- Pakistan denies CBS News claim of sheltering Iranian military aircraft at Nur Khan airbase
- The foreign ministry calls the report misleading and sensationalised, aiming to harm regional peace
- Iranian and US aircraft visited Pakistan during ceasefire and diplomatic talks, says Islamabad
Pakistan has rejected a US media report about helping Iran protect its aircraft and military assets, calling it "misleading and sensationalised". Islamabad's statement came in response to a CBS News report claiming Pakistan allowed Iranian military aircraft to park on its Nur Khan airfield near Rawalpindi, potentially shielding them from American airstrikes, while serving as a diplomatic conduit between Tehran and Washington.
"Pakistan categorically rejects the CBS News report regarding the presence of Iranian aircraft at Nur Khan Airbase as misleading and sensationalised. Such speculative narratives appear aimed at undermining ongoing efforts for regional stability and peace," Pakistan's foreign ministry said in a statement.
The ministry claimed that several Iranian and US aircraft had arrived in the country after the ceasefire and during the initial round of Islamabad talks to support the movement of diplomatic personnel, security teams and administrative staff and some of them are still parked in the country.
According to Islamabad, the Iranian aircraft currently parked in Pakistan, an Iranian Air Force RC-130, according to the CBS report, arrived in Rawalpindi during the "ceasefire period" and had "no linkage whatsoever" to any military contingency or preservation arrangement.
"Assertions suggesting otherwise are speculative, misleading, and entirely detached from the factual context. Pakistan has consistently acted as an impartial, constructive, and responsible facilitator in support of dialogue and de-escalation," it said.
"In line with this role, Pakistan has extended routine logistical and administrative support where required, while maintaining full transparency and regular communication with all relevant parties," the statement added.
Justifying its position as the mediator, Islamabad said it remains committed to supporting all sincere efforts aimed at promoting dialogue, reducing tensions, and advancing regional and global peace, stability, and security.
What CBS report Said
The report in question claimed that Pakistan, while playing diplomatic conduit between Tehran and Washington, allowed Iranian military planes to use its airfields as parking. Sources told the American publication that Tehran moved several of its key defence assets to Pakistan Air Force Base in Nur Khan, located just outside Rawalpindi.
The strategically important military installation, located near Islamabad, provided a secure shelter for Iran to protect its military and aviation assets while Pakistan officially mediated truce efforts between Tehran and Washington. US officials with knowledge of the matter told CBS that the aircraft were sent to Nur Khan Base days after President Trump announced the ceasefire with Iran in early April.
The report has triggered a massive backlash in Washington, with US lawmakers questioning Islamabad's neutrality in the mediation process. Taking to X, Lindsey Graham, a senior Republican senator and a close ally of US President Donald Trump, called for a reassessment of Pakistan's diplomatic role in the crisis.
"If this reporting is accurate, it would require a complete re-evaluation of the role Pakistan is playing as mediator between Iran, the United States and other parties," he wrote in a post.
"Given some of the prior statements by Pakistani defence officials towards Israel, I would not be shocked if this were true," Graham added.
