SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2002
US looking for long-term base in Pakistan: Report
PTI
NEW DELHI: The United States, whose troops and equipment are already stationed in three Pakistani air bases, is pressuring Islamabad to allow long-term military presence in the region and seeking a military base near Dalbandin and Pasni in Baluchistan, media reports said.
"The US is believed to be eyeing the development of a military base in the vicinity of Dalbandin and Pasni .... close to Gwadar port which Pakistan is developing with Chinese cooperation," the Hong Kong based Asia Times reported.
Quoting diplomatic sources, it said the Pentagon was "aggresively pushing this proposal despite strong apprehensions, reservations and initial refusal by the Pakistani military establishment, which is willing to cooperate in all practical terms without doling out a permanent military base".
Military and economic cooperation between the US and Pakistan are believed to be the two major issues on which President Pervez Musharraf would hold discussions during his US visit starting February 12.
Pakistan has already provided Jacobabad, Pasni and Dalbandin air bases to US marines for "forward operational purposes", it said, adding "a large number of US B-52s (bombers), C-130s (transport aircraft) and helicopters are stationed in these bases and the US has installed an extended electronic and radar system covering most of the regional airspace at Dalbandin". Recently, the Pakistani regime "also allowed the use of Karachi International Airport for the arrival of military personnel, logistics and for other operations."
"The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has installed monitoring centres at major airports to check passengers," the article said, adding even Haj pilgrims were being "scrutinized on suspicion of being fleeing al Qaeda men".
FBI agents raided several Haj flights to Saudi Arabia along with Pakistan's Federal Investigation Authority personnel late January in search of Taliban and al Qaeda members, The Nation had reported recently.
The daily had said the FBI feared that some top al Qaeda and Taliban members might try to flee to Saudi Arabia taking advantage of the alleged mismanagement in the issuance of Haj visas and flight schedules.
"If Pakistan bows to US pressure, it would be the second time since 1963, when Field Marshal Ayub Khan, then military ruler, allowed the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to establish a base at Badaber, near Peshawar, for an electronic intelligence-gathering facility" which was mainly used for spying against the erstwhile Soviet Union and China till 1968.
"During the same period, the US army helped train the Special Services Group (SSG) of Pakistan and several joint operational exercises were conducted in the rugged terrain of Frontier and Balochistan provinces," it said.
The US "is also expected to push for a permanent base in Termez in Uzbekistan to extend its strategic outreach to the whole of Central Asia and counterbalance Russian and Chinese influence in the region", the article added.
Copyright © 2001 Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved