Pakistan Cabinet gives nod to signing of security pact with US, says report

Pakistans Cabinet has quietly approved the signing of a new security pact with the US a move that indicates a fresh start in bilateral defense cooperation after years of wilderness in ties and may open avenues for Islamabad to get military hardware from Washington a media report said on Thursday according to news agency PTIThe Cabinet through a circulation summary gave its seal of approval to the signing of the Communication Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement known as the CISMOA between Pakistan and the US The Express Tribune newspaper reportedHowever there was no official announcement from either side about the signing of the agreement According to the report Federal Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb was approached but did not respondThe development comes days after Pakistan and the US agreed to further enhance their bilateral relations including in the defense field at a meeting between US Central Command Centcom chief General Michael Erik Kurilla and Pakistans Chief of Army Staff COAS General Asim MunirCISMOA is a foundational agreement that the US signs with its allies and countries with which it wants to maintain close military and defense ties It also provides legal cover to the US Department of Defense for ensuring the sale of military equipment and hardware to other countriesThe signing of the CISMOA means that the two countries are keen to maintain the institutional mechanismThe agreement first signed between the Joint Staff Headquarters of Pakistan and the US Department of Defense in October 2005 for 15 years expired in 2020 The two sides have now renewed that arrangement which covers joint exercises operations training basing and equipmentThe signing of the CISMOA indicates that the US might sell some military hardware to Pakistan in coming years a source in Washington was quoted as saying in the reportHowever a retired senior Army officer who previously dealt with the US played down the development and said that it was not easy for Pakistan to buy military hardware from the US despite this agreementReferring to the growing strategic ties between the US and India the officer said Washingtons longterm interests are not aligned with Islamabad Nevertheless the US needs Pakistan in some critical regions and hence this agreement serves the purpose of both he saidPakistan was once a major recipient of military and security assistance from the US but with the cold war ending and China challenging US supremacy things changedThe situation prompted Washington to seek closer cooperation with India to counter China and meanwhile Pakistan lost its decades of significance in the eyes of the US the report saidPakistan and the US maintained close defense cooperation but their ties came under strain due to differences over the issue of Afghanistan The killing of former alQaeda chief Osama bin Laden by US Navy Seals in Pakistans Abbottabad close to a military training school in 2011 deteriorated the situationIn the same year the US forces bombed a Pakistani military outpost on the Afghan border killing 24 soldiers and prompting Islamabad to block the land routes used by the allied forces to carry vital supplies to AfghanistanThe issue was later resolved but the relations could not escape the shadow of Afghanistan However things have improved since the current government took over in April last year and endorsement of the new pact may be a sign of a fresh beginning the report saidPTI