MUSHTAQ GHUMMAN

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet has reportedly approved extension in pact with the US till January 31, 2018 for transit of cargoes to and from Afghanistan, well-informed sources told Business Recorder. The approval has been granted on a summary of Ministry of Defence submitted to all the federal cabinet members through circulation which implies that ministers gave their approval individually without discussion.

The sources said NATO has provided legal authority to Islamabad to auction/dispose of containers stuck at Karachi Port as per the law for reimbursement of outstanding dues.

NATO’s Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Operations (Operation Division), John Manza had written a letter to Rear Admiral Faisal Rasul Lodhi (M), Additional Secretary, on June 13, 2017 stating that on the specific issue of the use of ground lines of communication for NATO cargo transiting Pakistan, he believes that it was important to capture the points that were discussed. In particular, the specific concern expressed by Pakistan on the issue of significant number of shipping containers that have been stuck in storage facilities associated with the Karachi Port Trust since, in some cases, 2011.

These containers were prevented from being moved through Pakistan to Afghanistan by circumstances which NATO needs not go into in this correspondence but, since they contained, in the most part, perishable goods, the onward delivery of the containers once the lines of communication re-opened was not a viable proposition.

He further stated that in accordance with the Terms of Reference (Section 5.5), NATO considers the stuck containers to be “abandoned cargo.”

“As such we confirm that the seals may be broken; the containers may be opened; and the contents disposed of in the light of Pakistan’s Customs Act (1969). The containers themselves could then be returned to the relevant owner,” he continued.

According to sources, Pakistan ‘s Ministry of Defence had signed an MoU with the US for a period of three years (ending on December 31, 2015) to establish necessary measures and procedures to organize the transit of US cargo through the territory of Pakistan, using Ground Lines of Communication (GLOCs) to and from Afghanistan.

“The long outstanding issue of Nato’s containers stuck in Karachi port, their payment modalities and further disposal have also been favourably negotiated and the concerned NATO authorities have been successfully re-engaged after a gap of three years,” the sources maintained.

“There are still a few points which have not been settled between the two sides especially the clauses pertaining to delineation of clear responsibility for payment of dues. Negotiations to settle these differences are ongoing and are likely to take some more time,” the sources said, adding that the announcement of new Afghan policy by the US government has also become a point of concern for Pakistan and an early finalization of the MoU under the current environment is not considered prudent.

Ministry of Defence had proposed that the validity period of the existing MoU may further be extended for further four months up to January 31, 2018.

However, on the request of the US side and in consultation with stakeholders, the Prime Minister extended the validity of the MoU for another year till December 31, 2016. The validity of the MoU was further extended up to March 31, May 31 and Aug 31, 2017 in order to revise/finalize the ToRs and the MoU.

The sources said a few contentious issues such as duration of applicability of the proposed MoU, its legality and the outstanding payment of services rendered by Pakistan have been extensively negotiated.

Through concerted efforts of MoD and other stakeholders, the US authorities agreed that duration of applicability of the MoU would be one year and its extension would be negotiated six months prior to its expiry, the sources added.