Americans left Shamsi Airbase

[Musafar]

dont be crying later because we left

See you, hope you have enough soap to wash off all the innocent blood on your hands!

 

[Imran Khan]

dont be crying later because we left

we will cry for sure sir we must cry but tears of happy nation

 

[mr42O]

dont be crying later because we left

Why i am not suprised u dont have any shame for killing civilians ? Beta ur time will come soon just wait and watch

 

[SpArK]

U.S. departs Pakistan base, source says
​

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- U.S. military personnel have left a southern base in Pakistan said to be a key hub for American drone operations in the country's northwestern tribal areas, a senior Pakistani intelligence official told CNN on Friday.

Drones are said to take off and get refueled for operations against Islamic militants from the Shamsi Air Base in Pakistan's Balochistan province.
News of a possible U.S. departure comes amid a public furor over American drone attacks, which have killed civilians.

A suspected U.S. drone strike Friday in the Pakistani tribal region killed 25 people, including eight civilians and 17 militants, a Pakistani intelligence source said. Another one on March 17 killed 44, mostly civilians.

Another senior Pakistani intelligence official, who did not want to be identified discussing a sensitive issue, confirmed Americans had been using the base as a center of operations for launching drone strikes. He was not able to confirm if the Americans had left.

The first official said that American personnel were no longer operating out of the base, but he could not say whether they had left voluntarily or at the request of the Pakistani government.


The operation of the base -- which the U.S. government has not publicly acknowledged -- has always been presumed to have occurred with tacit Pakistani military consent.


It was not clear from the Pakistani officials when the presence there began or when it ended.

A U.S. military official who did not want to be identified told CNN: "There are no U.S. forces at Shamsi Air Base in Balochistan." He did not respond at the time or in writing to queries as to whether U.S. personnel had been based there in the past.


The departure of American personnel -- if confirmed -- would be significant because of increasing strain between Islamabad and Washington sparked by the drone attacks and the Raymond Davis affair in which a CIA contractor fatally shot two Pakistani men in a Lahore neighborhood.


It has always been unclear how many drone bases the United States operates in or near Pakistan. But Friday's attack in North Waziristan that killed 25 people would indicate the United States maintains the capability to strike tribal areas with drones.

Carl Forsberg, research analyst at the Institute for the Study of War think tank, said he doesn't think such a move would affect the effort using drones to target the Haqqani Network and other militant groups holed up in the tribal region.


Many strikes have been conducted from closer bases, such as those across the Pakistani border in eastern Afghan provinces. He said Pakistanis could be making such a move to appease a populace angry at the United States.


The southern air base, he said, doesn't appear to be integral to the tribal area fight and is probably a supporting base.

"It's not like the Pakistanis shut down the program," he said. "It's possible they want to do this as a means of pre-empting drone strikes in Balochistan," where there is a Taliban presence.

"The United States has an interest in going after the Taliban in Balochistan," he said, and in an ideal world the United States would like to target Taliban sanctuaries in that region with drones.

Also, he said, it's possible the Pakistanis are using pressure on the United States to offset any U.S. pressure on them.

He said it's no coincidence that the development emerged after Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited Islamabad.


In an interview that aired Wednesday on Pakistan's Geo TV, Mullen spoke forcefully about the Haqqani Network, saying it "specifically facilitates and supports the Taliban who move in Afghanistan, and they're killing Americans."

"I can't accept that and I will do everything I possibly can to prevent that specifically," he said.
Mullen said Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence "has a longstanding relationship with the Haqqani Network. That doesn't mean everybody in the ISI, but it's there."

"I also have an understanding that the ISI and the (Pakistani military) exist to protect their own citizens, and there's a way they have done that for a long period of time," Mullen said. "I believe that over time, that's got to change."

A senior Pakistani intelligence official responded by saying, "We do have a relationship: that of an adversary."

"We have made our resolve very clear that (the Haqqani Network) is an enemy we need to fight together," said the official, who did not want to be identified discussing intelligence matters.

The Pakistani intelligence official told CNN that "we have our hands full" fighting other Islamist militant groups along the border with Afghanistan, notably those under the umbrella of the Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, "and once we are through with them we can turn on the other (the Haqqanis). We do not have the capacity to undertake simultaneous operations."


The official said the "onus of providing proof of this" relationship was on the Americans and it was not up to the ISI "to start providing clarification."
Asked if offense was taken from Mullen's remarks, the intelligence official said: "Not personally, no."
In Friday's attack, a drone fired five missiles on a hideout in Mir Ali of North Waziristan, one of the seven districts of Pakistan's volatile tribal region bordering Afghanistan, two intelligence officials said.


The officials said the militants, who were staying in the hideout, were planning to move into Afghanistan for an attack against coalition forces.
The militants were local Taliban members from Orakzai agency, another district of Pakistan's tribal region, who were trained for war, the officials said. The intelligence officials asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
But the attack also killed at least three women when one of the missiles hit a house next to the targeted compound, officials said. The Pakistani intelligence source identified the slain civilians as five women and three children.
Friday's drone strike was the 20th this year, compared with 111 in all of 2010, based on a CNN tally.
The strike comes two days after Pakistan issued a strongly worded statement condemning deadly suspected U.S. drone strikes in the country's tribal region.
"Drone attacks have become a core irritant in the counterterror campaign," a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday. "We have repeatedly said that such attacks are counterproductive and only contribute to strengthen the hands of the terrorists."

U.S. departs Pakistan base, source says - CNN.com

 

[P.kid]

and who are those 1% just give me there names so i finish them before US leave .eheehh

Sir, you have made my day!

