Lease by the United Arab Emirates (1992–2001) The disused Bhandari Airstrip was leased to the
United Arab Emirates (UAE) by the
Government of Pakistan in 1992 for game hunting, particularly that of falconry and rare
Bustards in Balochistan province, by members of the UAE royal families. The airstrip, which was renamed "Shamsi" (meaning "Solar" in Arabic) by the Emirati Sheikhs, was developed into a jet-capable airfield by the UAE.
Lease by the United States (2001–2011) At the request of the United States, Shamsi was sub-leased by the UAE to the United States on 20 October 2001 with the approval of then-President
Pervez Musharraf and was further developed jointly by the CIA and the USAF as a military airfield. In February 2009,
The Times (London) claimed that it had obtained
Google Earth images from 2006 that showed Predator drones parked outside a hangar at the end of the runway at Shamsi. The
Times investigation was in response to a statement by US Senator
Dianne Feinstein that the CIA was basing its drone aircraft in Pakistan. The US company
Blackwater was also reported to have a presence there, hired by the government to arm the drones with missiles. The Pakistani Government had initially denied that the airfield was being used as a base for US military or covert operations but confirmed the same later.
The New York Times cited a senior Pakistani military official as saying that in 2009 the drone operations were moved across the border to Afghanistan. In June 2011, Pakistan publicly ordered the US to remove all its personnel from the airfield. The United States and Pakistan announced a few days later that drone operations from the airfield had actually ceased in April 2011. On 26 November 2011, Pakistan ordered the United States to vacate the base within 15 days in response to the
Salala Incident, in which US military aircraft attacked two Pakistani border check posts 2.5 km inside Pakistani territory and killed 24 Pakistani troops. Although drone operations originating at the base had ceased in April 2011, the US was apparently still using the airfield for emergency landings and logistical support. On 4 December 2011, the first US military aircraft arrived at Shamsi to evacuate US military personnel and equipment. A total of seven US military aircraft, including
C-17 Globemasters, landed at Shamsi in the coming week for evacuation purposes and US equipment and personnel were evacuated in 30 sorties. On 9 December 2011, soldiers of Pakistan's
Frontier Constabulary arrived at the nearby village of Washuk to position themselves to resume control of Shamsi. All roads to and from Shamsi were closed. Some US equipment was destroyed by the US military. Soldiers of the Pakistan Army, the Frontier Constabulary and officials of Pakistan's
Civil Aviation Authority A photograph of the airfield taken on 11 December 2011 and officially released by the Pakistani military's Directorate of
Inter-Services Public Relations and published in the British
The Telegraph newspaper shows Pakistan Army soldiers and a Pakistan Army
Mil Mi-17 helicopter at Shamsi shortly after the US vacated the airfield. On 3 July 2012, then-United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton officially apologized for the losses suffered in the 2011 attack. ==See also==