Islamabad/Taipei, October 30, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Pakistan’s decision to briefly restrict Taiwanese airlines from using its airspace before restoring overflight permissions has drawn attention to the intersection of diplomatic policy, regional relations and international aviation, according to a report.
Earlier this week, Pakistan barred two Taiwanese airlines from accessing its airspace, reportedly in line with Beijing’s “One China” policy. However, the restrictions lasted only a few hours, with Islamabad subsequently restoring overflight rights for Taiwanese flights, reported Page3news, a multilingual international newspaper based in Thailand.
The development on Wednesday attracted attention as Pakistan became the first country reported to have imposed such restrictions on the two Taiwanese carriers before reversing its decision.
“Taiwan, meanwhile, raised concerns over the reported restrictions, suggesting that China could have influenced Islamabad’s decision. Taiwan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Chen Ming-chi described the move as one that could send a dangerous message to the international community. However, he did not present evidence to substantiate the suggestion of Chinese involvement,” the report stated.
Citing reports from various sources, Taipei Times reported that Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee said the Cabinet “deeply regretted” Pakistan’s brief closure of its airspace to Taiwanese airlines.
“We deeply regret Pakistan’s behavior, including pandering to China by compromising flight safety, disregarding international rules and reality, undermining our national sovereignty, and politicizing and weaponizing airspace,” Lee was quoted as saying by the newspaper during a Cabinet news conference this week.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s leading daily Dawn quoted Defence Minister Khawaja Asif as telling Bloomberg News that Islamabad had permitted only Chinese airlines to fly over Pakistani territory.
“The aviation division follows the ‘One China policy’ — only mainland China is allowed,” Asif said.
Citing flight-tracking data, the report said Taiwanese carriers rerouted their flights and did not fly over Pakistan between October 25 and 28.
According to Dawn, Taiwanese airlines China Airlines Ltd and Eva Airways Corp, which operated at least a dozen flights between Asia and Europe via Russian airspace during October 25–28, have now received permission from Pakistani authorities to operate flights from October 28, 2026, to March 27, 2027.
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