ISLAMABAD, Sept 8: Pakistan has reopened supply lines to Nato forces in Afghanistan, after the road through the Khyber Pass was blocked on Saturday, days after a raid by US commandos on a Pakistani village.

Adviser to Prime Minister on Interior Affairs Rehman Malik said on Monday that the road was unblocked after a few hours, and traffic had only been halted for security reasons, although the country’s defence minister had earlier said the action was taken in response to violations of Pakistani territory by Nato forces.

“There was a suspension for a few hours due to security reasons but later, supplies to Afghanistan were resumed after clearing the road,” Malik told Reuters.

Militants have been attacking trucks in the Khyber Pass, on the way to Torkham, the main crossing point on the Pakistani-Afghan border near Peshawar.

But the move to stop tankers carrying fuel came after the new government expressed outrage over the killing of 20 people, including women and children, during a US commando raid on a remote border village in Pakistani tribal lands on Sept 3.

Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar told DawnNews TV on Saturday that the fuel supply route through Torkham had been blocked “to tell how serious we are”.

While the brief interruption to fuel supplies demonstrated the West’s dependence on Pakistani cooperation to keep troops in landlocked Afghanistan supplied, Pakistan’s leverage is limited.

The government gets paid by the United States for expenditure and logistical support in fighting militancy in the region, and needs billions of dollars of foreign assistance to stave off a looming balance of payments crisis.

Most fuel and other supplies for US-led forces in Afghanistan are trucked through Pakistan, crossing the border at two points: Torkham and Chaman, to the southwest.

The Chaman crossing, used to supply foreign forces in southern Afghanistan, was operating normally on Saturday.—Reuters

Opinion

Editorial

Slow start
Updated 15 Jun, 2024

Slow start

Despite high attendance, the NA managed to pass only a single money bill during this period.
Sindh lawlessness
Updated 15 Jun, 2024

Sindh lawlessness

A recently released report describes the law and order situation in Karachi as “worryingly poor”.
Punjab budget
15 Jun, 2024

Punjab budget

PUNJAB’S budget for 2024-25 provides much fodder to those who believe that the increased provincial share from the...
Budget and politics
Updated 14 Jun, 2024

Budget and politics

PML-N, scared of taking bold steps lest it loses whatever little public support it has, has left its traditional support — traders — virtually untouched.
New talks?
14 Jun, 2024

New talks?

WILL this prove another false start, or may we expect a more sincere effort this time? Reference is made to the...
A non-starter
14 Jun, 2024

A non-starter

WHILE the UN Security Council had earlier this week adopted a US-backed resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza...