KARACHI, Oct 25: The Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Sami) and Pak- Afghan Defence Council have condemned the government for handing over most of the airports in Balochistan to the US.

The JUI, PADC leaders, including Maulana Samiul Haque, Maulana Shafiqur Rehman Darkhwasti, Maulana Qazi Abdul Latif, Maulana Syed Yusuf Shah, Maulana Amir Hamza Badeni, Maulana Allahdad Kakar and Maulana Asad Thanvi in a statement, said that after giving total control of Pasni, Panjgur, Dalbandain, Zhob and Gwadar airports to the Americans, the handing over of the Khuzdar airport indicated that the government had been turning Balochistan into a US cantonment.

They contested the government’s claim that the airports had been given to the US only for rescue missions and claimed that the American sorties had been flying from these airports for bombing on Afghan areas adjacent to Pakistan.

If the airports were being used for rescue missions, what was the justification for the presence of a large number of US commandos, air squadrons and ammunition, they questioned.

The JUI leaders apprehended that the US propaganda of anthrax attack was a pretext to justify the use of chemical weapons.