Islamabad, May 12 -- Pakistan seems to have shot itself in the foot after it officially confirmed that it has permitted Iranian military aircraft to utilise its strategic airbases amidst the recent conflict between the US and the Islamic Republic in West Asia.

Amid scrutiny over its role as the mediator in the negotiations between the two sides over reports that suggested Pakistan was letting Tehran use its airbases during the conflict, an official statement from the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) on Tuesday attempted to "categorically reject" the news report that exposed the presence of Iranian aircraft at the Nur Khan Airbase.

However, the statement inadvertently confirms the core of the allegations that Iranian military...