Shamsi, drones and our sovereignty

Khost and Jalalabad are the most appropriate airfields for drones strikes against terrorist targets in NW.

ISLAMABAD: This is with reference to Ejaz Haider’s article of July 5 titled “The curious case of the Shamsi airbase”. Khost and Jalalabad are the most appropriate airfields for drones strikes against terrorist targets in North Waziristan. It takes much lesser time compared to the Shamsi airfield. I have my doubts that Shamsi has ever been used for armed drone strikes in Fata. From Afghanistan, it takes between just 15 and 30 minutes for drones to reach North Waziristan while those operating from Shamsi may take up to three hours.

Brig (retd) Asad Munir

Published in The Express Tribune, July 8^th, 2011.