In the wake of the deadly blast in Kabul recently, Pakistan is said to have received scores of US troops and Afghan nationals as refugees. The provincial metropolis is likely to host many in the near future.

Earlier, Islamabad officially acknowledged the arrival of US military planes carrying hundreds of American army personnel from Kabul, at the Islamabad International Airport. Mystery prevails as to why they aren’t returning to the US, or flying to Qatar, Bahrain and the UAE which boast strings of hotels. Also, the Middle Eastern countries have huge US military bases.

Sources reveal that although most US troops have landed in Islamabad, Karachi and Peshawar, arrangements are being finalised for their stay in Lahore too. Because of the volatile situation in Afghanistan, Pakistan has amped up the evacuation efforts. As many as 400 special flights carrying Afghan nationals and foreigners from Kabul have departed from and arrived at the Islamabad International Airport (IIAP) since the August 16 Taliban takeover.

A senior government officer tells TNS, requesting anonymity, “Everything is on paper, and the authorities are minutely analysing every aspect of the rapidly changing situation.”

According to him, names of hotels and other places proposed for the US troops’ stay have been finalised and their managements informed. The government has also given instructions to the city administration to be prepared for the situation.

Last month, the government put a moratorium on reservations at all major hotels in Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, and Peshawar to arrange accommodation for what it estimated to be thousands of foreigners including diplomats, staff of foreign missions, journalists and others fleeing Afghanistan.

Last month, the government put a moratorium on reservations at all major hotels in Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar to arrange accommodation for what it estimated to be thousands of foreigners including diplomats, staff of foreign missions, journalists and others fleeing Afghanistan.

Abbas Ahmed, a businessman who recently travelled from Peshawar to Lahore, vouches for the fact that reservations at major hotels are frozen. “No four- and five-star hotels in Islamabad, Karachi and Peshawar are taking requests for booking.”

Such a situation does not prevail in Lahore where hotel rooms are available.

Cantt Division SP Safdar Raza Kazmi speaks of security being beefed up in the city in view of the developments in the neighbouring Afghanistan. “The situation demands a vigilant police which is on its toes all the time,” he says.

Kazmi says that not a single American soldier has landed in Lahore. However, the police are on high alert. “Deployment of police for the security of the foreign guests is contingent upon their arrival.”

Earlier, the arrival of an American military plane carrying US troops created furor on social media, with many Pakistanis bashing Prime Minister Imran Khan for going back on his word.

Soon after the images of US soldiers landing at the Islamabad airport went viral, sparking rumours that the Americans could set up a military base in Pakistan, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid rejected the claims as baseless. He stated that the foreigners arriving in the country had been issued transit visas for 21 to 30 days.

The minister said that Pakistan is a “responsible country” and the government would fulfill its duty towards national security. He also said that no country had rendered greater sacrifices for peace in Afghanistan than Pakistan.

Answering a question, he said that as many as 2,192 individuals had entered Pakistan from Torkham border while 1,627 had arrived in Islamabad by air. A small number of people have come from Chaman border.

The minister stated that many people travelled between Pakistan and Afghanistan through Chaman border on a daily basis. Besides, a number of Afghans entered Pakistan from the same border and returned to their country. He dubbed it normal activity.

It may be mentioned here that a few months back, there were reports in both US and Pakistani media claiming that the US administration was seeking military bases in Pakistan to influence developments in Afghanistan, particularly if the Taliban seized Kabul. However, in June, the prime minister ruled out hosting American bases in Pakistan for military action in the war-torn Afghanistan. He feared that it might lead to the country becoming a target of “revenge attacks.”

The writer is a senior journalist and can be reached at ahsanzia155@gmail.com