Fresh allegations that Pakistan may have provided sanctuary to Iranian military aircraft during the ongoing West Asia crisis have reignited one of South Asia’s oldest geopolitical memories — the 1971 India-Pakistan war, when Iran openly backed Islamabad and reportedly allowed Pakistani military assets to operate from its territory.
The latest controversy emerged after a CBS report suggested Iranian military aircraft may have been dispersed into Pakistan as tensions escalated between Tehran, the United States and Israel. Pakistani officials have strongly denied the allegations, calling them implausible and insisting that sensitive airbases such as Nur Khan could not conceal foreign aircraft activity. But the accusations — regardless of whether independently verified — have revived uncomfortable historical parallels stretching back more than five decades.
During the 1971 India-Pakistan war, Iran under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi emerged as one of Pakistan’s closest regional supporters. Tehran supplied Islamabad with fuel, spare parts, helicopters and military assistance while sharply criticising India’s intervention in East Pakistan, which eventually led to the creation of Bangladesh.
Historical accounts and declassified Nixon-era American documents later indicated that some Pakistani military aircraft were reportedly sheltered at Iranian facilities during the conflict. Washington, under President Richard Nixon, quietly encouraged Iranian assistance as part of a broader Cold War strategy aimed at preventing a total Pakistani collapse.
At the time, both Iran and Pakistan were key members of CENTO — the Cold War anti-Soviet alliance backed by the United States. That earlier alignment now gives the current allegations an added layer of geopolitical irony.
More than 50 years later, Iran is no longer a Western ally but Washington’s principal adversary in West Asia. Pakistan, meanwhile, has evolved into China’s closest strategic and military partner in South Asia, even as it simultaneously attempts to rebuild strained ties with the United States.
The latest allegations have specifically drawn attention to Pakistan’s Nur Khan Airbase near Rawalpindi — one of the country’s most sensitive military aviation hubs. Pakistani officials rejected claims involving the base, arguing that its location inside a heavily populated urban area would make it impossible to secretly host “a large fleet of aircraft”.
The US administration has also stopped short of publicly accusing Islamabad of wrongdoing. At the same time, reports indicated that Iran had dispersed some civilian aircraft into neighbouring Afghanistan as tensions intensified. Afghan civil aviation officials reportedly confirmed that at least one Mahan Air aircraft landed in Kabul before later being moved to Herat amid fears of possible escalation.
Even without direct evidence of Iranian military aircraft operating from Pakistan, the allegations have already triggered political debate in Washington. Islamabad today relies heavily on Chinese military hardware, with estimates suggesting nearly 80 per cent of Pakistan’s major arms imports between 2020 and 2024 originated from China.
At the same time, Pakistan has also sought to restore military and intelligence cooperation with the United States after years of friction during the later Obama and Biden periods.
Source: India Latest News, Breaking News Today, Top News Headlines | Times Now
