Pakistan admits Iranian jets parked at its airbase, offers vague defence

Islamabad connected Tuesday acknowledged the beingness of Iranian subject craft successful Pakistan, but described a US media study connected the substance arsenic “misleading.”Also Read | Despite mediating successful US-Iran war, Pakistan allowed Iranian craft usage its airbases to debar American strikes: ReportIn a statement, Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FO) said that the craft had arrived during the US-Iran ceasefire play pursuing the archetypal circular of bid talks and had “no linkage” to immoderate subject contingency oregon preservation arrangement.“Such speculative narratives look aimed astatine undermining ongoing efforts for determination stableness and peace. The Iranian craft arrived during the ceasefire play and bears nary linkage whatsoever to immoderate subject contingency oregon preservation arrangement. Assertions suggesting different are speculative, misleading, and wholly detached from the factual context,” the connection noted.The FO added that aft the ceasefire and during the archetypal circular of the Islamabad Talks, held connected April 11 and 12, planes from some Iran and the United States had arrived successful Pakistan to facilitate the question of diplomatic personnel, information teams, and administrative unit associated with the talks process.It further noted that successful anticipation of aboriginal rounds of negotiations — which yet did not materialise — immoderate craft and enactment unit remained successful Pakistan.“Although ceremonial negotiations person not yet resumed, senior-level diplomatic exchanges person continued. In this context, visits by the Iranian overseas curate to Islamabad were facilitated done the existing logistical and administrative arrangements.

Pakistan remains committed to supporting each sincere efforts aimed astatine promoting dialogue, reducing tensions, and advancing determination and planetary peace, stability, and security,” the connection added.The “clarification” came aft CBS News reported that days aft US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire with Iran successful aboriginal April, Tehran had sent aggregate craft to the Nur Khan Airbase adjacent Rawalpindi, Islamabad’s duplicate metropolis and location to the Pakistan Army headquarters.“Among the subject hardware was an Iranian Air Force RC-130, a reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering variant of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules tactical transport aircraft,” the study alleged.Responding to the CBS report, US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham called for a implicit re-evaluation of Islamabad’s relation arsenic a “mediator” successful efforts to extremity the US-Iran conflict, which erupted connected February 28 and has remained paused since April 8.The study surfaced days aft Pakistan confirmed that it had received Iranian bid proposals and, acting arsenic a mediator, conveyed them to the US side.(With PTI inputs)