Web Desk (LTN NEWS): Saturday, Fawad Chaudhry, a leader of the PTI, said that the “question” was not whether or not Pakistan’s land was used in the US drone attack that killed Al Qaeda leader Ayman Al Zawahiri, but rather whether or not Pakistan’s airspace was used. He also asked for a formal statement from the government.
The former minister may have been talking about what Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Babar Iftikhar said about the issue recently. In a short phone interview, the DG ISPR said there was no chance that Pakistani soil would be used for “such a purpose.”
Chaudhry wrote in a tweet today, “The question is whether Pakistan’s airspace was used or not.”
“Repeated statements about Pakistan’s land not being used are confusing,” Chaudhry said, adding that the relevant ministries would have to make a formal statement on the matter.
Yesterday, at a press conference, Chaudhry asked if the US had used Pakistan’s air space for the recent drone strike that killed Zawahiri. “The country wants to know if we’re going to be used by the US against Al Qaeda again,” he said.
When the DG ISPR was asked about the situation he said, “The Foreign Office has explained it in detail.” All of them are lies because anyone can say anything on social media. This should not happen. Our enemy, in particular, spreads this kind of information, and people are used because of it.”
Sunday morning, the United States used a drone strike in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, to kill Zawahiri, an Egyptian surgeon who had a $25 million price on his head for helping to plan the September 11, 2001 attacks that killed almost 3,000 people.
As soon as the news came out, a number of PTI leaders asked what Pakistan’s role was in the attack, which led the ISPR to explain.
In an interview with Express News earlier this week, former Prime Minister Imran Khan said that “giving America airspace” could hurt Afghanistan’s relationships.
“If we give them space and the U.S. attacks Afghanistan with a drone, it will affect our tribal areas.”Do we want to join someone else’s war in the middle of all these problems?” he had asked.
