The Hindu : `No U.S. move to leave Pak. airbases'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 23, 2002

International

International

`No U.S. move to leave Pak. airbases'

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD OCT. 22. The contract of the United States for use of airbases in Pakistan, as part of the `logistic support' for the ongoing war against terrorism, is to expire on November 15 and so far the U.S. authorities have not intimated Islamabad on any plans to withdraw from the bases in Pakistan.

The Pakistan Interior Minister, Moinuddin Haider, has been quoted as saying by a local news agency, NNI, that "withdrawal of the U.S. authorities from the air bases being used for the logistic support in a war against terrorism since October last year, has not been discussed at any forum. That means that there is no such move at present''.

The remarks made by Lt. Gen. (retd.) Haider to the NNI assume significance in the context of the demand made by the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), an alliance of six religious parties, for vacation of the airbases by the U.S.

The Minister was at pains to emphasise that there was not a single `military base' of the U.S. or any member of the U.S.-led international coalition, including Britain, in Pakistan for operations against terrorism. He told the news agency that Pakistan has provided some airbases to the U.S.-led coalition force for `logistic' support only.

Right from the time (some time after the U.S. began military operations in Afghanistan on October 7 last year) Islamabad has sought to emphasise that its cooperation with the U.S.-led coalition vis-à-vis operations in Afghanistan was confined to `intelligence-sharing and logistics support'.

In response to criticism particularly from the religious parties on the nature of cooperation with the U.S. in its Afghan operations, the Musharraf regime has repeatedly harped on the theme that it has nothing to do with the U.S. military operations and Pakistani forces would never be part of any such operations.

``The U.S. and other members of the coalition force including Britain have been using some areas of Pakistan for the logistic support of their troops in Afghanistan and withdrawal of the logistic support by the British government is a big economic loss to Pakistan,'' he conceded.

His reference was to the decision of the United Kingdom to vacate part of the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi it was using as a base for logistic support for operations in Afghanistan. The U.K. had signed the contract with the Pakistan Government on behalf of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). The contingent of Britain led the first batch of the ISAF and now it is under the command of Turkey. The ISAF contract for use of part of Karachi airport as a base would expire in the second week of November and the U.K. has decided to wind up the operations from the port city.

The Minister told the news agency that "there was a supply base (in Karachi) of the Royal Marines which was providing the logistical support to the troops in the ongoing war against terrorism in Afghanistan.

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