Badaber to Shamsi!
Brig (Retd) Farooq Hameed Khan
Who is deceiving whom? Whom should Pakistanis believe? Conflicting statements by Pakistani leadership and US officials have added to the confusion and deepened the mystery surrounding Shamsi airbase. While Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar announced that the US had been asked to vacate the base, US officials were quick to respond ,"that base is neither vacated nor being vacated," and that no formal request was received from Pakistani authorities to evacuate the Shamsi air base.
The Defence Minister was surely embarrassed when Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan asserted that the government was unaware of any issue relating to the base, saying, "No such matter ever came under consideration in the Defence Committee of the Cabinet (DCC) of which I am also a member."
The Washington Post recently reported that the US had halted drone strikes from Shamsi three months ago after the Raymond Davis dispute and all attacks since then were launched from bases in Afghanistan. While The Post also disclosed that US personnel and Predator drones still remain at Shamsi, the US State Department stated that it was not aware if the United States still had military personnel at Shamsi air base.
So few questions come up. Has US military really left Shamsi? If CIA is now conducting drone strikes from Afghanistan , then why are US /CIA and their drones still present at Shamsi? Is Shamsi being used by CIA for drone reconnaissance missions?
Shamsi was reportedly built by Arab sheikhs for falcon hunting trips in early nineties., but has been occupied by the CIA since at least 2004, when Google Earth images showed Predator drones parked on the runway. The base infrastructure has been expanded with new constructions like aircraft hangars coming up in last few years.
If there is one truth about Shamsi, it is PAF's startling revelation in the 13th May in- camera joint parliament session that this airbase was under UAE Government's authority and not under PAF's control. If Shamsi is a 'no go' area for PAF and out of Pakistan's jurisdiction, then question arises, who owns Shamsi airbase, UAE or Pakistan?
The nation has a right to know the truth about the terms and conditions of any lease or permanent transfer agreement between Governments of Pakistan and UAE to determine the ownership status of Shamsi air base. Aspects of the agreement related to duration of lease, security responsibility and degree of Pakistani government's control are important from Pakistan's point of view. Furthermore can UAE sublet this base to a foreign power?
If Shamsi air base was constructed by UAE Government and remains their property , then under which Article of Pakistan's Constitution or law has such an agreement or transaction taken place? Which Pakistani government or parliament approved the Shamsi deal with UAE? How all this happened in a 'sovereign' state is beyond comprehension.
The US occupation of Shamsi air base reminds us of the infamous American facility established in Badaber known as Peshawar Air Station, 16 km from Peshawar, that was a cover for a major communications intercept operation run by the United States National Security Agency . Because of its proximity to Soviet central Asia, the Badaber base enabled the US to monitor Soviet ballistic missiles and nuclear test sites, key infrastructure and communications.
The U-2 high altitude"spy-in-the-sky" plane was allowed to operate from Peshawar air base to gain vital photo intelligence in an era before satellite observation. US President Eisenhower reportedly also authorized few U- 2 flights from Lahore airbase in 1957. These spy flights were suspended after a U-2 aircraft piloted by Gary Powers , that took off from Peshawar was shot down over Soviet Union on first May 1960.
Peshawar Air Station was established under a ten year agreement between USA and Government of Pakistan in July 1958. Known as 'Little USA', Badaber base's complete infrastructure including technical facilities, residential accommodation, sports facilities etc were constructed by US government. The US ultimately vacated Badaber base in July 1970 after failure of US efforts to get the agreement renewed amidst increased anti US public sentiments after the post 1965 Indo- Pak war US arms embargo on Pakistan.
If the then military led Government of Pakistan could get the Badaber spy base vacated by US in 1970 , then why cannot the current democratic leadership show the political will and courage to formally ask US to leave Shamsi air base? With the US drawing down its forces from Afghanistan , there remains no US justification to keep occupying Shamsi.
What strategic advantages does US derive from Shamsi? This airfield provides a discreet launch pad , 200 miles south west of Quetta , where the US believes hides the Afghan Taliban shura . Shamsi lies about 100 miles south of the Afghan border overlooking Taliban infiltration routes into Afghanistan and 100 miles east of the Iranian border enabling US to conduct covert intelligence missions into Iran. But most importantly, Shamsi is not too far from Pakistan's nuclear testing sites in Chagai mountain ranges. Few hundred kilometers in the south lies the Balochistan coast, and off its shores remains stationed a US Naval and amphibious landing force!
Like the drones , Shamsi may soon become a leading national issue that would fuel more anti Americanism. What options does Pakistan have if the superpower refuses to vacate Shamsi? Trilateral negotiations between the key players(Pak-US-UAE) at the political and diplomatic level should take priority. Pakistan could withdraw any external security or logistics support provided to Shamsi air base. In search of real truth, Pakistani media should be granted access to the base to verify the ground realities.
Would the US be able to withstand Pakistani public pressure to vacate Shamsi? Like Badaber, it ultimately would have no choice but to respect the demand of the Pakistani nation. Shamsi has been a dark chapter of deceit and deception in our history. After the US exit, a memorial at this air base be dedicated to those countless Pakistanis who became bloody victims of indiscriminate drone attacks in a needless and senseless war under a shameless and complicit leadership.
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