NATO forces denied diplomatic immunity in Pakistan
Jan 26, 2007 - 2:45:16 PM
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The NATO delegation assured that NATO troops would observe utmost caution while carrying out operations near the Pak-Afghan border in future to ensure that such unfortunate incidents did not recur.
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By IANS,
[RxPG] Islamabad/Kabul, Jan 26 - Pakistan has refused diplomatic immunity and tax concessions to NATO forces stationed in Afghanistan following last Monday's shoot-out in which one soldier was killed and two were injured.
Sources privy to a meeting between Pakistan's Defence Secretary Tariq Wasim Ghazi, a retired army official and a NATO delegation, said that Pakistan turned down the demand that NATO be exempted from taxes and duties on the import of its military paraphernalia, said The Daily Times on Thursday.
It did not indicate the nature of the sources, but said that issue of providing diplomatic immunity to NATO - soldiers, while they were in Pakistan, was also discussed though Pakistan refused to provide this facility.
However, the sources quoted said Pakistan allowed NATO forces to establish liaison offices at ports and at airports for their use.
Pakistan also rejected another demand that NATO soldiers be allowed to carry weapons while moving in the country.
Reacting to the killing of a Pakistani soldier by NATO forces in North aziristan, President Pervez Musharraf threatened that relations between the two countries could get adversely affected if such incidents were repeated.
Islamabad has formally lodged protests with the US and the British envoys.
While Pakistan has held that the shooting and killing was 'mistaken', NATO has said that its soldiers were responding to 'shooting of a similar nature' from the Pakistani side.
Meanwhile, there were conflicting claims about the responsibility over the incident.
Quoting official sources, Dawn reported from Rawalpindi that Baldwin de Vidts, NATO's legal officer who led his side at the talks with Tariq Wasim Ghazi, admitted the mistake and regretted it.
The NATO delegation assured that NATO troops would observe utmost caution while carrying out operations near the Pak-Afghan border in future to ensure that such unfortunate incidents did not recur.
Meanwhile, a report from Kabul said that NATO was not ready to accept blame pending investigation.
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