Here's Strat's snippet on the Jacobabad airbase controversy
Analysis
These statements are significant because rumors and allegations of U.S. activity on Pakistani territory — which the Pakistani public opposes — are an extremely sensitive subject in the country. Revelations in 2009 that the United States was using Shamsi air base in western Balochistan province to conduct strikes against militants in northwest Pakistan increased tensions between Washington and Islamabad. Allegations that the United States controls Jacobabad’s Shahbaz air field in northern Sindh province in Pakistan’s core — unlike the previous controversy over basing in western Balochistan — and will not allow Pakistani relief operations from the base appear to be an attempt to seriously discredit the United States and the ruling Pakistan People’s Party, which would be responsible for U.S. control of the base. The United States has been cooperating with flood relief, sending helicopters from operations in Afghanistan and moving a Marine Expeditionary Unit, which can dispatch 19 cargo-carrying helicopters, offshore.
However, STRATFOR’s Pakistani sources say that Pakistan does control the base, indicating that the United States is not preventing Pakistan from conducting relief operations from Shahbaz air field. U.S. control over an air field in central Pakistan would be very difficult to hide; a great deal of American personnel would be visible, and many local contractors would certainly notice if only U.S. aircraft were operating there, which would certainly attract much media attention. Additionally, Pakistan’s Air Chief Marshal, Rao Qamar, attended a ceremony at Shahbaz air field June 27 in which he accepted three F-16s from the United States on behalf of the Pakistani Air Force (PAF), which would indicate that Pakistan controls the air base. The PAF designates Shahbaz air field as a forward operating base, although the PAF does not list any units as being based there on its website.
The United States has used Shahbaz air field to fly missions into Afghanistan, but it is unclear if the United States is still using it and if so, for what purposes. If the United States is still using the air field, it would do so under a leasing agreement, which is very different from controlling the base outright and would not prevent Pakistan from conducting relief operations during a time of national emergency. Also, running a small detachment of unmanned aerial vehicles out of an air field is not particularly intensive in terms of use of runways and taxiways and would not monopolize an air field.
These statements from the health secretary and the senator appear to be politically motivated, based on attempts by the opposition party, the PML-Q, to capitalize on the current crisis to undermine popular support for the current government by connecting it to alleged shortcomings in the rescue operation. Calling in an expert to give prearranged testimony that supports a politician’s argument is a common tactic by politicians in all countries and appears to have been used in this case.
Such issues could add to the problems of the current government, already weakened by the humanitarian disaster caused by the flooding. As the destruction from the current floods continues to generate chaos in Pakistan, STRATFOR expects more efforts from the government’s opposition to gain political capital from the crisis.
I find it significant that the new F-16's are based there. Could it be that the pakis are forbidden to use them against India, or that the US keeps the paki F-16's on a tight leash. Perhaps, that may be the reason, why the Indians have not complained too much.