ISLAMABAD: A team of senior defence officials from Pakistan will go to Washington this week for talks which will focus on replenishing US-supplied weapons for Pakistan, official sources said yesterday.
Sources said the US had agreed to continue reimbursing Pakistan from the Coalition Support Fund despite objections from some lawmakers.
Director General Joint Staff Lt General Mohammad Asif will represent Pakistan at the Defence Resources Conference, which begins in Washington today.
The meeting will review Pakistan’s defence requirements in the fight against terrorists and for self-defence, and make recommendations.
The sources, however, rejected media reports that the US and Pakistan had reached an understanding to allow Islamabad to receive some of the weapons the Americans would be leaving behind while withdrawing from Afghanistan in 2014.
“Several countries are interested in those weapons and no decision has yet been made on this particular subject,” said a source.
Sources said that the US and Pakistan were also negotiating a new arrangement for reimbursing Islamabad from the Coalition Support Fund.
In the present arrangement, Pakistan submits its claim for every dollar it spends in the fight against terrorists.
The US in turn, has to check and approve each item before funds can be released.
Under the proposed arrangement, reimbursements will be divided into several major sectors and Pakistan will be required to file claims for each.
The US Defence Security Cooperation Agency, while justifying the reimbursements, noted that “Pakistan conducts major border operations along the Afghan border.
“It has significantly impacted terrorist networks in the region, achieving successes that would be difficult for US Armed Forces to attain,” it added.
Internews
