'No 'significant' impact of Pak closure of NATO's supply line'
The Pentagon today asserted that there has been no ''significant'' impact on America's ability to provide for the war efforts in Afghanistan, after Pakistan shut down NATO supply routes in retaliation to killing of its 24 troops.
"This is a war, so we're going to make sure the troops get what they need when and where they need it," the Pentagon Press spokesman, Capt John Kirby, said at a news conference when asked about the blockage of the NATO supply route by Pakistan for more than 10 days now.
Pakistan had shut down the crucial supply routes for US-led NATO troops in Afghanistan in the immediate aftermath of the killing of its 24 soldiers in a NATO-led cross fire on November 26.
About 30 per cent of the supply for its troops goes through these two routes in Pakistan, Kirby said, but added that so far the US and NATO commanders in Afghanistan are comfortable that their needs are being met.
However, US hoped the supply routes would be reopened in near future.
"So there have been no major muscle movements to alter the flow of logistics.
"Logistics is about redundancy and it's about having alternatives, and we certainly have those. But that doesn't diminish the fact that we would certainly like to see those gates reopen.
"That's a decision that obviously is up to the government of Pakistan," he said.
The Pentagon Press Secretary, George Little, said war effort in Afghanistan continues and the US is well-aware of the closures and potential impacts.
"To date there's been no significant impact to our ability to provide for the war effort.
"That being said, we do believe that these are important supply routes, and we hope that in the near future they can be reopened," he said.
"There are always contingency plans as you would expect for logistics efforts. Their planning continues. We hope that these supply routes become available to us once again," he said.
Little said the Pentagon would like for the Border Coordination Centers to be fully manned, from where Pakistan has recalled its personnel.
"The whole purpose of these coordination centers is to try to avoid the kinds of incidents that we saw.
"So the Pakistanis can certainly move personnel if they wish, but we would like to return to business as usual in the coordination centers," he said.