 

[Omar1984]

U.S. departs Pakistan base, source says
​

Even in the most eastern city of Pakistan (Multan) people are angry at U.S. for what they are doing in FATA.

All Pakistanis are united against U.S. drone strikes in FATA.

 

[jahangeer yousaf]

Even in the most eastern city of Pakistan (Multan) people are angry at U.S. for what they are doing in FATA.

All Pakistanis are united against U.S. drone strikes in FATA.

but our army our govt our airforce i feel shame for them ..... they cannot do anything pity arm force curse you

 

[foxhound]

ref:US halts operations from Shamsi Air Base

US halts operations from Shamsi Air Base Updated at 07:22 PST Saturday, April 23, 2011

WASHINGTON: An American TV has claimed that US had halted all operations from the Shamsi Air Base in Balochistan, an airport which was given to American forces for use after 9/11 and drone attacks were launched from the base on targets in the tribal areas.

A senior Pakistani intelligence official told the US TV that U.S. military personnel have left the base said to be a key hub for American drone operations in the country's northwestern tribal areas.

It is the Shamsi Air Base in Balochistan province, from which drones are said to take off and where they are refueled for operations against militants.

Another senior Pakistani intelligence official, who did not want to be identified discussing a sensitive issue, confirmed that the Americans had been using the base as a center of operations for launching drone strikes. He was not able to confirm the Americans had left.

While the first official was able to confirm that American personnel were no longer operating out of the base, he could not say whether they had left voluntarily or at the request of the Pakistani government.

It was not clear from the Pakistani officials when the presence there began or when it ended.


ref:Pakistan urges US to review drone policy | Newspaper | DAWN.COM

Pakistan urges US to review drone policyBy Anwar Iqbal | From the Newspaper

(9 hours ago) TodayForeign Secretary Salman Bashir and US Special Envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan Marc Grossman addressing a joint press conference after meeting at Embassy of Pakistan on Friday. – Photo by APP
WASHINGTON: The United States needed to review its drone policy as attacks by these unmanned aircraft had become counter-productive, Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir said on Friday.

Mr Bashir made this observation at a joint briefing with US Special Representative Mark Grossman who declined to comment on the issue when reminded that a new drone attack had killed 26 people in Pakistan.

The United States refuses to acknowledge the drone attacks that have killed hundreds of people in the tribal region, causing Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani to issue a rare statement condemning the strikes.

In the US, the drones were seen as an important counter-terrorism tool but “that’s not exactly the way we look at it”, Mr Bashir said. “The people of Pakistan consider these attacks – and the casualties that occur – as a source of concern,” he said.

“This particular methodology is counter-productive and needs a review.”

Ambassador Grossman, who would not directly address the issue, assured Pakistan that “all efforts against terrorism are designed to make life safer for Pakistanis and Americans”.

The two diplomats, who came to the briefing after the morning session of their two-day talks aimed at paving the way for a strategic dialogue in Islamabad next month, emphasised that both countries had a genuine desire to further strengthen their ties.

On Friday, US and American delegations moved to the Pakistan Embassy from the State Department, where first day’s talks were held, as a gesture to signal America’s willingness to come to Pakistan’s turf for the talks.

“It is not necessary that we see eye to eye on every issue,” Mr Bashir said who, like Mr Grossman, noted that both sides were willing to move forward and build a stronger relationship.

He described two days of talks as “cordial, constructive and engaging”.

Mr Grossman, who began his statement with a strong condemnation of a terrorist attack that killed a number of Pakistani soldiers, said: “We want a strong strategic relationship with Pakistan”, which helps both nations. “Pakistan values its relations with the United States,” Secretary Bashir assured him. “We had satisfying discussions and have agreed to give a new momentum to relations in the coming weeks.”

The foreign secretary hoped that Ambassador Grossman’s visit to Pakistan next week and Secretary Hillary Clinton’s possible visit in May for the next round of strategic dialogue would further strengthen these ties.

“My visit to Pakistan next week will show an effort to have a relationship that is strategic, long-term and mutually beneficial,” Mr Grossman responded.

Mr Bashir noted that there were “going to be ups and downs” but both sides wanted to make sure that no misunderstanding derailed this relationship.

Mr Grossman reiterated the Obama administration’s commitment to the people of Pakistan and their economic development and acknowledged the sacrifices the Pakistani people and its armed forces had made in the fight against terrorism.

The US, he pledged, would continue to enhance the capacity of Pakistani forces to deal with the extremists.

Explaining the differences between Pakistan and the United States on certain issues, Secretary Bashir noted that while Washington had a global approach, Islamabad had a regional perspective.

This refers to Pakistan’s concerns that a solution in Afghanistan that gives India a greater say in Kabul’s affairs, could harm Islamabad’s interests. “Pakistan national interests have to find a better understanding,” Mr Bashir said.

Both Mr Grossman and Mr Bashir, however, insisted that any solution to the Afghan issue should be “Afghan owned and Afghan-led”.

Pakistan would play the role of a facilitator and supporter in the Afghan-led process, he said. However, Mr Bashir also underscored the importance of proceeding with “greater interaction and greater clarity … both in form and substance” in seeking a solution to the Afghan problem.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s visit to Kabul last week, he said, reflected Pakistan’s desire to play a supportive role.

Mr Grossman also welcomed the prime minister’s visit to Kabul, saying that the statements emanating from the meeting were “extremely positive”.

The US envoy, like Mr Bashir, also stressed that it was for the Afghans – and not for the United States or Pakistan – to lead the reconciliation process.