| The commercial
airport at Pasni, a remote coastal town on the Arabian Sea
coast, is one of three Pakistani bases used by US and allied
forces to support the Operation Enduring Freedom campaign in
Afghanistan. The other bases are at Dalbandin and Jacobabad.
By the end of September 2001 American and
Pakistani military officials had discussed the possibility of
American use of five airfields in Pakistan: Bareder, Quetta;
Dalbandin; Pasni; and Chitral. About 250 Marines are stationed
at Jacobabad for search-and-rescue missions. Under the terms
of an agreement with Pakistan, the Allied forces can use these
bases for search and rescue missions, but are not permitted to
use them to stage attacks on Taliban targets. Both Jacobabad
and Pasni bases have been sealed off and a 5km cordon set up
around the bases by Pakistani security forces.
As of early 2002, more than a dozen US
military helicopters were parked at Pasni.
In late December 2001, Pakistan notified the
US that the bases at Jacobabad and Pasni might be needed by
the Pakistani Air Force, in the wake of rising tensions
between India and Pakistan. The facilities were partially
reclaimed by Pakistan, and as of early January 2002 both
Pakistani and American forces were operating at the two
airfields. The US military retained exclusive use of the
Dalbandin and Shamsi bases.
Pasni,
one of the oldest airports in the region, was used by the
Allied forces in the Second World War. The airfield can
accommodate 737 Boeing jets. The airport provides natural
camouflage, with aircraft hangars in the mountains near the
airport. This airfield is about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from
Pakistan's naval base at Omara on the Arabian Sea.
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