Pakistan waives 'inflated' 1.3 billion dollars claim under U.S. Coalition Support Fund

Islamabad, July 10 (ANI): After waiving transit fees for NATO supplies, Pakistan has now given up on a huge chunk of another payment from the U.S.

Contrary to an official statement issued earlier, Pakistan has decided to forgo 1.3 billion dollars of the total 2.5 billion dollars 'reconciled' outstanding amount the U.S. was to pay under war on terror reimbursement claims of the Coalition Support Fund (CSF) for the period from July 2010 to April 2011, reports The Express Tribune.

The amount is even more than the 900 million dollars the U.S. had refused to pay, which means the earlier total bill of 3.4 billion dollars was overstated by a whopping 2.22 billion dollars, raising serious questions over the credibility of the country's financial managers, the paper states.

A senior official from the finance ministry said the bills were inflated, contrary to what senior functionaries had said earlier.

Recent reports following the reopening of NATO routes suggest the U.S. will now pay only 1.18 billion dollars under the CSF, which Washington disburses after a rigorous 11-stage scrutiny process against expenditures Pakistan has already incurred in its fight against terrorism. The finance ministry official said the money will be released in the next 15 days.

Pakistan has also taken back its demand of a 5,500 dollars transit fee for each NATO container crossing through its territory. Some reports suggest the move is to dispel the impression that the route was blocked for financial gains and not over the U.S. apology for the Salala air raid, which killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

The Pakistan government had earlier claimed that the 5,500 dollars was inclusive of charges for repairing roads damaged due to heavy traffic movement. The government has not yet divulged how it intends to repair the damaged roads. It is said the national exchequer has already sustained a loss of 124 billion dollars on account of NATO containers passing through its territory, states the paper. (ANI)