Northern route for NATO supply line to Afghanistan

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/54cf4e84-140f-11df-8847-00144feab49a.html

excerpts:

Nato is considering transporting vehicles by rail across the former
Soviet Union to supply its troops in Afghanistan, a senior Nato
official has told the Financial Times.

The alliance currently relies on routes through Pakistan to supply its
forces in neighbouring Afghanistan in the fight against Taliban and
al-Qaeda militants. These convoys have come under regular attack by
militants with the loss of fuel tankers and a large numbers of
military vehicles, some of which have been set ablaze in their
compounds.

Diego Ruiz-Palmer, head of planning at Nato’s operations division in
Brussels, said the military alliance would seek to reduce its
dependence on Pakistan for supply routes in the years ahead.

….A Pakistani senior security official warned that Nato’s attempts
to seek a different route for supplies to Afghanistan, would not
“change the geographical reality of Pakistan as the main channel”. He
added: “There is no alternative but to help Pakistan improve its
internal conditions for securing Nato supplies.”

by teru kuwayama at 2010-02-09 18:27:13 UTC | Bookmark | | Report spam→