Pakistan will shoot down any U.S. drone that intrudes its air space per new directives
According to the new Pakistani defense policy, “Any object entering into our air space, including U.S. drones, will be treated as hostile and be shot down,” a senior Pakistani military official told.
The policy change comes just weeks after a deadly NATO attack on Pakistani military checkpoints accidentally killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, prompting Pakistani officials to order all U.S. personnel out of a remote airfield in Pakistan.
Pakistan told the U.S. to vacate Shamsi Air Base by December 11.
A senior military official from Quetta, Pakistan, confirmed on Saturday that the evacuation of the base, used for staging classified drone flights directed against militants, “will be completed tomorrow”.
Pakistan’s Frontier Corps security forces took control of the base Saturday evening after most U.S. military personnel left, Xinhua news agency reported. Civil aviation officials also moved in Saturday, Xinhua said.
Pakistani Military Chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani had issued multiple directives since the Nov. 26 NATO attack, which included orders to shoot down U.S. drones, senior military officials confirmed on Saturday.
It was unclear Saturday whether orders to fire upon incoming U.S. drones was part of the initial orders.
The Pakistani airbase had been used by U.S. forces, including the CIA, to stage elements of a clandestine U.S. counter-terrorism operation to attack militants linked to Al-Qaida, the Taliban and Pakistan’s home-grown Haqqani network, using unmanned drone aircraft armed with missiles. President Barack Obama stepped up the drone campaign after he took office. Since 2004, U.S. drones have carried out more than 300 attacks inside Pakistan.
Pakistani authorities started threatening U.S. personnel with eviction from the Shamsi base in the wake of the raid last May in which U.S. commandos killed Osama bin Laden at his hide-out near Islamabad without notifying Pakistani officials in advance.
General Keyani order after strong and unbearable pressure from militry personals of pakistan army, due to his weak policies. In my point of view, general keyani is the weakest chief in Pakistan history, at a bad time when govt is currupt and foreign affairs are sever. i beleive that Pakistan army will also remove general keyani very soon from its post, in my point of view i would be good decision.
Oooooh Nooooo!
We have new enemies!
Who are we Israel?
Yes?
Nuke ’em Pakistan!!!!
well done Pakistan. Show them Pakistan is not for sale and the Govt, the people of this country and the brave armed forces are ready to defend every inch and corner of our beloved land. Let NATO and U.S. know bluntly u cannot take and will not be allowed to take Pakistan for a ride again.