Pakistan’s Blow to America

Relations between Pakistan and America seem to be souring on the anti-terrorist campaign in tribal areas of Pakistan. Pakistan told America to vacate the airbase located in the tribal areas from which drone attacks are being carried out. This is exactly where America has prepared the operation that intends to completely destroy al-Qaida’s presence in these areas.

According to an American administration senior official, action is necessary in the areas along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in order to stop al-Qaida from further building refuges there. Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism John Brennan said that the U.S. aims “to render the heart of al-Qaida incapable of launching attacks against our homeland, our citizens, or our allies.” It is believed that al-Qaida and its allied terror groups are located in the very tribal areas along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border where Pakistan’s airbase, now off limits to the U.S., is located. There is expected to be tension between the two countries over this issue.

Use of the Airbase Prohibited

Pakistan told the U.S. to terminate its use of the airbase located in the Registani areas. It is believed that the CIA has been carrying out drone attacks inside Pakistani borders from the airbase. The Pakistani newspaper Dawn has reported that the Shamsi Airbase, located in Baluchistan, would be vacated as soon as Ghazi airbase, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, was handed over to the Pakistani Air Force.

Pakistani Defense Minister Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar said that they have told American officials to leave the Shamsi Airbase. The minister said that the U.S. asked for some time to move equipment out of the airbase. Mukhtar has smartly stated that this means that after bin Laden was killed, relations between the two countries have become tense and Pakistan is trying to restrict American activity on its territory.

The defense minister reiterated that relations between Pakistan and the U.S. have become distant after the killing of bin Laden by American commandos in Abbottabad the night of May 2. This happened because the U.S. stopped the amount of continual aid money to Pakistan for the war on terrorism. The U.S. said that when they attacked bin Laden’s hideout, they did not try to involve Pakistan; they even kept their principal ally, Britain, in the dark on this matter.

Mukhtar said that Pakistan is not in a state of war with the U.S. but that they will have to reconsider their relations with the country. He said that since the U.S. stopped economic aid, Pakistan has been fighting the war against terrorism with limited resources. Because of this, fighting this war for a long time will become difficult for Pakistan. The Pakistani defense minister said that Sen. John Kerry was the first American leader to tour Pakistan after bin Laden’s death and assure Pakistan that there was no danger to its nuclear resources from the U.S.

America Doesn’t Question Its Intentions

Meanwhile, a senior official of the Pakistani army rejected the claims of an American military commander that their army was less capable or committed to fighting terrorists. Inter Services Public Relations spokesperson Major General Athar Abbas said, “Before questioning our intentions in the war on terrorism, surely our interests and borders must be considered.” Pakistani officials have been saying that their armies are totally ready to initiate the new campaign against terrorism and that they have received considerable help on such campaigns in the past.