A unit photo of the Pakistan and the U.S. Armes in 2010. Pakistan has been referred as "America's most allied ally in Asia" by Foreign Affairs in 2016.

The military relations between Pakistan and the United States have been present since the two established diplomatic relations in 1947. The United States and Pakistan's military have historically close ties and it was once called "America's most allied ally in Asia" by Nixon,[1] reflecting shared interests in security and stability in South Asia, Central Asia as well as in regions covering Eastern Europe.[2]

The military establishments of the two countries have cooperated to take action against militant groups involved in the wars in Afghanistan and Bosnia, although there is no consensus on issues such as dealing with the Taliban.[3] The Pakistan Army and Pakistan Air Force regularly engage in joint exercises with their American counter interservices, while the Pakistan Navy and the Pakistan Marines is the second most consistent participant in Combined Task Force 150 and Combined Task Force 151 after the United States Navy.[4]

Since 1956, the U.S. military personnel have served in the Pakistani military as military advisers and Pakistani military cadets have consistently attended the coveted U.S. military academies and war colleges.[5][6] After the Trump administration prevented Pakistan's access to the International Military Education and Training (IMET) plan, the U.S. military later claimed to be restart the program with Pakistani military, but it has never been restored due to the COVID-19 epidemic and other reasons.[7] At the same time the United States canceled all military aid to Pakistan.[8] As U.S. withdraws from Afghanistan,[9] Pakistani military strengthens alliance with the Chinese People's Liberation Army, Pakistan “increasingly sourced from China, especially the higher-end combat strike and power projection capabilities; and Pakistan continues to retire older U.S. and European origin platforms”.[10][11]

U.S. presence in Pakistan

U.S. lease of Pakistan military bases

During the 20 years of the War on terror in Afghanistan, the Pakistani administration under then-President Pervez Musharraf, had made its army airbases and the Air Force bases available to the United States military, which were used mainly for the logistics, intelligence gathering, and also as relief efforts.[12][13][14] In 2017, the Pakistani government admitted that there are no American military bases in Pakistan.[15]

Location of former U.S. military bases in Pakistan
BaseLocationUse
PAF Camp BadaberBadaber, Khyber-PakhtunkhwaFormerly known as the Peshawar Air Station, this was a former U.S. Air Force Security Service listening post, used by the 6937th Communications Group from 17 July 1959 until its closure in 7 January 1970. The base was used for intelligence gathering operations and radio transmission intercepts relating to the Soviet Union and the Eastern bloc under the Russian management] At one point, there were 800 personnel and 500 supporting staff stationed at the base.[16] The U.S. Air Force pilot, Captain Gary Powers, who was shot down and captured in the Soviet Union during the 1960 U-2 incident, took off from this base for his spy mission.
Shamsi AirfieldWashuk, BalochistanA private airfield leased by the Abu Dhabi royal family for hunting trips to Pakistan. The UAE, under Pakistani government authorization, sub-leased it to the Central Intelligence Agency and United States Air Force (USAF) on 20 October 2001.[17] The base was exclusively used to conduct drone operations in northwest Pakistan, and housed several U.S. military personnel. The civilian contractor, the Blackwater, was also involved in these operations.[18] The CIA and USAF jointly developed the airfield, constructing two permanent and one portable hangars for housing drones, in addition to support and residential facilities as well as resurfacing of the asphalt runway. Amid its controversial exposure, the United States ceased its drone operations from Shamsi in 2011. However, it continued using Shamsi airfield for logistics and emergency landings.[19] In November 2011, Pakistan ordered the eviction of U.S. personnel from the airbase in response to the Salala incident which heightened diplomatic tensions. Subsequently, the U.S. ceased its use of the base.[20]
PAF Base ShahbazJacobabad, SindhLocated in northern Sindh near the border with Balochistan, the U.S. military had exclusive use of the airbase since at least 2002 to coordinate operations in Afghanistan.[13] The base was also originally used for CIA drone operations in northwest Pakistan. According to sources, CIA drones were operated from this base "for some years". In 2001, around 250 U.S. Marines were stationed here for search-and-rescue operations.[21] As of 2010, around 50 American military personnel were stationed here in an inner cordon "US-only area" while the outer protective layer was under Pakistan Army control.[12]
Dalbandin AirportDalbandin, BalochistanA public airport used by the U.S. since at least 2002 as a base to support Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.[13] The base was used to aid logistical support and intelligence operations in Afghanistan. It was also used as a refueling base for U.S. helicopters.[22]
Pasni AirportPasni, BalochistanA commercial airport used by the U.S. since at least 2002 to support Operating Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.[13] During early 2002, over a dozen U.S. military helicopters were stationed at Pasni. As of July 2006, the airport was still under the use of U.S. forces, with U-2 reconnaissance aircraft stationed here.[23]
PAF Base Nur KhanChaklala, Rawalpindi, PunjabA base with permanent U.S. military presence, used for handling U.S. logistics and movements in relation to the war in Afghanistan. During the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, 300 American troops as well as U.S. aircraft were deployed here to aid in relief efforts.[12]
PAF Base SamungliQuetta, BalochistanPreviously used for US military logistical operations in Afghanistan. The base did not feature a permanent presence, although the Pentagon is said to have been provided access to use the base "as and when".[12]
Tarbela Ghazi AirbaseHaripur, Khyber PakhtunkhwaA Pakistan Army Aviation Corps airbase. An anonymous source described the facility as a "big helipad".[12] During the 2010 Pakistan floods, U.S. CH-46 Sea Knight, CH-47 Chinook and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters were stationed here for relief efforts.[24]
PAF Base PeshawarPeshawar, Khyber PakhtunkhwaOccasionally used by U.S. forces as transit point while deploying to other locations.[12]
Naval Base KarachiKarachi, SindhOccasionally used by U.S. forces as transit point and logistics depot while material await Afghanistan transfer.[12]

