeli naval blockade of the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, where Israel has been waging a war since the Palestinian militant group Hamas&rsquo;s deadly attack on Israel in October 2023. Israeli officials repeatedly denounced the mission as a stunt and warned it against violating a &ldquo;lawful naval blockade.&rdquo;

Halil Rifat Canakci of Turkey, one of the activists who were sailing aboard vessels from the Global Sumud Flotilla which were seized by Israeli forces, reacts after arriving at Istanbul Airport on a special flight, in Istanbul, Turkey, October 4, 2025. RE

Middle East

Europe

Some 137 activists detained by Israel arrive in Turkey after being deported, with two alleging that the Swedish campaigner was mistreated during her detention. Israel's foreign ministry describes reports that detainees had been mistreated as 'complete lies.'

Articles tagged with "Humanitarian Aid"

India blocking humanitarian flights to flood-hit Sri Lanka: Foreign Office

Freed activists allege Greta Thunberg mistreated in Israeli custody