Pakistan closes U.S. supply route for offensive

[unhappycamper]

A Pakistani police officer walks past a trailer parked on the Jamrud Road, leading to Afghanistan after its closed by authorities Dec. 30 in Peshawar, Pakistan. A Pakistani official says a main road used to ferry supplies to U.S and allied troops in Afghanistan has been closed because of an army offensive against militants in northwest Pakistan.


Pakistan closes U.S. supply route for offensive
By Riaz Khan - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Dec 30, 2008 17:15:37 EST

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Pakistan suspended truck shipments of U.S. military supplies through the famed Khyber Pass on Tuesday after launching an offensive against militants who are trying to cripple Washington’s war on a resurgent Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan.

The U.S. military said a temporary closure of the key supply line was not a problem, and praised the campaign in the rugged hills of northwestern Pakistan where al-Qaida leaders — including Osama bin Laden — are believed hiding.

The operation came amid tensions between Pakistan and its eastern neighbor, India, triggered by last month’s terror attack in Mumbai, which the Indian government and Washington have blamed on Islamic extremists based in Pakistan.

Pakistan urged India to pull back troops that it claimed had been sent near their border after Islamabad began moving troops toward the frontier. India said it had done nothing to aggravate tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors. Both countries also appealed for calm.

Militants in the Khyber Pass have vowed to choke off supplies heading across Pakistan’s western border to American and NATO troops in Afghanistan, where fighting is escalating seven years after the U.S.-led invasion toppled a Taliban regime.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/12/ap_pakistan_supplyroute_123008/%2e