US working to resume NATO supplies: Victoria Nuland

The United States continued to work with Pakistan on restoring the NATO supplies for allied forces battling in Afghanistan, saying it is not mulling to link invitation to Islamabad for Chicago summit with resumption of supply-line.

US State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland while briefing the media said NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen spoke very clearly on the issue earlier in the day in Brussels.

She clarified that both the US and NATO consider the Pakistani land routes as critical to shipping of supplies into landlocked Afghanistan. However, the supply through Pakistan has closed for almost six months since NATO forces attacked at Salala check-posts, killing 24 Pakistani troops.

The cross border incursion enraged Pakistan, a longtime ally in the fight against Al-Qaeda in the region. Nuland said that Marc Grossman, the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, some ten days ago, had substantive conversations with regard to the opening of the NATO supply-line.

According to her, Grossman brought with him an expert team to work with the Pakistani experts to resolve the issue. That team is still in Pakistan and it is continuing to work together on this issue, she asserted.

She observed, “I think Secretary General Rasmussen spoke pretty clearly where Nato is on this set of issues. He did remind that the supply routes are blocked and that we are continuing our dialogue and that we are looking for a solution. So I don’t think I can improve on that, she remarked”.

The State Department spokesperson informed that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton received a letter from Congress, urging to designate the Haqqani network as a militant outfit. The US administration continues reviewing the matter, she added.

In what appeared to an effective measure, the US and the United Nations have already designation severe leaders of the group as terrorists, she said.

In the meantime, Senator John Kerry called for Pakistan to be more cooperative in eliminating alleged sanctuary of the Afghan terrorists in Pakistan.

The issue of the continued danger of a sanctuary war being prosecuted against the forces in Afghanistan was raised by the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on May 12 2012. Filed under National, Pakistan, USA. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.