Shamsi airfield
Encyclopedia
PAF Base Shamsi, also called Bandari is a Pakistan Air Force
airbase located near Washki (about 200 miles (320 km) southwest of Quetta
) in the Balochistan province
of Pakistan
.
In 2009, media reports alleged that the airfield was used by the United States Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA) as a base for Predator drone attacks
on militants in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas
.
The airfield was constructed at an unknown date and used for years by Arab sheiks from Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries for falconry
trips. During the War in Afghanistan
, US special forces used the airfield as a base between 2001 and 2006.
On January 9, 2002, a United States Marine Corps
KC-130 aircraft crashed on approach to Shamsi. All seven crew members were killed in the crash.
In February 2009, The Times
(London) announced that it had obtained Google Earth
images from 2006 which showed Predator aircraft parked outside a hangar at the end of the runway. The Times investigation was in response to a statement by US Senator Dianne Feinstein
that the CIA was basing its drone aircraft in Pakistan. The U.S. company Blackwater
was also reported to have a presence there, hired by the government to arm the drones with missiles. The Pakistan government has denied that the airfield is being used as a base for US military or covert operations. The New York Times
cited a senior Pakistani military official as saying that in 2009 the drone operations were moved across the border to Afghanistan.
Pakistan Air Chief Rao Qamar Suleman
has disclosed that Pakistan’s Shamsi Air Base is under the control of United Arab Emirates, not in the control of Pakistan Air Force while briefing a joint in-camera session of Pakistan parliament on 13 May 2011. In June 2011, Pakistan publicly ordered the US to remove all of its personnel from the airfield. The United States and Pakistan announced a few days later that drone operations from the airfield had actually ceased in April 2011.
On, November 26th, 2011 Pakistan ordered the United States to vacate the base within 15 days in response to the Salala Incident, where US Special Forces troops and their air support killed 26 Pakistani troops.
U.S. Prepares To Vacate Shamsi Air Base
Pakistan Air Force
The Pakistan Air Force is the leading air arm of the Pakistan Armed Forces and is primarily tasked with the aerial defence of Pakistan with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Navy. The PAF also has a tertiary role of providing strategic air transport...
airbase located near Washki (about 200 miles (320 km) southwest of Quetta
Quetta
is the largest city and the provincial capital of the Balochistan Province of Pakistan. Known as the "Fruit Garden of Pakistan" due to the diversity of its plant and animal wildlife, Quetta is home to the Hazarganji Chiltan National Park, which contains some of the rarest species of wildlife in the...
) in the Balochistan province
Balochistan (Pakistan)
Balochistan is one of the four provinces or federating units of Pakistan. With an area of 134,051 mi2 or , it is the largest province of Pakistan, constituting approximately 44% of the total land mass of Pakistan. According to the 1998 population census, Balochistan had a population of...
of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
(CIA) as a base for Predator drone attacks
Drone attacks on Pakistan by the United States of America
The United States government, led by the Central Intelligence Agency's Special Activities Division, has made a series of attacks on targets in northwest Pakistan since 2004 using drones . These attacks are part of the US' War on Terrorism campaign, seeking to defeat Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants...
on militants in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas
Federally Administered Tribal Areas
The Federally Administered Tribal Areas are a semi-autonomous tribal region in the northwest of Pakistan, lying between the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and the neighboring country of Afghanistan. The FATA comprise seven Agencies and six FRs...
.
The airfield was constructed at an unknown date and used for years by Arab sheiks from Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries for falconry
Falconry
Falconry is "the taking of wild quarry in its natural state and habitat by means of a trained raptor". There are two traditional terms used to describe a person involved in falconry: a falconer flies a falcon; an austringer flies a hawk or an eagle...
trips. During the War in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
, US special forces used the airfield as a base between 2001 and 2006.
On January 9, 2002, a United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
KC-130 aircraft crashed on approach to Shamsi. All seven crew members were killed in the crash.
In February 2009, The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
(London) announced that it had obtained Google Earth
Google Earth
Google Earth is a virtual globe, map and geographical information program that was originally called EarthViewer 3D, and was created by Keyhole, Inc, a Central Intelligence Agency funded company acquired by Google in 2004 . It maps the Earth by the superimposition of images obtained from satellite...
images from 2006 which showed Predator aircraft parked outside a hangar at the end of the runway. The Times investigation was in response to a statement by US Senator Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein is the senior U.S. Senator from California. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served in the Senate since 1992. She also served as 38th Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988....
that the CIA was basing its drone aircraft in Pakistan. The U.S. company Blackwater
Blackwater Worldwide
Xe Services LLC, better known by its former names, Blackwater USA and Blackwater Worldwide, is a private military company founded in 1997 by Erik Prince and Al Clark.. Xe is currently the largest of the U.S. State Department's three private security contractors...
was also reported to have a presence there, hired by the government to arm the drones with missiles. The Pakistan government has denied that the airfield is being used as a base for US military or covert operations. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
cited a senior Pakistani military official as saying that in 2009 the drone operations were moved across the border to Afghanistan.
Pakistan Air Chief Rao Qamar Suleman
Rao Qamar Suleman
Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman, NI, SBt is the current Pakistan Air Force Chief of Air Staff who replaced Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed on 18 March 2009....
has disclosed that Pakistan’s Shamsi Air Base is under the control of United Arab Emirates, not in the control of Pakistan Air Force while briefing a joint in-camera session of Pakistan parliament on 13 May 2011. In June 2011, Pakistan publicly ordered the US to remove all of its personnel from the airfield. The United States and Pakistan announced a few days later that drone operations from the airfield had actually ceased in April 2011.
On, November 26th, 2011 Pakistan ordered the United States to vacate the base within 15 days in response to the Salala Incident, where US Special Forces troops and their air support killed 26 Pakistani troops.
External links
Shamsi Air Base PakistanU.S. Prepares To Vacate Shamsi Air Base