Islamabad continues to provide air access to US, says senior Pentagon official

A Pentagon official, while speaking to congress, informed that Islamabad continues to provide the US access to its airspace and the two sides are also talking about keeping that access open in the future.

"Pakistan continues to give us access to Pakistani airspace and we are in conversation about keeping that access open," US Undersecretary of Defence for Policy Colin Kahl informed the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday during an open/closed hearing on "Security in Afghanistan and in the regions of South and Central Asia".

The remarks came while Kahl was replying to a question from the committee's chairman Senator Jack Reed, who asked him to update the panel on the US' arrangement with Pakistan regarding their cooperation with the US in counterterrorism, Dawn reported.

"Pakistan is a challenging actor, but they don't want Afghanistan to be a safe haven for terrorist attacks, external attacks, not just against Pakistan but against others" as well, Kahl told the open session.

The developments came days after the Pakistan government rejected media reports about the possibility of signing an agreement with the US on the use of the country's airspace for operations against terrorists in Afghanistan, clarifying that there was "no such understanding" between the two countries.

In June in an interview with Axios, Prime Minister Imran Khan had categorically said that Pakistan would "absolutely not" allow any bases and use of its territory to the US for any sort of action inside Afghanistan -- his clear-cut response surprising the interviewer.

( With inputs from ANI )

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