US not given permission to operate from Karachi airport: Defence secretary

Media reports allege that the US Army Engineer Corps are building special interrogation cells near the airport.

Defence Secretary Lieutenant General Asif Yaseen Malik refuted media reports about US Army Corps of Engineers being granted permission to build a Tactical Command and Operations Centre (TCOC) compound at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, Express News reported on Wednesday.

Lt General Malik told the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Defence that the media reports were being investigated.

Earlier this week, media outlets in Pakistan quoted official US military documents from the  Middle East District which stated that the US Army will build a compound “to exchange information with Pakistan Customs Drug Enforcement Cell concerning smuggling activities in and around Karachi”.

“US Army Corps of Engineers intends to solicit a Request for Proposal (RFP) to construction firms or Joint Ventures (JV) experienced in working in the Middle East region who are interested in submitting a proposal for the design and construction of tactical command and operations centre compound in Karachi,” Dawn had quoted the documents as saying.

The Dawn report also said that the company which would get contract would be responsible for designing the building of a two-storey TCOC consisting of a main block and an interrogation cell building that would be built separately.