Pak to reopen Nato supply from Pak-Afghan border
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Pakistan on Saturday said it was reopening the main supply route for transporting supplies to US and allied forces in Afghanistan, 10 days after it was closed in the wake of an air strike by Nato helicopters that killed two Pakistani soldiers.
"After assessing the security situation in all its aspects, the government has decided to reopen the Nato/ISAF supply from the Pakistan-Afghanistan border at Torkham with immediate effect," said a statement issued by Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesman.
The spokesman said Pakistani relevant authorities were "in the process of coordinating with authorities on the other side of the border to ensure smooth resumption of the supply traffic".
Pakistan shut down the Torkham border crossing in the country's northwest after Nato helicopters shelled a frontier post in Kurram tribal region on September 30 and killed two soldiers.
Nato initially defended the air strike, the fourth incident of its kind in the area, as an act of self-defence.
Following the closure of the supply route, the US apologised for the air strike while the ISAF in Afghanistan and senior American military commanders acknowledged the violation of Pakistani airspace and regretted the death of the Pakistani troops.
About 70 per cent of supplies for Nato and US troops and 40 per cent of their fuel requirements are shipped to Afghanistan via Pakistan. Despite the closure of the Torkham border crossing, Pakistan kept open the Chaman frontier post in the country's southwest that is also used by Nato convoys.
In the wake of the Nato air strikes, militants destroyed over 100 tankers carrying fuel to Nato forces and killed about a dozen people in attacks in different parts of Pakistan, including Rawalpindi, Shikarpur in Sindh and Balochistan.
At least 29 tankers were destroyed and two security personnel injured during an attack by militants in Balochistan province early on Saturday.
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