Nato gets alternate supply route through Central Asia

BRUSSELS: Nato has announced that it has concluded an agreements with Central Asian nations allowing it to evacuate vehicles and other military equipment from Afghanistan and completely bypass Pakistan, which once provided the main supply route for coalition forces. 

The announcement came from the Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who said that Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan had agreed to allow the reverse transport of alliance equipment. 

Since Nato already has an agreement with Russia, the deal will allow it to ship back to Europe tens of thousands of vehicles, containers and other items through the overland route when the evacuation picks up pace later this year. 

Pakistan shut down the southern supply routes six months ago after US airstrikes killed 24 Pakistani soldiers at the Salala border post, forcing Nato to switch almost completely to the so-called Northern Distribution Network. 

Nato Secratary General Anders Gogh Rasmussen

After months of stalemate, Pakistani leaders last month signaled that negotiations on the supply routes were progressing, just in time to secure an invitation to the weekend Nato summit in Chicago. But since then the two sides have made little progress in the talks, officials said.

The announcement on Monday appears to indicate that Washington and the allies are now preparing for the possibility that the supply link through Pakistan, said to be about six times cheaper than its northern alternative, may not be reopened at all. It is also likely to put pressure on Pakistan to ease its negotiating stance, which has been stuck in part on how much money the US and Nato should pay to transport the trucks through Pakistani territory. 

On the other hand Pakistan government is also under pressure from different political parties to not open the so called border until US shuts down the drone attacks.

In response US has increased the drone attacks on Pakistani border areas which are occurring on daily basis, the drone attacks in last four days has claimed the lives of 47 people including women and children.