 The British newspaper "The Times" stated on 18 February 2009 that the CIA was using Pakistan's Shamsi Airfield, southwest of Quetta and from the Afghan border, as its base for drone operations.Safar Khan, a journalist based in the area near Shamsi, told the "Times", "We can see the planes flying from the base.The area around the base is a high-security zone and no one is allowed there."