Pakistan considering tax on nato supplies

Pakistan is considering charging “millions of dollars” in taxes on Nato trucks and tankers which pass through Pakistan on their way to Afghanistan under what was previously a ‘verbal understanding’.
There had been no official agreement with the US or Nato regarding the use of Pakistani land and facilities, an official of the defence ministry told the BBC.
The senior officer said that there was neither any tax nor a fee for the use of Pakistani ports and storage facilities.
Pakistan’s fragile alliance with the US crashed to new lows after November 26, when Nato air strikes killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in what Islamabad said was a deliberate attack.
Islamabad sealed its Afghan border to Nato convoys, closures that entered a 17th day on Monday, forcing trucks back to Karachi.
The move was part of a list of recommendations passed by a parliamentary committee following the attacks.
Another official of the defence ministry, who chose to stay anonymous, said that the parliamentary committee also recommended that a tax be imposed on oil supplies to Nato as is imposed on every litre sold to Pakistanis.
“Pakistan will now impose tax on Nato supplies in light of the international conventions and practices, which will give the national exchequer billions of rupees of income,” he added.
Replying to a question, he said that the issue of any tax on the US or Nato supplies never came up during the last decade. He said that it was practically a kind of a ‘tax holiday’ for Nato and the USA.
He further said that recently when containers carrying supplies for Nato were attacked, the Frontier Corps was called to protect them without any payment.


On Sunday, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told the BBC that Pakistan may continue its blocking of Nato convoys into Afghanistan for several weeks.


On the same day, gunmen attacked tankers stranded in the province of Balochistan for the second time in four days.


The attackers shot dead a driver and destroyed seven tankers.


Pakistan stopped the convoys in protest at US air strikes that killed the 24 troops at two checkpoints on the Afghan border.


Mr Gilani refused to rule out closing Pakistan's airspace to the US.


The air strikes on 26 November marked a new low point in relations between Washington and Islamabad, which have long been strained by the US-led military campaign against militants in Afghanistan.


In a wide-ranging interview with the BBC, Mr Gilani said Pakistan and the US needed to trust each other more.


"Yes there is a credibility gap, we are working together and still we don't trust each other," he said.


"I think we have to improve our relationship so that... we should have more confidence in each other."


Nato forces in Afghanistan rely significantly on overland supply routes from the Pakistani sea port of Karachi, which enter Afghanistan through the Khyber Pass.


Hundreds of lorries have been camped out next to border crossings, waiting for the crisis to blow over.


Nato has apologised for the air strikes, calling them a "tragic unintended incident".