The United States used Pakistan airspace for the drone which killed Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahri in the Afghanistan capital Kabul, South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported Tuesday citing security analysts.
US President Joe Biden announced on Monday (August 1) that Zawahiri was killed in a "precision" strike.
The SCMP report also claimed that Pakistan gave permission to the US to use its airspace and that Islamabad could have provided human intelligence to confirm the whereabouts of Zawahri.
The SCMP quoted Abdul Basit, a research fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore as saying: "The drone definitely entered Pakistani airspace over Balochistan and entered Afghanistan."
Basit referred to the 2003 US-Pakistan agreement and suggested that the operation was probably conducted on the terms of that agreement. Notably, under the 2003 agreement, Pakistan provided an air corridor for US military flights to and from Afghanistan during the time when it occupied the country.
Basit said when the United States pulled out from Afghanistan in August last year, "The 2003 agreement expired" but, "it was kept intact to keep the airspace open for the US."
Ambiguous statement of Pakistan Foreign Office
Not Surprisingly, Pakistan's Foreign Office issued a carefully worded and ambiguous statement on Tuesday. "Pakistan stands by countering terrorism in accordance with international law and relevant UN resolutions," it said. Without mentioning Zawahiri's name it added: "We have seen the official statements by the United States and media reports regarding a counter-terrorism operation carried out by the U.S. in Afghanistan."
Implicitly approving Washington's action, the Foreign Office said that Pakistan "condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations," adding that the country's "role and sacrifices in the fight against terrorism are well-known."
According to the Diplomat, there are several reasons to believe that the raid which killed Zawahiri could not have happened without Pakistan's assistance. It is quite possible that Pakistan-U.S. cooperation in counterterrorism operations in the region is back on track.
It is important to note that Zawahiri was killed days after Pakistan Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa called on the U.S. for help in negotiating a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Only a few weeks ago, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Chief Lieutenant General Nadeem Anjum was in the U.S. to discuss security issues.
Umair Jamal of the Diplomat reported from Lahore, "Pakistan's generals would have happily obliged the U.S. if they were asked to cooperate in the operation. Pakistan's military has been working hard to revive its partnership with the U.S. which could also translate into much-needed financial assistance directly from the U.S. or global institutions under its influence, including the IMF. Some analysts believe that the development has the potential to revive Pakistan and the U.S.' troubled relationship."
The Politico Report
In a report published by Politico on Tuesday Jonathan Schroden said:
"According to initial reports, the Central Intelligence Agency used a drone to launch two Hellfire missiles at Zawahri after spotting him on the balcony of the Kabul safe house in which he was staying with his family. Even with the limited information now available, this assassination can tell us a great deal about the current security situation in the country, the state of U.S. capabilities to affect that situation and the future of Afghanistan and its people.
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