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Pakistan

NATO truckers welcome reopening of supply, demand security

Dunya News

The NATO truckers demanding security guarantees before the resumption of supply.

NATO truckers also welcomed Pakistans decision to reopen supply lines into Afghanistan but said they feared Taliban attacks, demanding security guarantees before the resumption.Mir Mohammad Yousuf Shahwani, head of the largest oil tanker owners association in Pakistan, told AFP that supply trucks and tankers could be en route in days but insisted they needed protection first.It is a sudden decision but even then we can start supplies in days. The thing is, who will protect us, Shahwani said.We need security, we need protection. Taliban have killed dozens of our drivers and torched hundreds of vehicles, he added.Pakistani Taliban have carried out dozens of attacks, disrupting supplies for 130,000 US-led international troops fighting in Afghanistan, and have repeatedly warned of more if Pakistan reopened supply routes.Pakistan closed its Afghan border crossings to NATO convoys on November 26 after botched US air strikes killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that Pakistan was re-opening the border to NATO supplies and said the United States was sorry for the losses suffered by the Pakistani military.Earlier, Pakistans new prime minister acknowledged that continuing the seven-month blockade was negatively affecting relations with the United States and other NATO member states.