The Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson has rejected speculations about the presence of a US military or airbase inside Pakistan, saying such "baseless and irresponsible speculations" must be avoided, Geo TV reported.

Responding to media queries, the spokesperson in a press release said, “There was no US military or airbase in Pakistan, nor was any such proposal envisaged. Any speculation on this account was baseless and irresponsible and should be avoided”.

The spokesperson said Pakistan and the US have a framework of cooperation in terms of the Air Lines of Communication (ALOC) and Ground Lines of Communication (GLOC) in place since 2001.

“No new agreement has been made in this regard,” he maintained.

Speculations started doing the rounds after a media report stated that Pakistan would continue to provide air and ground access to the US military for its Afghan operations.

Meanwhile, senior PML-N and former federal minister Khawaja Saad Rafique said that the Foreign Office's explanation of the US military base is unsatisfactory.

He added that the Pak-US Air-Ground Communication Agreement must have been signed in 2001 and asked the authorities to explain what were the terms of the agreement. He also sought an explanation as to when the implementation of the agreement was halted.

"If there's no new agreement between the two sides when was the previous one renewed and who signed this?"

The PML-N leader also asked the government why the matter was not discussed in the cabinet and the National Assembly.

"An explanation should be presented in the Parliament on this issue related to national security," said the PML-N stalwart.

On the other hand, Jamaat Islami Ameer Sirajul Haq has warned the government against allowing the US army to use military bases in Pakistan, asking Prime Minister Imran Khan to clarify the statement of the US administration claiming that Islamabad has allowed Washington to use its military bases and air space.

US Assistant Secretary of Defence for Indo-Pacific Affairs David F Helvey told US lawmakers during a meeting of the Senate Armed Services Committee that Pakistan would continue to provide air and ground access to the US.

He was responding to a question from Senator Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, about his "assessment of Pakistan" and its intelligence agencies and the role expected by both in the future.

“Pakistan has played an important role in Afghanistan. They supported the Afghan peace process. Pakistan also has allowed us to have overflight and access to be able to support our military presence in Afghanistan,” Helvey said.

He said the US will continue its conversation with Pakistan because of its support and contribution to the future of Afghanistan.

Pakistan has always allowed overflights and ground access to the US to facilitate its military presence in Afghanistan and will continue to do so, diplomatic sources were quoted as saying by Dawn.

In response to another question by Senator Manchin about how the US administration would ensure that terrorists do not return to Afghanistan, Helvey said: “We will have to work with our local and regional partners and we want to continue developing those capabilities and those partnerships to be able to ensure that we have the right of framework to address the threats.”

(SAM)