Pak-US may cut 'black and white' deal to remove ambiguities in 'fragile relationship'

Islamabad, July 5 (ANI): Pakistan and the United States are likely to enter a 'black and white' agreement, which would remove ambiguities in an otherwise fragile relationship between the two countries.

The agreement will spell out both areas of cooperation between the two countries and their respective limitations regarding the relationship.

According to officials, the understanding was reached as part of the 'package deal', which paved the way for resumption of NATO supplies routes into Afghanistan.

A Pakistani official familiar with the development said that the U.S. was earlier reluctant to negotiate such an accord since the existing 'vague' arrangements served its purpose.

The Express Tribune quoted the official, as saying that Pakistan, however, managed to convince the US on the issue during intense discussions aimed at breaking the deadlock on NATO supply lines.

According to the paper, another official disclosed that the two sides had exchanged 'non-papers' identifying each other's limitations during marathon talks between U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar in New York last September.

But the process ceased following the diplomatic standoff over last year's NATO air strikes on Pakistani check posts, which killed 24 soldiers.

The official said talks on the proposed agreement will begin soon with exchange of high-level visits from both sides.

For this purpose, the head of Pakistan's premier intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), will travel to Washington soon to discuss and identify areas of cooperation in the intelligence field. (ANI)