[citation needed] In June 2014, a joint military offensive was conducted by the Pakistan Armed Forces against militant groups operating in North Waziristan, then part of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, both of which had seen extensive violence in the wake of the War in Afghanistan (post-9/11).

The offensive, codenamed Operation Zarb-e-Azb, was launched in the wake of the 2014 Jinnah International Airport attack in Karachi, Sindh, for which the Tehrik-i-Taliban claimed responsibility.

The base served as a former Central Intelligence Agency–United States Air Force Security Service listening post in Western Bloc-allied Pakistan during the Cold War,[7] used by the 6937 Communications Group from 17 July 1959[8] to 7 January 1970,[9] when the facility was formally closed.

[10] Peshawar Air Station served as the launching point for the United States' notoriously ill-fated 1960 U-2 reconnaissance mission into the Soviet Union.

Heavy contingents of military reinforcements were called after an intense gunfight erupted between the terrorists and Pakistani security forces inside the base.