Drone strikes in Pakistan

Between 2004 and 2018, the United States military attacked thousands of targets in northwest Pakistan using unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) operated by the United States Air Force under the operational control of the Central Intelligence Agency. Most of these attacks were on targets in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (now part of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province) along the Afghan border in northwest Pakistan.[25]

Mutual understanding

Security, assistance, and nonproliferation

The USAF and PAF's F-16s head out for a training sortie at a PAF operational base in Peshawar. This was a first exercise since 2019.

In the end years of the 2001, the United States provided material and training assistance to Pakistani military in guarding its nuclear material, warheads, and protection of its weapon-testing laboratories that United States paid for almost $US100 million.[26] The assistance program, maintained through the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and the Pakistan's Ministry of Defence (MoD), included providing the knowledge on building the night-vision devices (NVD), supplying helicopters, and nuclear detection equipment.[26] With the United States' assistance, Pakistan established the National Command Authority (NCA) on the line of U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and uses its Megaport Program at the Port Qasim in Karachi which it deployed the radiation monitoring and imaging equipment monitored by a Pakistani central alarm station.[27] In 2007, the United States offered the Permissive Action Link (PAL) technology, for locking its nuclear devices, which Pakistan turned down— possibly because it feared the secret implanting of "dead switches".[28]

According to the U.S. defense officials, Pakistan has developed its own technology based on the PAL technology, and the U.S. military officials have stated they believe Pakistan's nuclear arsenals to be well secured.[29][30]

In addition, the Department of Energy's Federal Protective Forces (ProFor) has provided training to its counterpart the Strategic Plans Division Force (SPD Force) at its "Pakistan Centre of Excellence for Nuclear Security (PCENS)" that is also modeled on the Federal Protective Force.[31][32][33]

In 2022, the United States conducted a combat control parameters exercise with Pakistan— Exercise Falcon Talon.[34] This was the first military exercise between United States Air Force and the Pakistan Air Force since 2019.[34]

Conflict of interests

Pakistan's relationship to India in the context of Kashmir and all-weather strategic cooperation with China in the context of great power competition between the United States and China poses difficulties for the country's efforts to improve relations with the United States.[35][36][37]

Embargo

Under the Trump administration, the U.S. State Department accused Pakistan of failed to respond to terrorist networks operating on its soil, and terminated all military aid to Pakistan.[38]

