American forces were given 15 days to vacate the remote Shamsi drone airbase, which was secretly turned over to them after the 9/11 attacks
Pakistan blocked supply routes for U.S.-led Nato occupation troops in Afghanistan and announced it would end American use of a Pakistani airbase by American forces in retaliation for a NATO attack on a Pakistani border outpost that officials said killed at least 24 soldiers and injured another 13.
The decision to order the Americans out followed an emergency meeting of Pakistan's top civilian and military leadership late Saturday to decide how to respond to the deaths of the soldiers.
Shamsi was used for launching the war in Afghanistan in late 2001, then later served as the base for the U.S. drone program targeting militants.
Set in desert in sparsely populated Baluchistan province in Pakistan's west, the airbase became highly controversial within Pakistan for its association with drone strikes, which Pakistan officially condemns.
The deaths of the Pakistani soldiers will pour fuel on the already raging anti-American sentiment.
