NATO seeks normal relations with Pakistan

NATO seeks normal relations with Pakistan

Nato wants to get relations with Pakistan back on track “as quickly as possible” to reopen its key supply route for foreign troops fighting in Afghanistan, a coalition spokesman said Monday.

Pakistan closed Nato supply route to Afghanistan in November, choking supply line for the 130,000-strong US-led force, following a deadly air strike by the alliance force that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers on the border.

Islamabad had rejected the coalition’s report that blamed the incident on mistakes by both sides and has not said when it will reopen the route.

“We have an interest…for Afghanistan that relations with Pakistan should normalise as quickly as possible,” said Brigadier General Carsten Jacobsen.

“We are aware that there are things that are not travelling to Afghanistan because they are stuck at border control points.

“It mainly affects the economy, wages and work for people who are in the transport business in Pakistan and Afghanistan.”

The spokesman for Nato’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) however sought to allay concerns among Afghans that the route blockage would force the coalition to buy locally and force a hike in the price of fuel and food.

“The people of Afghanistan will not be challenged by Nato buying their fuel and their food. Nato’s stockpiles are more than sufficient,” he said.

A Pakistani official earlier said that Nato military vehicles and supplies were piling up at the docks, with truck drivers unable to drive them to the northwestern border to cross into Afghanistan.

“At present, a total of 3,676 military vehicles and 1,732 containers belonging to Nato forces are at the port,” a port official said.

It was reported earlier, that the US has decided to export all its cargo, including military hardware and arms, out of Pakistan.

The break in supplies has frustrated US authorities to the point where they are now weighing various options to move around the cargo stranded at various locations in Pakistan.

The deadly incident heightened tensions in an already fragile relationship between the US and Pakistan, with Pakistani officials alleging deliberate US targeting of their troops at border posts.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=8024

Posted by Ammar Ahmad on Jan 3 2012. Filed under Latest News, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry