Pakistan reopens Afghan border to NATO

11/10/2010| IslamWeb

Pakistan’s government today reopened the Khyber Pass border crossing to NATO traffic, ending a week and a half of closure that kept hundreds of trucks stranded along the key supply route for troops in Afghanistan.

Pakistan closed the border on September 30 in protest after NATO attack helicopters crossed the border and attacked a military post, killing three troops and wounding three others. At the time NATO and US officials defended the killings as “self defense,” but they later issued apologies.

Which seems to be all the Pakistani government wanted, as Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the apologies were a “victory” for the Pakistani government on the issue. He also warned NATO not to repeat its cross-border raids.

NATO launched several attacks over a few days in late September, killing scores of Pakistanis. Though they have not launched helicopter attacks since, the US has continued to launch daily drone strikes against Pakistan’s tribal regions, killing large numbers of tribesmen.

PHOTO CAPTION

An Afghan police officer gestures to an oil tanker, carrying fuel for NATO forces, enters Afghanistan through Pakistan's border crossing in Torkham, Sunday, Oct. 10, 2010.

Agencies