Pakistan will shoot down any US drone that intrudes its air space per new directives, a senior Pakistani official told NBC News on Saturday.
According to the new Pakistani defense policy, "Any object entering into our air space, including US drones, will be treated as hostile and be shot down," a senior Pakistani military official told NBC News.
The policy change comes just weeks after a deadly NATO attack on Pakistani military checkpoints accidentally killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, prompting Pakistani officials to order all US personnel out of a remote airfield in Pakistan.
Pakistan told the US to vacate Shamsi Air Base by December 11.
A senior military official from Quetta, confirmed to NBC News on Saturday that the evacuation of the base, used for staging classified drone flights directed against militants, “will be completed on Sunday.
Pakistan s Frontier Corps security forces took control of the base Saturday evening after most US military personnel left. Civil aviation officials also moved in Saturday.
Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani had issued multiple directives since the Nov. 26 NATO attack, which included orders to shoot down US drones, senior military officials confirmed to NBC News on Saturday.
It was unclear whether orders to fire upon incoming US drones was part of the initial orders.
According to the new Pakistani defense policy, "Any object entering into our air space, including US drones, will be treated as hostile and be shot down," a senior Pakistani military official told NBC News.
The policy change comes just weeks after a deadly NATO attack on Pakistani military checkpoints accidentally killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, prompting Pakistani officials to order all US personnel out of a remote airfield in Pakistan.
Pakistan told the US to vacate Shamsi Air Base by December 11.
A senior military official from Quetta, confirmed to NBC News on Saturday that the evacuation of the base, used for staging classified drone flights directed against militants, “will be completed on Sunday.
Pakistan s Frontier Corps security forces took control of the base Saturday evening after most US military personnel left. Civil aviation officials also moved in Saturday.
Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani had issued multiple directives since the Nov. 26 NATO attack, which included orders to shoot down US drones, senior military officials confirmed to NBC News on Saturday.
It was unclear whether orders to fire upon incoming US drones was part of the initial orders.