Washington, Dec. 19 (ANI): The Pentagon has notified Congress this month that it would reimburse Pakistan nearly 700 million dollars for the cost of stationing 140,000 troops on the border with Afghanistan.
The 688 million dollar payment, the first since this summer, which covers food, ammunition and other expenses from June through November 2011, was sent to Capitol Hill on December 7, reports The Dawn.
The reimbursements had been held up until now due to disputes over several incidents last year that hurt the bilateral relations.
US and Pakistani officials have said that Congressional reaction to Pentagon's notification with no opposition to the move, underscores how relations between the two countries have been gradually thawing since Pakistan reopened the NATO supply routes in July after an apology from the Obama administration for an American airstrike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in November 2011.
The US-Pak relationship was rocked in the past two years by a CIA contractor's shooting of two Pakistanis, the Navy SEAL raid that killed Bin Laden and the November 26, 2011 airstrike on Salala posts along the Afghan border.
The improvement in relations has allowed the US to reduce the huge backlog of NATO supplies at the border, down to about 3,000 containers from 7,000 when the border crossings reopened, and to conduct dry runs for the tons of equipment that will flow out of Afghanistan.
Moreover, the two sides have resumed a series of high-level meetings, capped by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's meeting this month with top Pakistani officials in Brussels, on a range of topics including counter-terrorism, economic cooperation, energy and nuclear security. (ANI)
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