Pakistan calls for a comprehensive conventional arms trade treaty that strikes a correct balance between motivations for production and acquisition of such arms; According to top US Senators
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    • According to reports, Pakistan has called for a comprehensive conventional arms trade treaty that strikes a correct balance between motivations for production and acquisition of such arms. “The history and politics of arms regulation dictate a comprehensive approach which takes into account priorities of all member states in a non-discriminatory manner,” Ambassador Raza Bashir Tarar, Pakistanis deputy permanent representative to the UN, told member states at a session of the first UN Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty. Taking place at UN Headquarters in New York, the four-week Conference has brought together the UN’s 193 Member States to negotiate what is seen as the most important initiative ever regarding conventional arms regulation within the United Nations, according to the Conference officials. 1

    In another development, according to reports, top US senators, on July 10, 2012, have said that Pakistan should get $1.1 billion in US funds that have been held up for months now that Islamabad has reopened crucial NATO supply lines to Afghanistan. A major obstacle to releasing the money was removed last week when Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton apologized to Pakistan for the killing of 24 Pakistani troops last fall and Pakistan, in return, agreed to reopen the overland supply lines to US-led coalition forces. Congress has already approved the money to reimburse Pakistan for counterterrorism operations, but it has been on hold for some six months. Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Michigan, a Democrat and one of the panel’s top Republicans, Lindsey Graham, said the money should be released, albeit reluctantly. 2

    Reports noted that Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Parvez Ashraf Ashraf is due to visit Kabul on July 16, 2012, in his first foreign trip since becoming the prime minister. During the visit, he will seek clarity on peace-making efforts. According to officials, Ashraf’s upcoming visit now has greater significance in view of a recent breakthrough in ties between Pakistan and the United States. 3

    In other developments, according to reports, Islamabad and Washington will soon formally sign a new agreement to regulate trucks carrying supplies for NATO troops in Afghanistan. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Moazzam Ali Khan told reporters on July 12, 2012 that Pakistan and the United States had almost completed technical discussions, and officials were now consulting with their respective authorities to finalise the new accord. “We are quite hopeful that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be signed shortly,” he stated. 4

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