ISLAMABAD, Dec 6: The foreign ministry informed the Senate on Friday that Nato supply lines were operating under terms agreed to by Pakistan and the US in July last year. In a written reply to a question put by Syeda Sughra Imam of the PPP, the ministry said the terms regarding the ‘ground lines of communication (GLOC)’ had been extensively discussed with a parliamentary committee and approved by the Defence Committee headed by Senator Raza Rabbani.
It said that Pakistan had been assisting the United States in retrograde cargo movement from Afghanistan to Karachi through the GLOC in the run up to the ‘drawdown’ of US forces in Afghanistan that was scheduled to be completed next year.
The house was informed that currently no new terms were being negotiated for the supply routes.
Senator Imam had also asked if the issue of Nato supply had been raised during the recent visit of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to Washington.
The ministry said that since the GLOC were functioning smoothly, the issue was not raised during the prime minister’s meetings in Washington.
The Foreign Office added that Pakistan and the US discussed at various levels issues relating to smooth functioning of the GLOC.
DEATH PENALTY: In reply to another question by Senator Imam, the ministry of foreign affairs said lifting the moratorium on implementation of death penalties could jeopardise Pakistan’s case for inclusion in the European Union’s GSP Plus trade concession scheme.
The moratorium was in place during the tenure of the previous, PPP-led government.
The senator had asked if retaining the moratorium was one of the prerequisites sent by the EU. The ministry said the EU was a strong proponent of universal abolition of death penalty.
“It regards death penalty as the most serious violation of individuals’ right to life. It expressed serious concern over the execution of a prisoner in Mianwali jail in November 2012.” However, the ministry said, the criteria set by the EU for GSP Plus status did not include moratorium on death penalty.