Pakistan opens NATO supply line after Clinton apology
Fuel tanker trucks, used to transport fuel to NATO forces in Afghanistan, are seen parked along a road in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi on June 12, 2012. Pakistan told the US on July 3, 2012, that it would reopen NATO supply routes into Afghanistan.
Pakistan told the US on Tuesday that it would reopen NATO supply routes into Afghanistan, according to The New York Times.
The announcement followed an apology from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over the deaths of Pakistani soldiers in airstrikes in November. The Times said the agreement ends a seven-month stalemate since the 24 soldiers were mistakenly killed in Pakistan by American airstrikes.
"We are sorry for the losses suffered by the Pakistani military," said Clinton in a statement. "We are committed to working closely with Pakistan and Afghanistan to prevent this from ever happening again," she said, according to The Times.
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Clinton said Islamabad would not charge any transit fees when the lines reopened, according to the BBC.
The announcement was made after Clinton's talks with her Pakistani counterpart, Hina Rabbani Khar.
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She said, "Foreign Minister Khar and I acknowledged the mistakes that resulted in the loss of Pakistani military lives," according to the BBC.
Earlier, Pakistan's newly appointed prime minister, Raja Pervez Ashraf, said, "The continued closure of supply lines not only impinges on our relationship with the U.S., but also on our relations with the 49 other member states of NATO/ISAF," indicating a softening of tensions, according to Reuters.
Politico noted that the Obama administration had declined to apologize until now, citing an ongoing investigation into the incident.
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