Afghanistan: NATO supply lines

Pakistan opposition opposes reopening of NATO supply routes

Pakistani opposition parties have warned the parliament that any possible restoration of supply routes for the US-led forces in Afghanistan would create unrest in the country.

Press TV,

25 March, 2012

A related protest rally was held in the northern city of Peshawar on Sunday as the parliament is due to begin debates on the country’s relationship with the US on Monday. The talks could lead to the reopening of the routes on the country’s soil, which are used for the transfer of supplies for the foreign forces deployed in Afghanistan. 

Islamabad closed the border crossings to NATO in November 2011 after attacks by the US-led military alliance that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in the northwest of the country. Washington has so far withheld a formal apology. 

The opposition parties have vowed to prevent the government from restoring the supply lines. 

The leader of the oppositionists in the National Assembly, Chaudry Nizar Ali Khan, said that Islamabad should not reopen the routes at this time. 

Jamat-e-Islami as well as an alliance of other opposition parties, Difa-e-Pakistan Council, have likewise warned Islamabad against making the move. 

Also on Sunday, Information and Broadcasting Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan said that only the parliament had the right to decide on the matter. 

She said the legislature's security committee had submitted its recommendations and the government would discuss the matter with Washington after the parliament takes a decision

Pakistan Taliban Issues Warning Over NATO Supply Route

Defense News, 

25 March, 2012

PESHAWAR — The Pakistani Taliban on March 25 threatened to attack lawmakers if they voted in support of resuming supplies for NATO troops in Afghanistan, a spokesman said.

Pakistan sealed its border with Afghanistan to NATO supply convoys after NATO air strikes in November killed 24 Pakistani soldiers near the border, triggering outrage in Islamabad.

The deadly incident heightened tensions in an already fragile relationship with Pakistani officials alleging deliberate U.S. targeting of their troops at border posts.

Beginning March 26, Pakistani lawmakers are to debate new parameters for getting the troubled relationship back on track, expected to see Pakistan eventually reopen its Afghan border to NATO convoys after a four-month closure.

“Everybody knows we are against restoration of NATO supplies and we will target each and every member of the parliament who will support the restoration,” Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan told AFP in a telephone call from an undisclosed location.

“We are also advising the drivers of NATO supply trucks to quit this job otherwise they will be responsible for any consequences,” Ehsan said.

The recommendations for a re-crafted relationship ? up for debate in Pakistan’s parliament ? include a U.S. apology for the November killings, an end to drone strikes against militants on Pakistani soil and taxes on NATO convoys.

There are around 130,000 foreign troops in landlocked Afghanistan waging a 10-year battle against a Taliban-led insurgency who rely on fuel, food and equipment brought in from outside.

Nearly half of all cargo bound for foreign troops goes through Pakistan.

A NATO investigation into the Nov. 26 strike on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border concluded that both the international alliance and Pakistani forces made mistakes in the incident ? findings rejected by Pakistan.