ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan military on Friday said the country’s land or airspace had not been used in the US drone strike that killed al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri last week.
Zawahiri, considered the brains behind the militant outfit, was leading it after former al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was killed in a US military operation in Pakistan’s Abbottabad city in 2011.
Zawahiri was killed in a drone strike last Sunday at a safe house in Kabul, US officials said.
In response to speculations that the US drone flew from Pakistan’s airspace, Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar said on Thursday Pakistan had nothing to do with the episode. On Friday, the army said the same.
“I think the foreign office has clarified this comprehensively,” DG Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar said about the drone strike, speaking to Geo News. “There should be no doubt that Pakistan’s land was not used for any such activity.”
He said people should stay away from speculation on social media when it came to such matters, adding that it is unfortunate that people say whatever they want to on social media.
“Our enemy countries feed this [speculation and false information], they exploit it,” Iftikhar said.
“This [speculation] only harms our country and the nation,” he said, adding that there is no point in further discussing the topic when the foreign office has already issued its response.
