10 June 2021, Islamabad: Pakistan has refused to allow the US military to use its military bases. ‘There is no notion of handing the US bases to watch Afghanistan when the soldiers go,’ says H.E Shah Mahmood Qureshi. Qureshi was replying to a New York Times report quoting American officials as saying that “Pakistan wants to allow the USA access to a base as long as it can control how it is used,” and that “public opinion in the nation has been vehemently against any resumed presence by the US.” Negotiations with Pakistan, according to some American officials, have reached a stalemate for the time being. Others have stated that the option is still on the table and that a deal is conceivable, according to the US daily.
CIA Director William J. Burns paid an unannounced visit to Pakistan in recent weeks when he spoke with the country’s military and intelligence leadership. So far, though, there has been no official word from Islamabad. Last month, Foreign Minister has shared with Pakistan’s upper body of parliament, the Senate, that no American installation will be built on Pakistani land. “We will not authorize the use of drones for kinetic purposes, and we have no interest in monitoring your drones. “This government has a very clear policy,” the top diplomat insisted. Following Pakistan’s refusal, the US is looking at establishing bases in Central Asia near the Afghan border. Russia, on the other hand, may resist this. Russia’s special ambassador to Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, stated last month that Central Asian neighbors Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will not allow Washington to build military outposts in their country.
