PAK ALLOWING US SUPPLIES BY AIR
Presence of US team in Pak suggests pacts are in place
KARACHI: Amid news that Pakistan secretly allowed US-led Nato forces to use its airspace for transporting lethal supplies to Afghanistan despite a ground embargo has led to speculation that there US-Pakistan relations are on the mend. There are hopes for an announcement in July, say officials.
A Pakistani national daily, Daily Dawn, reported on Monday that two new developments — the call by secretary of state Hillary Clinton to newly installed PM, Raja Pervez Ashraf, and the presence of a high level US delegation in Islamabad, suggest that some agreements are in place for reopening of the Nato supply route to Afghanistan.
Pakistan-US relations have plummeted since a November 2011 raid by US forces in Pakistani soil. This raid led to the killing of 24 Pakistani soldiers and prompted a sharp reaction from the military leadership, forcing the civilian government of PM Yousaf Raza Gilani to suspend permission for overland supply of Nato supplies to Afghanistan.
Pakistan loses out financially as relations are in cold storage. The US administration has withheld funds meant for various projects in Pakistan under American assistance programmes and has delayed payments under the Coalition Support Fund, which compensates Pakistan for its role in the US war in Afghanistan. The breakdown has also meant less US commitments and threats of further economic slowdown.
For its part, Pakistan has demanded an apology from the US. Earlier, it had also demanded financial compensation for those killed. For allowing overland transportation of Nato supplies, it has also revised what it charges per container — the revised fee being ten times the earlier amount. Observers see all these as tactics by Islamabad to manage to extract the maximum from the US side. But some say Pak may have outplayed its hand. “The bravado that we first saw has died down. What we are seeing is the new PM looking for a way out that is acceptable to both sides,” comments analyst Javed Chaudhry, who adds Pakistan seems to have lost out more from the embargo, if seen in the long term.