New Delhi: Pakistan has declined an Indian proposal for allowing private airlines, Jet Airways and Air Sahara, to fly to that country.

Instead Islamabad has expressed preference to consolidate the air services now being operated by the national carriers of the two countries, Indian Airlines and Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), official sources said.

Earlier, Jet and Sahara had approached Government for facilitating their flights to the Western neighbour and the request was sent by the External Affairs Ministry to Islamabad a few months ago.

The Pakistani Civil Aviation authorities grounded the proposal on the plea that the two countries should first consolidate their existing services and later discuss the issue of according "designated carrier" status to the private airlines, the sources said.

The sources said the Pakistani decision may have been prompted by fears of Indian carriers walking away with the majority of the traffic between the two countries at the cost of its national carrier PIA.