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US starts vacating Pakistani airbase
Sunday December 04, 2011 08:51:54 PM,
IANS
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Islamabad: The US
Sunday began to pull out from the Shamsi airbase that had been
used to launch drone attacks, a move that came after Pakistan told
America to leave over a NATO airstrike that left 24 soldiers dead.
A US aircraft landed at the Shamsi airbase to bring back American
officials deployed there, Geo News reported.
There was tight security in the area and locals were told not to
leave their homes. The road leading towards the airport had been
sealed.
Dawn quoted sources as saying the process of shifting US nationals
into the aircraft had begun.
Pakistan had set a Dec 11 deadline for the US to vacate the
airbase.
NATO helicopter gunships had targeted two border posts in Mohmand
Agency Nov 26, killing two dozen soldiers and sparking outrage in
the country.
Islamabad has since stopped the passage of NATO supplies through
the country to protest the NATO attack.
It has also decided against attending the Dec 5 Bonn Conference on
the future of Afghanistan.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said Wednesday: "The US will
vacate the airbase by Dec 11."
The US has been using the airbase for nearly a decade for military
operations in Afghanistan and drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal
regions.
In a telephone call Saturday, US Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton had told Gilani that America has the highest regard for
Pakistan's sovereignty.
Clinton conveyed her personal condolences on the death of
Pakistani soldiers.
She said the attack was not intentional and that "we must wait for
the outcome of the investigation".
She added that this incident should not be allowed to jeopardise
the bilateral relationship as both countries have common
interests.
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