In-focus

Pakistan

US not ruling out northern routes for NATO supplies

Dunya News

United States could rely on northern supply routes in case GLOCs from Pakistan are not opened.

The US administration has indicated that they could be forced to look towards the northern supply routes (from Central Asian states) for supplies in and out of Afghanistan, in case the deadlock on ground routes from Pakistan is not resolved.Pentagon spokesman, George Little, in a briefing Tuesday, said we can rely on the Northern Distribution Network, thats true. It is costlier. The GLOCs are less expensive. It would be easier with the ground gates open, and it would be cheaper. But until they open, well have to find other ways, and we will.The Northern Distribution Network is -- check me on this, but two to three times more expensive than the ground supply routes, he admitted while again expressing the hope that the issue with Pakistan will be resolved soon. Weve been very clear that were hopeful that the GLOCs are reopened. Its important logistically and it is important in terms of cost, he stressed.The spokesman refused to comment whether the issue of apology demanded by Pakistan on Salala attack last year was the major sticking point in the agreement on ground supply routes. I wouldnt get into the specifics of what were discussing or not discussing with the Pakistanis. Whether or not an apology is part of that mix is not something Im going to discuss in a public forum, he remarked.If youre asking about an apology connected to the border incident -- a very tragic incident that occurred in November of last year -- we, as you know, have expressed our deep regret and condolences on repeated occasion for that incident, and I would repeat that sense of deep regret today, he maintained.We have made it clear that we have taken responsibility for the mistakes we made with respect to the November 25, 26 border incident, and I would repeat that sense of regret that we have about this incident. Its time, we believe, to move forward in the relationship with Pakistan. We do have that opportunity. This relationship is not where it needs to be right now. We all understand that, he argued.George Little noted that some progress was indeed made during negotiations with Pakistan. Its important to note, though, that we do continue dialogue through ODRP [Office of Defense Representative Pakistan] in Islamabad. So its not as if we have cut off discussions altogether. We continue to have dialogue on this issue, he clarified.We hope that the GLOCs [Ground Line of Communications] are reopened soon, and we look forward to having our officials go back to Islamabad to seal the deal at some point in the near future, he said but refused to give details. I wouldnt get into the specifics of the negotiations. But we believe that there is a window of opportunity to reopen the supply route, he added.When probed further, he said without getting into specific negotiating positions or stances, I think that they are -- weve reached, in many respects, agreement across a range of technical issues. So we have a few more to work through, and we believe we can get to yes with the Pakistanis at the end of the day on the GLOCs. And we hope that day comes sooner rather than later.The spokesperson of the Department of Defense, Navy Capt. John Kirby, who flanked George Little in the briefing, said that the decision had to be taken by the political government. The teams themselves have taken it as far as they can right now. And now its really in the hands of the political leadership of Pakistan to make some decisions about where they want to go strategically on this, he stated.In a separate briefing, State Department spokesperson, Victoria Nuland said that the US was still hopeful of a resolution. We continue to want to resolve this matter. The technical issues are virtually complete here. What we need to do is to continue the conversation at a political level and get to a resolution, because it’s important for both Pakistan and the United States, she opined.- Contributed by Awais Saleem, Dunya News correspondent in Washington, DC