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Nato chief urges Pakistan to keep Afghan transit lines open
[Dawn] NATO...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen urged Pakistain on Monday to keep open supply lines to NATO forces in Afghanistan despite anger over a US drone strike that killed the Pak Taliban leader. Pakistain said on Sunday it would review its relationship with the United States after Pak Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud was killed two days earlier in North  Wazoo, near the Afghan border."I feel confident that the Pak authorities will maintain open supply routes and transit routes because it is in Pakistain's own interest to contribute positively to stability and security in the region," Rasmussen told a news conference. The Pak government denounced Mehsud's killing as a US attempt to derail peace talks with the Pak Taliban, who have killed thousands in their campaign to impose their rule. Some Pak politicians have demanded that transit routes through Pakistain, used to supply NATO-led forces in Afghanistan, be cut in response. Pakistain is the main route to supply US troops in landlocked Afghanistan with everything from food and drinking water to fuel. Any closure could be a serious disruption as US and other Western forces prepare to withdraw most of their troops from Afghanistan by the end of next year. Pak cooperation is also seen as vital in trying to bring peace to Afghanistan, in particular in nudging the Afghan Taliban, allied to, but separate from, the Pak Taliban, into talks with the Kabul government. Posted by: Fred 2013-11-05 |
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