US embassy denies presence of US forces in Quetta

Embassy says reports about approval of presence are a misrepresentation, there is no presence of US troops in Quetta.

ISLAMABAD: The United States embassy in a press release on Saturday denied reports about the presence of US forces in Quetta.

Citing news items reporting "an approval of a 'presence' by the Office of the Defense Representative-Pakistan forces at the Pakistan military's 12 Corps Headquarters in Quetta", the release said, "This reporting is a misrepresentation."

The US embassy stated that there is no presence of US troops in Quetta and that there are only episodic visits by a US team that "provides information and coordination support between the International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF) and Pakistan military forces when ISAF operates periodically near the border with Pakistan."

Earlier media reports had indicated that Pakistan's military leadership had permitted the US to maintain the presence of its Marines in Quetta. Pakistan, however, categorically denied having allowed drone strikes in Balochistan.

An earlier report in The Washington Post had said that the US was seeking to expand the areas inside Pakistan where CIA drones can operate.

Reports that Pakistan had allowed US presence in and around Quetta had created an uproar with condemnations coming from the opposition and a petition filed against the move in the Lahore High Court (LHC).