Indian Airlines is in all set to launch direct flights to Pakistan and use its airspace to fly to Kabul in the first week of January, airline officials said on Wednesday.

They said the airline planned to start at least two twice-weekly flights to Lahore and Karachi from Delhi and Mumbai respectively.

It has also planned to start two flights a week on the Delhi-Kabul-Delhi sector, including one via Amritsar.

The sources said these flights would be launched from the first week of January subject to airspace clearance and approvals from the ministries of defence, external affairs and civil aviation.

While a decision was yet to be taken on upgradation of the bilateral air services agreement between the two neighbours, it was not yet clear as to how many flights would be allowed to be operated by IA and how many shared by private domestic carriers, the officials said.

The decision to resume airlinks between the two countries from January 1 next was taken earlier this month between civil aviation representatives of India and Pakistan. The links were snapped in January 2002 after the terrorist attack on Parliament on December 13, 2002.