Pakistan denies presence of US military or air base in country

Islamabad [Pakistan], May 25 (ANI): Pakistan on late Monday denied the presence of any US military or air base in the country.
The information was shared by Foreign Office (FO) stating that any speculation is "baseless and irresponsible" and should be avoided, reported Dawn.
In a statement issued, FO spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudri said: "There is no US military or air base in Pakistan, nor was any such proposal envisaged. Any speculation on this account is baseless and irresponsible and should be avoided."
The spokesperson added that Pakistan and the US have a framework of cooperation in terms of Air Lines of Communication (ALOC) and Ground Lines of Communication (GLOC) in place since 2001.
"No new agreement has been made in this regard," he said.
The FO statement comes after a Pentagon official said that Pakistan had allowed the US military to use its airspace and given ground access so that it can support its presence in Afghanistan, reported Dawn.
David F Helvey, Assistant Secretary of Defence for Indo-Pacific Affairs, told the US Senate Armed Services Committee last week that the United States would continue its conversation with Pakistan because it had a critical role in restoring peace to Afghanistan.
The official was replying to a question from Senator Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, who asked him to "outline your assessment of Pakistan, and particularly of Pakistani intelligence agencies, and the role you expect them to play in our future", reported Dawn.
Diplomatic sources in Washington told Dawn that Pakistan had always allowed overflights and ground access to the US to facilitate its military presence in Afghanistan and would continue to do so.
Earlier in the hearing, Senator Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican, asked the Pentagon official what type of manned or unmanned capabilities the US would need in the region to prevent "terrorists from returning to Afghanistan".
"Things we cannot have in Afghanistan, such as overflights," said Helvey. He said that there were other assets that were not available in the region and the US has the capability to bring them into the region "on a regular basis".
Senator Manchin reminded him that with really no assets on the ground, Washington will have to rely on its regional partners to work with the US, reported Dawn.
"Are you confident of our regional partners and their capacity and commitment to drive terrorists out of the region?" he asked.
"We will have to work with our local and regional partners, and we want to continue developing those capabilities and those partnerships to be able to ensure that we have the right of framework to address the threats."
The US Defence Department, he said, was "working today" with its inter-agency colleagues on the right type of arrangements, relationships and frameworks to ensure that Afghanistan never again becomes a haven for terrorism. (ANI)