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US to hold talks on transporting supplies to Afghanistan

US Deputy Secretary of State Thomas Nides is expected to travel to Pakistan this week for discussions on framing a new agreement on the NATO supply routes.

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Pakistan and the US are expected to hold crucial talks on a new framework for transporting supplies to foreign troops in Afghanistan through Pakistani territory when a senior US official visits Islamabad this week, according to a media report on Monday.

US Deputy Secretary of State Thomas Nides is expected to travel to Pakistan this week for discussions on framing a new agreement on the NATO supply routes, The Express Tribune quoted unnamed officials as saying.

Nides, who is the responsible for management and resources, is due to hold talks with top Pakistani officials, including Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, an official said.

The talks will be the first formal negotiations on the issue between the two countries since Pakistan closed the supply routes in reaction to a NATO air strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in November.

A Pakistani parliamentary panel has recommended that the ban on the supply routes should not be lifted until the US offers an apology for the NATO attack and agrees to pay a tax on the transportation of supplies through Pakistani territory.

The official said Washington had shown its willingness to accept Islamabad's demand of additional fees on NATO goods passing through Pakistan.

The issue of reimbursements to Pakistan from the Coalition Support Fund for expenses incurred on the war on terror is also expected to be discussed during Nides' visit to Islamabad, another official said.

The reimbursements have been a contentious issue between the two countries.

The CSF was established by the US in 2001 to support 27 nations, including Pakistan, to partially cover costs they incur on the war against terror.

US Ambassador Cameron Munter met Finance Minister Shaikh last week to finalise the agenda of Nides' visit.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani ordered a parliamentary review of Pakistan-US ties after the NATO air strike.

The Parliamentary Committee on National Security has given 40 recommendations for resetting relations with the US.

A joint session of parliament has been unable to make progress on debating the parliamentary panel’s recommendations and framing new terms of engagement with the US due to reservations expressed by opposition parties.

The Parliamentary Committee on National Security is currently reviewing its original recommendations and is expected to present new proposals to lawmakers on April 5.
 

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