A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the transit of cargo to and from Afghanistan through Pakistan was signed between Islamabad and Washington on Tuesday bringing in a degree of transparency to the arrangement that has been in place for over a decade now.
After signing the MoU for the U.S., Charge’ d’Affaires Richard Hoagland said $1.8 billion had been released by Washington as payment of the Coalition Support Fund (CSF) to Pakistan. The CSF was created to reimburse Pakistan for the cost of counter-insurgency operations.
The contours of the MoU took nearly a month to materialise after Pakistan on July 3 decided to reopen the Ground Lines of Communication (GLOC or NATO supply lines) running through its territory into Afghanistan. In a statement, the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad said: “The MoU is a demonstration of increased transparency and openness between our governments, in respect of Pakistan’s sovereignty as requested by the Pakistani Parliament.’’
The supply lines had been shut for NATO-bound cargo from the port city of Karachi to Afghanistan via Torkham in Khyber and Chaman in Balochistan towards the end of November 2011 after helicopters of the coalition forces west of the Durand Line fired upon Pakistani soldiers manning the border in Mohmand tribal agency.
Though there is a written document now detailing the terms and conditions for GLOC, the details of the MoU were not made public. However, according to officials in the know of the negotiations that have been going on, the MoU is valid till the end of 2015 with a provision for renewal should the necessity arise.
According to Foreign Office spokesman Moazzam Khan, the MoU broadly draws from the guidelines recommended by Parliament for re-engagement with the U.S. Consequently, no arms and ammunition — except those for the Afghan National Army — will be transported through GLOC. And, official sources claimed that Pakistan had the right to scan the trucks and containers at Karachi, Torkham and Chaman.
While the agreement has been signed between the U.S. and Pakistan, there is a provision for other member countries of NATO to avail of this facility that will be a vital route for removal of equipment from Afghanistan once the Afghan draw down begins. Pakistan has levied no additional charges for GLOC; maintaining that it had shut down the routes to protest the death of 26 soldiers at NATO’s hands and not to get more money as was speculated during the tough days of negotiation before the supply lines were reopened.
Since the supply lines reopened earlier this month, the Torkham exit has been shut down for NATO supplies for nearly a week now following an attack on some of the trucks. Security is being strengthened all along the route in view of the anti-Americanism that is rampant here though there are reports that the Taliban — particularly in Afghanistan — are happy over the resumption of supply lines as they have benefitted hugely from the transit of the NATO cargo by way of pay-offs to ensure that the trucks move without hindrance.
