Islamabad: Chief Minister of Punjab Shahbaz Sharif on Saturday said the reported US refusal to vacate the Shamsi air base in Balochistan was a "slap on the face of Pakistan".
The second-in-command in the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party headed by his elder brother and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, told a conference in Lahore that the refusal was tantamount to challenging the country's sovereign status.
He said the country had been turned into a servile state unable to uphold its dignity and sovereignty because of rampant corruption, mismanagement and plunder of national resources. He said the nation would have to stop depending on financial handouts to become truly independent and sovereign.
Suspended use
US newspaper Washington Post, in a report quoting American and Pakistani officials, said the CIA suspended its use of Shamsi air base as a launch site for drones three months ago.
Although drones striking inside Pakistan are now flying from Afghanistan, US personnel and drones remain at the air base in Balochistan, officials told the Washington Post, adding security at the base for the officials and the drones were being provided by the Pakistani military. Pakistan's Defence Minister Ahmad Mukhtar said Pakistan had asked the US to vacate the air base.
