North Atlantic Treaty Organization—Pakistan relations are the military–to–military relations between Pakistan and the comprised 30-states military alliance, called NATO. Over recent years, NATO has developed relations with a range of countries beyond the Euro-Atlantic area, considering Pakistan as "partners across the globe." Lobbied and with a support provided by United States Secretary of State, General (retired)

Colin Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; April 5, 1937 – October 18, 2021) was an American politician, statesman, diplomat, and United States Army officer who served as the 65th United States Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African ...

, Pakistan is designated as a " Major non-NATO ally" as of 2004. Mutual understanding and cooperation between Pakistan and NATO used to be develops in several main sectors: fighting insurgency and terrorism in

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

and Afghanistan, military cooperation, transportation and logistics operations support to Afghanistan, non-proliferation, and others. With the end of the war and China's strong influence in Pakistan, bilateral relations became weaker.

Military relations and understanding

Cooperation on Bosnian War

In 1994, the Pakistan Armed Forces contingent joined the United Nations Protection Forces in Bosnia (UNPROFOR) to support the NATO's operations during the

Bosnian war The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...

. Reviewing and recognizing the commendable performance of the Pakistan Armed Forces Contingents as United Nations peacekeepers in Somalia and Cambodia, the United Nations requested the Government of Pakistan to contribute troops to the United Nations Protection Force in Bosnia-Herzegovina. A 3000 strong contingent consisting of two Battalion Groups and a National Support (NS) Headquarters left for Bosnia and Croatia in May 1994. In close coordination with CIA and the

ISI ISI or Isi may refer to: Organizations * Intercollegiate Studies Institute, a classical conservative organization focusing on college students * Ice Skating Institute, a trade association for ice rinks * Indian Standards Institute, former name of ...

headed the intelligence operations to curbed down the insurgency in the Bosnia.

Stability in Afghanistan and Central Asia

In 2007, the Pakistan military and NATO established the Joint Intelligence Operations Centre (JIOC), a joint initiative designed to improve intelligence coordination between NATO, ISAF and Pakistan, which was opened in Kabul. According to the NATO sources, Pakistan's continuous support for the efforts of NATO and ISAF in Afghanistan remains crucial to the success of the NATO's mission. In 2007

state visit A state visit is a formal visit by a head of state to a foreign country, at the invitation of the head of state of that foreign country, with the latter also acting as the official host for the duration of the state visit. Speaking for the host ...

to NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Prime Minister

Shaukat Aziz Shaukat Aziz ( ur, ; born 6 March 1949) is a Pakistani former banker and financier who served as 17th prime minister of Pakistan from 28 August 2004 to 15 November 2007, as well as the finance minister of Pakistan from 6 November 1999 to 15 ...

put it:

"Pakistan is committed to a strong, stable Afghanistan. The one country that will benefit the most, after Afghanistan itself, will be Pakistan."

Although Pakistan has expressed reservations with some operational issues, dialogue on Afghanistan once occupied important role with the Alliance.

Conflicts of interest

Salala incident

In 2011, NATO's relations with Pakistan worsen after an unfriendly attack took place in near border; Pakistan responded with suspending all NATO operations, boycotting the

Bonn Conference After Operation Enduring Freedom in which the Taliban government was toppled in Afghanistan, in December 2001, the German city of Bonn hosted a conference – widely known as the Bonn Conference – of Afghan leaders at Hotel Petersberg, to choo ...

and evicting the US air force from Shamsi air force base. The squabble was resolved peacefully when United States formally apologized to Pakistan. In 2013, the military-to-military relations between NATO and Pakistan were strengthened following NATO's recognition of Pakistan's important role in the region and as enabler to NATO’s Mission in Afghanistan. Airspace violations by NATO aircraft into Pakistan have been a common source of friction between the two parties.

NATO logistics

Currently, there are two main NATO supply routes which cross through Pakistan: one is via Torkham and the other is via Chaman. The supply lines have often been blocked in Pakistan owing to differences with NATO over issues such as the Salala incident and the drone attacks in Pakistan. In late 2013, the

PTI PTI may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Pardon the Interruption'', an American television sports show * PTI, a musical group on the WTII Records label Organizations * Pacific Torah Institute, a yeshiva high school in Vancouver, British Columb ...

-led government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province blocked the Torkham supply line to protest drone attacks in Pakistan. After a request by NATO countries to Imran Khan to open the route, Khan rejected the request and stated that the blockade would continue until drone attacks are stopped. Since 2008, the NATO supply routes have also been under attack by insurgent groups, and in an incident the same year, ~42 oil tankers were destroyed, and later that same year 300 militants attacked a facility in Peshawar run by Port World Logistics and set fire to 96 supply trucks and six containers.

References

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