Pakistan and the US signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on transporting supplies for NATO forces in Afghanistan through Pakistani territory after weeks of intense negotiations.

The MoU states arms and ammunition for foreign troops in Afghanistan cannot be transported through Pakistan and that all cargo will be scanned in the port city of Karachi and at the border crossing points of Chaman and Torkham.

Richard Hoagland, the American Charge d'Affaires, and Pakistan's Additional Defence Secretary, Rear Admiral Farrokh Ahmad, signed the MoU during a function at the Defence Ministry in Rawalpindi.

Pakistani officials told media that the MoU would safeguard the country's national interests.

Hoagland said the US would soon release 1.1 billion dollars of aid for Pakistan.