The US Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) already added Pakistani companies on a US trade blacklist for their alleged involvement in missile and nuclear activities, making it difficult for these companies to do business internationally.[39]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "PAKISTAN-US NEW CONNECTION: AN EVALUATION". Pakistan Institute of International Affairs. 1983.
  2. ↑ Khan, Mohammed Ayub (January 1964). "The Pakistan-American Alliance". Foreign Affairs. Archived from the original on 2016-10-10. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  3. ↑ Bennett-Jones, Owen (2021-08-27). "Why Pakistan gambled on supporting the Taliban". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  4. ↑ Iqbal, Anwar (11 March 2017). "Pakistan did 'helpful things' against Haqqanis: US general". Dawn. Archived from the original on 2017-04-12. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  5. ↑ "Pakistani Air Force cadet departs for America to attend U.S. Air Force Academy". U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Pakistan. 16 June 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  6. ↑ "U.S. to resume military training program for Pakistan: State Department". Reuters. 20 December 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  7. ↑ Siddiqa, Ayesha (2023-04-04). "Pakistan has walked dangerously deep into Chinese grip. Wake up, West". ThePrint. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
  8. ↑ Akmal, Dawi (2022-03-16). "US-Pakistan Relations Ebb After Afghanistan Withdrawal". VOA. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  9. ↑ "US 'clearly distanced' itself from Pakistan, says former military chief Mike Mullen". DAWN. 2 April 2022. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  10. ↑ "Foreign Military Relations of Pakistan". Pakistan Forces. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  11. ↑ "A Threshold Alliance: The China-Pakistan Military Relationship". United States Institute of Peace. Retrieved 2023-03-23.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Woods, Chris (15 December 2011). "CIA drones quit one Pakistan site – but US keeps access to other airbases". Bureau of Investigative Journalism. Archived from the original on 2016-08-26. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  13. 1 2 3 4 "Pasni and Jacobabad now in joint use of Pak, US air forces". The News. January 2002. Archived from the original on 29 January 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  14. ↑ Rajaee, B. (2011). National Security under the Obama Administration. Springer. p. 39. ISBN 9781137010476.
  15. ↑ "6 tough questions fielded by PM Abbasi in his maiden US visit". Dawn. 21 September 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-09-21. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  16. ↑ Fulghum, Milton L. "Unit History". 6937th Communications Group, PAS, Peshawar, Pakistan. Archived from the original on 2016-04-19. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  17. ↑ Khan, Air Marshal (Retd.) Ayaz Ahmed, "Shamsi Air Base", Defence Journal, November 2007, Volume 11, No. 4, Karachi, Pakistan
  18. ↑ Munawar, Harris Bin (9 December 2011). "What happens at Shamsi airfield?". The Friday Times. Archived from the original on 2012-01-26. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  19. ↑ De Young, Karen (1 July 2011). "CIA idles drone flights from base in Pakistan". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2016-08-22. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  20. ↑ Henderson, Barney (11 December 2011). "US vacates airbase in Pakistan". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2016-05-29. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  21. ↑ "Shahbaz Air Base". Global Security. 5 July 2011. Archived from the original on 2016-08-03. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  22. ↑ "Dalbandin, Pakistan". Global Security. 5 July 2011. Archived from the original on 2016-08-03. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  23. ↑ "Pasni, Pakistan". Global Security. 5 July 2011. Archived from the original on 2016-08-03. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  24. ↑ "Soldiers, helicopters to deploy for Pakistan relief". United States Army. 31 August 2010. Archived from the original on 2017-02-05. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  25. ↑ Ghosh, Bobby; Thompson, Mark (1 June 2009). "The CIA's Silent War in Pakistan". Time. Archived from the original on 14 September 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  26. 1 2 Sanger, David E.; Broad, William J. (2007-11-18). "U.S. Secretly Aids Pakistan in Guarding Nuclear Arms". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 2018-03-13.
  27. ↑ "Nuclear Security Cooperation Between the United States and Pakistan". 2009-06-24. Archived from the original on 19 October 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  28. ↑ Ibid, U.S. Secretly Aids Pakistan in Guarding Nuclear Arms, 2007
  29. ↑ "U.S. Secretly Aids Pakistan in Guarding Nuclear Arms". The New York Times. 18 November 2007. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  30. ↑ "International Institute for Strategic Studies Pakistan's nuclear oversight reforms". Iiss.org. Archived from the original on 24 August 2010. Retrieved 21 August 2010.
  31. ↑ "ISPR Hilal Magazine - Nuclear Security is a Sacred Responsibility: COAS". www.hilal.gov.pk. ISPR. Archived from the original on 2016-05-04. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  32. ↑ "COAS expresses confidence in Pakistan's nuclear security". www.dawn.com. DAWN. Archived from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  33. ↑ "INAUGURATION CEREMONY of SPD TRAINING ACADEMY". www.ispr.gov.pk. ISPR. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  34. 1 2 "Falcon Talon 2022 agile combat employment operation". U.S. Air Forces Central. 9 April 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  35. ↑ "India, China loom over Pakistan's push to repair ties with U.S." Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  36. ↑ "Pakistan's foreign policy reset hits a dead end". The Australian Strategic Policy Institute. 13 July 2022. Archived from the original on 13 July 2022.
  37. ↑ "Pakistan: Don't ask us to choose between the US and China". POLITICO. 2023-06-14. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
  38. ↑ "US military to cancel $300m in Pakistan aid over terror groups". BBC News. 2018-09-01. Archived from the original on 18 May 2023. Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  39. ↑ Editorial (2023-03-05). "US blacklist". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2023-03-05.
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