Decision to open NATO supply routes up to Pakistan: Pentagon

Pakistan

Decision to open NATO supply routes up to Pakistan: Pentagon

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Pentagon has said that decision to open NATO supply routes is up to the Government of Pakistan.

09 December,2011 04:02 am

US and NATO forces in Afghanistan will receive the supplies they need to perform their missions regardless of Pakistan’s closure of its border with Afghanistan, Pentagon officials said today.Pentagon Press Secretary George Little and Navy Capt. John Kirby hope that Pakistan will reopen the border between the countries and return its troops to the border coordination centers. The centers are designed to avoid incidents like that of Nov. 26 when NATO ordnance accidently killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.The two spoke during a Pentagon news conference.The war effort in Afghanistan continues unabated by the closures, Little said. “We’re well-aware of the closures and potential impacts,” he said. “To date, there’s been no significant impact to our ability to provide for the war effort. That being said, we do believe that these are important supply routes, and we hope that in the near future they can be reopened.”Good logistics systems are among the crucial factors for success in any military operation, and redundancy is key to logistics. About 30 percent of the supplies to NATO and US troops in Afghanistan travel through Pakistan. Other routes are taking up the slack.NATO International Security Assistance Force commander Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen “is comfortable” with his supply situation now, Kirby said. “So there have been no major muscle movements to alter the flow of logistics,” he said.In response to a question, the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Captain John F. Kirby added that the decision to open the supply routes is up to the Government of Pakistan.On the subject of President Zardari and rumours of his illness, Little said that while they did not want to comment, if he was suffering from an illness, they wished him well.