US Not Seeking Pakistani Bases, 'Nor Is it Possible,' Pakistani Officials Tell VOA

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has formally conveyed to the United States that Islamabad will not provide military bases to Washington for counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan after all international troops exit the war-torn country, and the U.S. side has stopped raising the issue, senior Pakistani officials said.

Several top Pakistani government officials, privy to a flurry of recent high-level bilateral talks, shared some details Tuesday of the discussions with VOA on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to publicly engage with media. “Yes, they [U.S. officials] have had conversations and we have told them we don’t want any terrorism whatsoever, but no bases possible. They have stopped raising bases issue with us,” said a Pakistani official, who deals with national security matters. Since U.S. President Joe Biden announced in mid-April that all American troops will be out of Afghanistan by September 11, his national security team has been reaching out to regional allies to arrange for military facilities needed to gather intelligence and carry out counterterrorism strikes if the turmoil-hit nation descends into another round of civil war after U.S. and NATO troops pull out.