Pakistan mulls tax on NATO shipments

Pakistan is formulating plans to tax NATO for every load of supplies trucked through its territory en route to Western forces in Afghanistan, according to a report in British newspaper The Guardian.

Citing anonymous military and civilian sources, the report suggests Pakistan may levy a charge of $1,500 per shipping container, and a separate charge for tankers, when it finally reopens its border to NATO traffic. The border convoys were halted by Pakistan in retaliation for a U.S. air strike which killed 24 Pakistani soldiers last month.

While Pakistani officials tell CBS News' Farhan Bokhari the report by the Guardian is "premature," they do not deny the notion that a tax on NATO shipments is being considered.

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"We have to first clarify exactly how and when the route will reopen before discussing new taxes," a Pakistani government official told CBS News, speaking on condition of anonymity.

A second source from the Pakistani security forces confirmed that a plan to tax cross-border NATO supply convoys to CBS News, but did not elaborate on how far along that plan was at present. The source also said a separate grant may be arranged which would be paid by the foreign forces for the upkeep of the highways leading out of Pakistan into Afghanistan, which have been damaged by the constant stream of heavy supply trucks.

Sources suggest the negotiations between NATO, U.S. and Pakistani officials are making progress, and that all sides are keen to get the border reopened to the supply convoys.

NATO says only about a third of its supplies for Afghanistan now come into the country via Pakistan. According to The Guardian, NATO estimates that a total of about 4,000 shipping containers enter Afghanistan carrying supplies every month, from all routes.

The suspension of cross-border traffic is also taking a toll on Afghanistan's military operations, a high-ranking Afghan official and aid to President Hamid Karzai tells CBS News.

The fuel tankers which enter Afghanistan also help supply the Afghan National Army, and the army "has already felt the shortage of the fuel, and it affects operations," the official told CBS News' Sami Yousafzai.

"The Afghan side is also trying to convince Pakistan that if they ban U.S. and NATO supplies, do not suspend fuel for the Afghan army... do not put Afghan fuel in the same account as the U.S. and NATO," the official said.