US wont leave Shamsi Air Base

shamsi air basePakistani officials had demanded American personnel to abandon a military base used by the CIA to stage drone strikes against suspected militants. The United States rejected this demand. United Personnel have not left SHAMSI AIR BASE. Pakistani officials have frequently suggested it is being shuttered and comments that may be aimed at quieting domestic opposition to US military operations using Pakistani soil.

Pakistan defense minister Ahmed Mukhtar said Islamabad had been pressuring the US to vacate the base even before the may 2 commando raid in which US navy SEAL commandos killed Osama Bin Laden. Another side of the story is the officials said no base in Pakistan was presently used by the American for drone operations. But he did not give a precise date for when drones supposedly stopped operating from Shamsi

On Wednesday, John Brennan; president Barack  Obama’s top counter terrorism advisor, promised that in the tribal regions along the Afghan –pak border the US would continue to deliver precise and overwhelming force against al-qaida. Pak officials have faced fierce criticisms for tacitly allowing the CIA to conduct drone operations on Pakistani soil. Allegations that civilian bystanders have been killed in drone attacks, have only compounded the political problems facing Pakistani authorities.

The United States officials have said that since the US in July  2008 greatly increased the rate of drone borne missile strikes against suspected militants along the Afghan/Pak border, the number of civilian death caused by such attacks has totaled under 40. Some Pak officials and human activists have claimed the death toll is much higher…

Now this looks like the United States under Barack Obama is determined to clean up terrorism from Pakistan and Pakistan doesn’t seem to let that happen

US wont leave Shamsi Air Base

Report by Asha Mathew