Mukhtar supports resuming NATO supplies after negotiating a better deal

Mukhtar supports resuming NATO supplies after negotiating a better deal

Islamabad: (Tuesday, February 07, 2012) Defence Minister Ahmad Mukhtar said today that Pakistan should now open its Afghan border allowing NATO supplies to pass, albeit, after negotiating a better deal with the allied forces.

Pakistan closed its western border for the NATO supplies about two months ago when the US led allied forces attacked two of Pakistan’s check posts on Afghan Border. The unprovoked opening up of fire claimed 26 lives of Pakistani
soldiers.

With the closure of the border, the US has been forced to spend six times more to send supplies to Afghanistan through alternative routes.

Proposing that Pakistan should now open up the route allowing the allied forces to resume their supplies, Mukhtar told the reporter of a private TV channel that Pakistan should negotiate new terms and conditions with NATO and reopen
the border.

Although Mukhtar could not provide with the specific details, but other Pakistani officials have suggested that the government should charge additional fees to the coalition forces for using the routes which had been damaged by
the passage of heavy trucks.

Pakistan’s parliament is poised to vote on a revised mechanism of engagement for relations with America by mid-February. It is expected that this development may lead the government to reopen its supplies to Afghanistan.

Earlier, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hina Rabbani Khar had said that to her, it would not be much of a problem to reopen the route after it is supported by parliament’s vote.

Echoing this review which is expected to be aired soon, the defence minister maintained, “I think the people who are deciding, who are giving recommendations, will make the right decision.”

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=12010

Posted by Fayyaz Yaseen on Feb 7 2012. Filed under Pakistan, World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry