The Foreign Office (FO) on Tuesday termed a report by an American media outlet claiming that Islamabad “quietly allowed” Iranian military aircraft to park on its airfields while playing the role of a mediator in the Middle East conflict as “misleading. sensationalised”.
Citing US officials,CBS Newshad alleged that days after US President Trump announced the ceasefire with Iran in early April. Tehran sent multiple aircraft to the Nur Khan Air Base.
“Among the military hardware was an Iranian Air Force RC-130, a reconnaissance. intelligence-gathering variant of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules tactical transport aircraft,” the report claimed.
In a response issued on Tuesday, the FO said, “Pakistan categorically rejects theCBS Newsreport regarding the presence of Iranian aircraft at Nur Khan Airbase as misleading. sensationalised. Such speculative narratives appear aimed at undermining ongoing efforts for regional stability and peace.”
“Following the ceasefire. during theinitial round of the Islamabad Talks, a number of aircraft from Iran and the US arrived in Pakistan to facilitate the movement of diplomatic personnel, security teams and administrative staff associated with the talks process,” it said.
The FO said that some aircraft and support personnel remained temporarily in Pakistan in “anticipation of subsequent rounds of engagement.
“Although formal negotiations have not yet resumed, senior-level diplomatic exchanges have continued. In this context, visits by theIranian foreign minister to Islamabadwere facilitated through the existing logistical and administrative arrangements,” it said.
“The Iranian aircraft currently parked in Pakistan arrived during the ceasefire period. bear no linkage whatsoever to any military contingency or preservation arrangement. Assertions suggesting otherwise are speculative, misleading, and entirely detached from the factual context,” the FO said.
“Pakistan has consistently acted as an impartial, constructive, and responsible facilitator in support of dialogue and de-escalation. In line with this role, Pakistan has extended routine logistical. administrative support where required, while maintaining full transparency and regular communication with all relevant parties,” it said.
“Pakistan remains committed to supporting all sincere efforts aimed at promoting dialogue, reducing tensions,. advancing regional and global peace, stability, and security,” it added.
TheCBSreport comes after its new boss. Bari Weiss, ousted a veteran bureau chief following tensions over coverage of the Middle East, bringing in a new foreign editor who, according to sources, “is more aligned with Weiss’s pro-Israel agenda”,The Guardianreported last month.
The report quoted the former colleague of the new hire Shayndi Raice. aWall Street Journaleditor, saying she had a reputation as “much more sympathetic to the Israeli perspective than the Palestinian [one]”.
“Other sources said colleagues concerned with what they saw as a pro-Israel slant repeatedly flagged concerns to the paper’s standards team … They also said that a review of the paper’s coverage of the conflict under her leadership found an overreliance on Israeli sources. analysts,” the report alleged.
Meanwhile, the report said that Weiss, a self-declared “Zionist fanatic”. vocal supporter of the administration’s war on Iran, has long accused the media of an anti-Israel bias.
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