ISLAMABAD, Oct 11: Pakistan confirmed on Thursday that the US military personnel had arrived in the country but said it would not be a base for US-led strikes on Afghanistan.

When asked if the US military personnel were already on the ground, spokesman for President Pervez Musharraf, Maj-Gen Rashid Qureshi said: “I don’t think they’re combat troops.”

Gen Qureshi, however, declined to provide details of the support Pakistan was giving to the United States.

“However, I can say that there are no offensive operations that have been launched or are being launched against Afghanistan from Pakistan,” he said.

“Pakistan has committed to support and cooperating with the world community and the United States in promising an exchange of information and intelligence, airspace, whenever and if ever required, and logistical support whenever it is required,” said Qureshi.

But he would not confirm details of support to the United States: “That could compromise the tactical plan so we are not talking about it.” Gen Qureshi declined to say who the US military personnel were.

“I’m sorry that’s an area that I’m not authorized to disclose,” he said. “However, we also know that there are no offensive operations that are going to be launched (from Pakistan). That is clear.

“Beyond that we don’t want to disclose what sort of logistic support because that would be talking about tactical plans and we don’t want to jeopardise the forces,” he said.

Talking to German news agency dpa, Maj-Gen Rashid Qureshi refused to comment on the presence of the US personnel (army or civilian) and the handing over of one of its airbases, saying its soil was not being used for any offensive operations. “We stand committed to provide logistic support and to share intelligence information with the US but we will not disclose elements of the tactical advance and the substance of the logistical support,” Gen Qureshi said. —Reuters/dpa