Pakistan temporarily halts US-NATO supplies

By RIAZ KHAN, Associated Press Writer

PESHAWAR, Pakistan – Pakistan temporarily closed the major land supply route to U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan on Monday after suspected insurgents killed a soldier and wounded 14, adding urgency to efforts to secure alternative supply lines as more U.S. troops head to the region.

Growing militant activity along the legendary Khyber Pass has prompted several temporary closures in recent months, and it was not immediately clear how long the latest suspension would last.

Afghan-based U.S. and NATO forces get up to 75 percent of their supplies via routes that traverse Pakistan, with Khyber being the main conduit into Afghanistan. The trucks that carry the fuel, food and other goods face constant threats of violence. Militants have also ransacked truck-holding terminals in the nearby city of Peshawar.

The Khyber region is part of Pakistan's semiautonomous tribal belt, where al-Qaida and Taliban fighters hold tremendous sway. The Pakistani government has dispatched paramilitary escorts for the supply convoys and recently launched a crackdown on militants in Khyber, but militant activity has continued.

In the latest attack, suspected militants fired eight rockets at a Pakistani military camp in the Landikotal area early Monday, said Fazal Mahmood, a senior government official in Khyber. One soldier died, while 14 were wounded, he said.

A daylong curfew was imposed in Landikotal, while security forces are hunting down the militants in the neighboring Khugi Khel area, Mahmood said.

The Khyber Pass has been a major trade and military gateway between Pakistan and Afghanistan for centuries, making its control and security critical to any armies present in the region. The vulnerability of the supply line is an especially pressing issue now because the U.S. troop deployment to Afghanistan is expected to as much as double this year to 60,000.

U.S. and NATO officials insist the militant activity so far has had a minimal impact on their operations.

Still, NATO acknowledges alternative routes are under active consideration.

In Brussels earlier this month, a NATO official said diplomatic efforts were nearing conclusion to set up new routes that will likely pass through Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Last year, Russia agreed that NATO could use its territory to resupply forces in landlocked Afghanistan. But talks with Central Asian nations that border Afghanistan have taken longer than planned.