Pakistan holding trump card on NATO supply halt [View all]

[FarCenter]

Islamabad–Though initially the United States was not showing any anxiety on Pakistan’s action to halt all supplies to US-led forces in Afghanistan through Pakistani soil, at least the statements emanated from Washington reflected so, but, after three weeks, the reports reaching from Afghanistan suggested that Pakistani action has inflicted a telling blow on them.

A panic-like situation is witnessed in the military camps and garrisons across the Durand line as level of mobility and actions of the forces fighting with Taliban have come down. The winter has become very harsh for the NATO forces after cutting off fuel supply through tankers from Pakistan, standing in long queues at Pakistani ports, different areas on Pak-Afghan borders and roadsides resting places along the highways in Pakistan waiting green signal from the government.

More than four thousand tankers engaged in supplies have been halted while the loading and carrying containers with food and other essentials have also been stopped, cutting off life line of the forces, at least in this harsh winter when the northern supply routes through Central Asian Republics and Russian Federation have also frozen this year.

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The situation for the NATO forces can further worsen, if Pakistan announces to close air corridor given to the US over Pakistani territory. This situation can precipitate the miseries for the forces fighting in a barren land infested with Taliban. Pakistan Government is also contemplating to put taxes and route cess on NATO supplies, the sources in the government said. All these steps can expedite the evacuation of US-led NATO forces from neighbouring Afghanistan, the sources told this scribe.

http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=131182