BRUSSELS, Jan 9: Talks aimed at setting up alternative supply routes to the Khyber Pass for the United States and Nato forces fighting in Afghanistan are at an advanced stage, officials have said.

The issue is one of growing urgency because of intensifying attacks by pro-Taliban guerillas on the mountain pass, which links Pakistan and Afghanistan and is the main supply route the soldiers use. Finding alternative routes is critical as the US troop deployment to Afghanistan is expected to double this year to 60,000.

In Brussels on Thursday, a Nato official said diplomatic efforts were nearing conclusion on setting up new routes for US and Nato military supplies that would likely pass through Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

A US official said the proposed land routes would be used as occasional alternatives to the Khyber Pass, or to carry heavier loads if the pass is closed again.

Sensitive military items such as ammunition and armoured vehicles for the 62,000 western troops in landlocked Afghanistan are normally sent in on military aircraft. Land routes are mainly used for other supplies such as food, the official said.—AP