Pakistan has imposed time-bound restrictions on civilian air traffic in parts of its airspace amid military activity linked to the conflict with Afghanistan.

The Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) on Monday said it had issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) closing certain routes within the Karachi and Lahore Flight Information Regions (FIRs) at specific hours.

“The PAA on Monday issued a NOTAM announcing the closure of certain routes within the Karachi and Lahore Flight Information Regions (FIRs) at specific times,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

“The decision has been taken due to expected military exercises involving fighter jets of the Pakistan Air Force, during which various sectors of the Karachi and Lahore FIRs will be closed to commercial flights,” he said.

As per the notification, the routes will remain unavailable for commercial operations from March 3 to March 31, between 9 am and 3 pm daily.

“During these hours, the affected airspace will not be available for civilian flight operations,” the spokesperson said. The move comes as Pakistan remains engaged in a war with Afghanistan, which Islamabad says began on February 27.

Federal information minister Attaullah Tarar said Pakistan launched Operation Ghazab lil-Haq against the Afghan Taliban after “unprovoked firing” from across the border last week.

“Pakistan’s armed forces have destroyed 182 Afghan Taliban posts and captured 31, and 415 Afghan Taliban personnel have been killed and over 580 injured since the start of the operation so far,” he said on Monday.

The temporary airspace closures are expected to impact flight schedules during the restricted hours, with airlines likely to take alternate routes.