Pakistan and Germany signed a military agreement in Rawalpindi Tuesday during a meeting between German Defence Minister Thomas de Maiziere and his counterpart, Ahmed Mukhtar. The agreement, coming after three years of preparation, is primarily aimed at the exchange of information. It also provides for joint monitoring of military manoeuvres and for Germany to offer training to Pakistani officers. It also outlined co-operation on arms.
Turning to other issues, Mukhtar said Pakistan planned soon to open routes to Afghanistan that are used by Nato to supply coalition forces in Afghanistan. The routes were closed three and a half months ago in response to a US attack on a Pakistani border post in which 24 died.
"This will happen in the near future," Mukhtar said after meeting De Maiziere. De Maiziere said he hoped the matter would be cleared up in a few weeks, "perhaps even in March." The visit was the first to Pakistan by a German defence minister since 2008. De Maiziere started a three-day trip to the region with a visit to the Uzbek capital of Tashkent on Monday.