Pakistan’s government is negotiating with the US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), fighting militancy in Afghanistan, on imposition of a “security surcharge” on the military hardware the multinational troops plan to retrieve from the landlocked country by the end of next year.
The surcharge is being levied in line with the 14-point Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) the Pakistan’s Ministry of Defence had signed with the ISAF representatives in Islamabad after lifting of the NATO supply route blockade in September last year.
In return, Pakistan would be providing the outbound NATO equipment with additional security, the need for which would arise once international troops start withdrawing their equipment.
According to sources privy to the matter, the ministries of defence, ports and shipping, commerce and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) are engaged with Americans in what has been described as an “inter-ministerial dialogue” for imposing a security surcharge on NATO’s war equipment which will be, fully or partially, transported via Pakistani land and sea routes sooner or later.
The proposed surcharge, said sources, ranges from $ 10 to $ 20 per twenty-equivalent-unit (TEU) to be collected by port operators at Karachi Port Trust (KPT) and Port Qasim Authority (PQA) who would also be responsible for making required security arrangements.
NATO, reportedly, has to pull back some 0.3 million units from Afghanistan, including 0.2 million TEUs (containers) and 0.1 million vehicles.
Giving a break-up of the surcharge, sources said each of the vehicles and 20-feet containers being shipped through local ports would be charged at $ 20 and $10, respectively. “Charges for a 40-feet container would naturally double,” they added.
“Americans are potentially exposing Pakistani ports to additional security threats, to guard against which we would be in a pressing need to deploy additional security apparatus,” said a well-informed official while justifying the levy.
“This surcharge is to recover the expenses that additional security would incur,” he added.
The official said a clause of the 14-point MoU, inked in September 2012 by Pakistan and the US-led NATO forces provided that Islamabad “could” at a later stage impose such a surcharge to recover its security-related expenditures.
Sources said port operators would be deploying armed personnel to guard the entry and exit points at the ports. While the KPT maintains a well-trained Port Security Force (PSF), the PQA has no such armed wing.
“Other security measures could be the installation of additional surveillance cameras in the port vicinity, enhanced patrolling and most importantly cordoning off the walled area created by the plying of container stakes,” they said.
Deterrence, said sources, would be created against a potential terrorist threat. “Seaports are considered to be the most sensitive strategic points where any untoward incident sends a strong message to the outside world,” they said.
Sources added Americans had no objections to Pakistan’s proposal for a surcharge. “They don’t care much about a $ 10 duty. They are well aware of the huge financial costs of a smooth withdrawal,” they added.