The Kabul Tribune (KT) — Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday rejected an American media report alleging that Islamabad quietly allowed Iranian military aircraft to park at a Pakistani airbase during regional ceasefire efforts, saying some aircraft and support personnel remained temporarily in Pakistan in anticipation of further diplomatic engagement linked to ongoing talks.
The response came after a CBS News report claimed that
several Iranian aircraft arrived at Nur Khan Air Base days after U.S. President
Donald Trump announced a ceasefire with Iran in early April.
According to the report, one of the aircraft was allegedly
an Iranian Air Force RC-130 reconnaissance plane, a surveillance variant of the
Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport aircraft.
In a statement, Pakistan’s Foreign Office described the
report as “misleading and sensationalised,” saying the claims were speculative
and ignored the broader diplomatic context.
“Pakistan categorically rejects the CBS News report
regarding the presence of Iranian aircraft at Nur Khan Airbase,” the statement
said. “Such speculative narratives appear aimed at undermining ongoing efforts
for regional stability and peace.”
The Foreign Office said that following the ceasefire and
during the initial round of the Islamabad Talks, aircraft from both Iran and
the United States arrived in Pakistan to facilitate the movement of diplomatic
personnel, security teams and administrative staff associated with the
negotiations.
It added that some aircraft and support personnel remained
temporarily in Pakistan pending further diplomatic exchanges.
“Although formal negotiations have not yet resumed,
senior-level diplomatic exchanges have continued,” the ministry said, adding
that visits by Iran’s foreign minister to Islamabad were facilitated through
existing logistical arrangements.
The ministry stressed that the Iranian aircraft currently
parked in Pakistan “bear no linkage whatsoever to any military contingency or
preservation arrangement.”
“Assertions suggesting otherwise are speculative,
misleading, and entirely detached from the factual context,” it said.
Pakistan reiterated that it has acted as an impartial
facilitator in support of dialogue and de-escalation efforts in the region.
The CBS report surfaced amid reported editorial tensions
within the media organization over coverage of the Middle East conflict.
Last month, The Guardian reported that leadership changes at
CBS had prompted concerns among some staff members regarding the network’s
editorial direction on Israel and regional affairs.
The report cited unnamed sources alleging that newly
appointed foreign editor Shayndi Raice was viewed by some colleagues as more
sympathetic toward the Israeli perspective and that concerns had been raised
internally over reliance on Israeli sources in coverage.
Bari Weiss, identified in the report as a strong supporter
of Israel and the U.S. administration’s policy on Iran, has publicly criticized
what she describes as anti-Israel bias in Western media coverage.
Pakistan said it remains committed to supporting diplomatic
efforts aimed at reducing tensions and promoting regional peace and stability.
