USING PAKISTANI AIRSPACE US KILLED AL-QAEDA CHIEF ZAWAHRI: REPORT

Wed 03 August 2022:

The South China Morning Post (SCMP), citing security analysts, claimed that Pakistani airspace was used by the drone that killed Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri in the center of Afghanistan’s capital Kabul.

US President Joe Biden said on Monday (August 1) that Zawahiri was killed in a “precision” strike. His death comes as the biggest blow to the militant group since its founder Osama bin Laden was killed in 2011.

The report further added that Pakistan gave permission to the US to use its airspace. The security analysts also believed that Islamabad could have provided human intelligence to confirm the whereabouts of Zawahri. 

As quoted by SCMP, Abdul Basit, a research fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore said, “The drone definitely entered Pakistani airspace over Balochistan and entered Afghanistan.” 

Basit mentioned the 2003 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. 

As quoted, 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.” 

US officials speaking on the condition of anonymity told reporters that the CIA carried out a drone attack in Kabul using two missiles. Al-Zawahiri was on his balcony at the time, they said.