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US signs deal with Pakistan on NATO convoys
The Obama administration on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding with Pakistan on reopening NATO supply routes to Afghanistan, according to the president's nominee to be ambassador to Islamabad.
“The re-opening of the NATO supply lines provides a renewed opportunity to increase cooperation on our many shared interests,” Richard Olson testified before the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee. “If confirmed, I hope to build on this opportunity to identify and refine our shared interests with Pakistan, and find practical, effective ways to work together to achieve them.”
Pakistan closed the routes, which are used to deliver non-lethal supplies, after the United States mistakenly killed 24 Pakistani troops on the border with Afghanistan in November. Pakistan agreed to reopen the routes after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton apologized earlier this month.
The new deal contains a written guarantee that Pakistan will be allowed to scan containers to ensure they do not contain weapons, Britain's Telegraph reports. The United States also agreed to release $1.1 billion in foreign aid to reimburse Pakistan for the cost of counter-insurgency operations.
