Nato eyes supply resumption after apology

 The US ambassador to Islamabad said late on Wednesday that the cross-border raid, which killed two Pakistani soldiers and triggered the supply shut-down, was a “terrible accident”.

A joint Nato-Pakistani report released the same day said gunmen aboard the Apaches had likely mistaken warning shots from the border guards for an insurgent attack when they opened fire.

Pakistan closed the supply route through its territory on September 30 after Nato helicopters strayed over the border several times, culminating in the shooting.

The military cited security concerns, but the move was taken as a pointed response to a violation of Pakistani sovereignty.

“I think the US apology and Nato regrets should be more than enough and I don’t believe that the issue of reopening of the route will drag on,” said Mehmood Shah, former security chief of the Pakistani tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.

“By closing the route, Pakistanis wanted to convey a message and I think they (Nato) have learnt the lesson.”

German militants training in Pak area

The jihad video at first seems like many others filmed in Pakistan’s tribal areas: The bearded militant sits cross-legged on the floor, an AK-47 propped against the wall behind him. But as he applauds his three companions’ decision to join jihad, the words come out in fluent German: “Wir sind die Soldaten Allahs,” he says — “We are the soldiers of Allah.”

Between 15 and 40 Germans and a smaller contingent of other Europeans are believed to be getting militant training in Pakistan’s border region, intending to join Taliban’s fight against Nato forces in neighbouring Afghanistan or return to Europe and strike at the soft underbelly of those countries.