Pakistan Says No To Hosting U.S. Troops Or Bases; We Seek Only "Partners for Peace," Not War

The government of Pakistan has made clear it will not host any bases for U.S. troops that are being withdrawn from Afghanistan. In a press conference in Islamabad today, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Quereshi underscored that his government has adopted a policy by which it seeks “only to be partners in peace,” to help facilitate the Afghan peace, and not for any other reason. Asked if Pakistan were under pressure to host U.S. troops, he replied: “No sir, we do not intend to allow boots on the ground and no [US] bases are being transferred to Pakistan,” Arab News reported him saying.