ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani foreign office said on Monday there were no United States military or air bases in Pakistan, and neither was the country considering building any such bases.
The spokesman for the foreign office was responding to media queries.
“There was no US military or air base in Pakistan; nor was any such proposal envisaged,” the statement said. “Any speculation on this account was baseless and irresponsible and should be avoided.”
“Pakistan and the US have a framework of cooperation in terms of Air Lines of Communication (ALOC) and Ground Lines of Communication (GLOC) in place since 2001,” the statement added. “No new agreement has been made in this regard.“
The Pakistan foreign minister had said earlier this month the country would not provide air bases to the US after troop withdrawal from neighboring Afghanistan, vowing to protect the nation’s interests and support the Afghan peace process.
“No. We don’t intend to allow boots on the ground here, and Pakistan isn’t transferring any base [to the US],” Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told a press conference in Islamabad.
