Pakistani truckers are refusing to haul vital supplies to NATO and US forces in Afghanistan because of mounting attacks along the main route, a transporters' association said Monday.
Pakistani troops recently began escorting convoys through the Khyber Pass to the border to protect them from Taliban ambushes. Western military officials insist their Afghan operations are not at risk.
President of Khyber Transport Union Shakir Khan Afridi told Daily Times that transporters would not continue supplying goods to NATO. He cited US strikes in the Tribal Areas as the reason behind the decision, and said the Taliban had stepped up attacks on transporters amid a surge in US attacks.
Shakir said that tribal transporters were not safe on the main route from Karachi to Torkham. He said the supply could be restored if the US assured Pakistan that missile strikes in the Tribal Areas would stop immediately.
Shakir said members using some 3,500 trucks and trailers were boycotting carrying military supplies.
The manager of the Port World Terminal, where a recent attack took place, confirmed a shortage of trucks, but said he was trying to persuade the transport firms to return.
A senior political administration official told Daily Times supplies to NATO could be sent through the Khyber Pass as AP reported that a convoy of 191 vehicles carrying supplies crossed into Afghanistan on Monday.
NATO: A spokesman for the NATO-led force in Afghanistan played down the boycott threat, and said it did not deal with Afridi's association. Government assurance: Meanwhile, the NWFP government has assured transporters that their convoys would be provided full security. |