New Delhi/ Islamabad: The Pakistan high commission on Monday approached the Indian government over closure notice to Pakistan International Airlines properties in the Indian capital, officials said.
Pakistan foreign office spokesperson Tasneem Aslam said in Islamabad that PIA has been directed to initiate litigation over the property row.
India has asked PIA to shut its office in New Delhi, alleging that the property in Connaught Place was bought without the mandatory clearance of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
A Pakistani official said the move to close down the offices of PIA was “unfair” and would harm people-to-people contacts and business between the two countries.
He said many Pakistani patients used the airline to seek healthcare in India.
According to the Pakistani official, PIA purchased the property in 2005 and intimated it to RBI within 90 days, and that PIA had been paying taxes on the property.
Indian laws state that no national of Pakistan among some other countries can acquire or transfer immovable property in India other than lease, not exceeding five years without prior permission of the RBI. (IANS)
