Sher Afzal Khan Marwat is a Pakistani politician who is a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan since 29 February 2024, has claimed that the country has handed over two airbases in Balochistan near the borders of Afghanistan and Iran to the United States.
Marwat, a member of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, criticized the foreign policy of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government on Wednesday, April 17th.
Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, Marwat told reporters, “As far as we know, Pakistan has given its two airbases in Balochistan near the borders of Iran and Afghanistan to the Americans.”
Marwat is one of the key leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party led by Imran Khan. He said on Wednesday, concurrently with the visit of Faisal bin Farhan, the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia to Islamabad, that Saudi Arabia is “an agent of America” and has cooperated with America in sidelining Imran Khan from the premiership of Pakistan.
Following his remarks, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party stated that these remarks are not the position of the party and are his personal opinion.
However, the transfer of airbases to the United States in recent years has been controversial in Pakistan. Following the US attack on Afghanistan, Pakistan handed over its airbases, including the Shamsi airbase in Balochistan, to US forces, which used them in the war against the Taliban, but later the US evacuated the base.
With the imminent withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, the issue of US use of Pakistani airbases has once again heated up. At that time, the government of Imran Khan refrained from handing over the base to the United States.
Observers believe that this issue was one of the reasons for the tension in the relationship between Imran Khan and the United States. Following Imran Khan’s removal from power, once again supporters of this party have accused Sharif’s government of colluding with America.
Pakistani airbases are crucial for the US due to its absence in Afghanistan. Concerns include terrorist groups like ISIS and activities in Iran.
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