Significantly, the MOU was signed not in the capital, Islamabad but in Rawalpindi which is the headquarters of the Pakistani army. US Charge D’Affaires Richard Hoagland and Additional Secretary of Defence Rear Admiral Farrokh Ahmad signed the document which will remain valid till the end of 2015. Significantly, the agreement was concluded a day before the head of Pakistani intelligence Lieutenant-General Zaheer ul-Islam begins a three-day visit to Washington for talks with the CIA chief.
From the terms of the deal it appears Pakistan has not gained much monetarily notwithstanding American decision to release the pending/held up $1.18 billion under the Coalition Support Fund. This money is towards reimbursing the cost of fighting militants within Pakistan’s borders.
Pakistan has given up its insistence on transit fee; it will merely get a customs charge of $250 per container. Furthermore, cargoes will be allowed to transport food, medicines, and items of daily use to allied forces fighting in Afghanistan. While the deal specifies the two routes to be taken for the passage of supplies: one from Port Qasim to Afghanistan via the south-western Chaman border and the other from Port Qasim to Afghanistan via the northern Torkham Pass. It has a list running to several pages of lethal supplies that may not be transported through Pakistan, armoured vehicles and Humvees have been permitted, provided weapons are not mounted on it.
A Central Coordination Authority will oversee the implementation of the pact. A Pakistani official said the deal gave Islamabad the right to refuse or reject any shipment and that special radio chips would be fitted to the containers for monitoring purposes.
Pakistan lifted its blockade on NATO supplies after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said sorry for the air raid deaths at Salalah border post last November, but row over security guarantees and compensation have delayed the resumption of normal traffic.
Officials closed the Torkham border crossing – the quickest route to Kabul from Karachi – to NATO traffic last Thursday over security fears. The Pakistani Taliban have vowed to attack the Nato supplies and last week a truck driver was shot dead in the north-western town of Jamrud.
