Islamabad: Pakistan has reopened the main supply route for US and NATO troops in Afghanistan after blocking it for three days during an operation against militants blamed for repeated attacks on convoys in the Khyber Pass, an official said.
Authorities say the operation was a success, but a similar offensive in June failed to curtail attacks and was followed by a controversial peace deal with tribal elders in the northwest Khyber region that US officials say allowed militants to regroup.
The US plans to deploy up to 30,000 additional troops to landlocked Afghanistan next year, further increasing the importance of secure supply routes through Pakistan, which deliver up to 75 percent of the fuel, food and other goods used by Western forces.
Militants have stepped up attacks against convoys passing through Khyber in recent months and have also ransacked terminals in the nearby city of Peshawar holding supplies intended for the Afghan army.
American officials say the attacks have not affected their ability to operate in Afghanistan, but the officials have acknowledged they are looking for ways to improve security along the route and are investigating alternative ways to deliver supplies. They have praised the Pakistani operation, which started Tuesday and used artillery and helicopter gunships to destroy suspected militant hide-outs.
The top administration official in Khyber, Tariq Hayat Khan, said yesterday that the operation would continue, but not would not be close enough to the road through the Khyber Pass to disrupt traffic, allowing the supply route to reopen.
