LAHORE– Islamabad has told Washington that it would not give military basesas Pakistan has to look after its own interests, Foreign Minister ShahMehmood Qureshi said Monday.
Qureshi, while responding to a US media report related to bases in theSouth Asian country for operations in Afghanistan, said ‘Pakistan hasrefused to give military bases to the United States, adding that incumbentgovernment has told all political parties that they have no intention toallow any US military base’.
Presenting the country’s response to the report of a leading Americannewspaper, he said it could be their wish but there no question of allowingthem to operate from Pakistan as we have to keep in mind our own interests,the PTI leader clarified.
Foreign Minister continued saying peace in Afghanistan is of paramountimportance for the region, but there are some elements who do not wantpeace. We want to see the peace process going forward along with thewithdrawal of troops. The world does not consider Pakistan part of theproblem anymore, he further added.
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On Monday, a report of the *New York Times* stated that the US continues tofocus on Pakistan for a military base in the region, although some Americanofficials believe the negotiations have reached an impasse for now.