Pakistan will not hand over its military or air bases to the United States,nor will it allow it to launch airstrikes within Pakistan, according to ForeignMinister Shah Mahmood Qureshi link.
After sending Pakistan’s policy statement on the Israel-Palestineconflicts, the foreign minister Qureshi said this as he wrapped up hisspeech in Parliament on Tuesday.In response to recent media reports based on a US official’s statement, theminister said that Pakistan, under Prime Minister Imran Khan’s leadership,would never offer its bases to the US.
After a Pentagon official said Pakistan had permitted the US military touse its airspace and provided land access to sustain its presence inAfghanistan, the remarks were made.
Islamabad, according to Qureshi, would never allow drone attacks withinPakistan.
“I want to assure the House that Pakistan is in safe hands,” he remarked.
Responding to the concerns of a senator, the foreign minister Qureshi said,“Because what we were fearing and we still fear and are concerned that avacuum created in Afghanistan can drag or suck the country back into thedecade of 1990s”.
Since the US planned to leave the country by September 11, the ministerclarified, Pakistan will continue to play a role as a mediator in thedispute to maintain stability in Afghanistan.
On the Palestinian question, the minister said that the first target of atruce had been met, but that the UN Secretary-General had been urged toplay a part in finding a definitive solution to the problem in order toensure a lasting settlement in the Middle East.
The foreign minister’s clarification comes in response to a briefing byAssistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Affairs, David F Helvey,who informed US lawmakers a few days ago that Pakistan will continue toprovide air and land access to the US.
Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a Democrat, asked him about his“assessment of Pakistan” and its intelligence services, as well as the partthey are likely to play in the future.
“Pakistan has played an important role in Afghanistan. They supported theAfghan peace process. Pakistan also has allowed us to have overflight andaccess to be able to support our military presence in Afghanistan,” Helveyhad said.
He said that the US would continue to speak with Pakistan because of itshelp and commitment to Afghanistan’s future.
According to diplomatic sources quoted by Dawn, Pakistan has alwayspermitted overflights and land access to the US to promote its militaryinvolvement in Afghanistan and will continue to do so.
In response to another question by Senator Manchin about how the USadministration would ensure that terrorists do not return to Afghanistan,Helvey had said: “We will have to work with our local and regionalpartners, and we want to continue developing those capabilities and thosepartnerships to be able to ensure that we have the right of framework toaddress the threats.”Source:link