Daijiworld Media Network – Islamabad
Islamabad, May 12: Pakistan has come under scrutiny after a media report claimed that it allowed Iran to park military aircraft at a key Pakistan Air Force base during the recent Middle East conflict, even while Islamabad projected itself as a diplomatic mediator between Tehran and Washington.
According to a report by CBS News, Iran reportedly shifted several military and civilian aviation assets to neighbouring countries in an effort to shield them from possible American and Israeli airstrikes during the conflict.
Sources quoted in the report claimed that Tehran moved some of its defence assets, including an Iranian Air Force RC-130 reconnaissance aircraft, to the strategically significant Nur Khan Air Base near Rawalpindi. The base, located close to Islamabad, allegedly served as a temporary shelter for Iranian aircraft while Pakistan simultaneously engaged in mediation efforts aimed at reducing tensions between Iran and the United States.
The RC-130 aircraft is an intelligence and reconnaissance variant of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules tactical transport plane and is considered a valuable military surveillance asset.
US officials familiar with the matter told the publication that the aircraft arrived at the Pakistani base days after US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire arrangement with Iran in early April.
The report further claimed that Iran also moved some civilian aircraft to Afghanistan during the conflict. An Afghan civil aviation official reportedly confirmed that an Iranian Mahan Air aircraft had been parked at Kabul airport for some time after Iranian airspace was closed amid escalating hostilities. The aircraft was later shifted to Herat airport near the Iranian border for security reasons.
However, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid denied claims that Iran had stationed aircraft in Afghanistan, stating that Tehran had no need to do so.
The allegations have sparked criticism in Washington, where some lawmakers questioned Pakistan’s neutrality in the mediation process. Senior Republican senator Lindsey Graham said that if the reports were accurate, the US would need to “re-evaluate” Pakistan’s role as a mediator in the crisis.
“Given some of the prior statements by Pakistani defence officials towards Israel, I would not be shocked if this were true,” Graham wrote on X.
Pakistan, however, strongly rejected the allegations. A senior Pakistani official told CBS News that the claims involving Nur Khan Air Base were implausible since the facility is situated in a densely populated urban area where the movement or parking of foreign military aircraft could not remain hidden from public view.
The controversy has emerged at a time when Pakistan is attempting to maintain balanced ties with both Washington and Tehran, while also preserving its close military and strategic partnership with China.
The report also cited a Stockholm International Peace Research Institute study stating that China supplied nearly 80 per cent of Pakistan’s major arms imports between 2020 and 2024.
Meanwhile, tensions between the United States and Iran continue to remain high, with reports suggesting that Washington recently rejected a fresh Iranian proposal aimed at ending the conflict.