PAK US Relations: Pakistan cabinet approves signing of security agreement with US – report

A media report said that Pakistan's cabinet has quietly approved the signing of a new security pact with the US. It is a move that signals a new beginning in bilateral defense cooperation after years of strain in ties between the two countries. Also, it can open the way for Pakistan to get military hardware from America.
The Cabinet, through a circulation summary, approved the signing of the Communication Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement, known as the CIS-MOA, between Pakistan and the US, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.
However, there was no official announcement from either of the countries regarding the signing of the agreement. According to the report, Federal Information Minister Maryam Aurangzeb was contacted to know about this but she did not respond.
The development comes a few days after Pakistan and the US agreed to further enhance their bilateral ties, including in the defense sector, at a meeting between US Central Command (Centcom) chief General Michael Eric Kurila and Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir. It came days later.
The CIS-MOA is the foundational agreement the United States signs with its allies and countries with whom it seeks to maintain close military and defense ties. It also provides legal cover to the US Department of Defense to ensure the sale of military equipment and hardware to other countries. The signing of CIS-MOA means that both countries are willing to maintain the institutional mechanism.
The agreement between Pakistan's Joint Staff Headquarters and the US Department of Defense, first signed in October 2005 for 15 years, expires in 2020. Both countries have now re-validated the arrangement which includes joint exercises, operations, training, basing, and equipment.
The report quoted a Washington source as saying that the signing of the CIS-MOA indicates that the US may sell some military hardware to Pakistan in the coming years.