India has no land route to Central Asia.

Every India-to-Tashkent trade corridor currently transits Iranian ports strained by war.

Pakistan blocks the direct path, so India’s push here competes with China’s rail links and Russia’s security ties.

Modi’s four-day tour of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan yielded a friendship medal but no transit deal.

How each outlet framed it

drawn from 250+ reports worldwide · These outlets told this story very differently.

Hindustan Times
maps the geopolitical constraint: Indian PM aircraft must detour through Chinese airspace since Pakistan blocks Indian flights
NDTV

Sources: Hindustan Times, NDTV, India.com